POLAND
Crux
May 11, 2019
By Paulina Guzik
When a 39-year-old Polish woman confronted the Catholic priest who she said sexually abused her, using a hidden camera, her first question was: “You destroyed my life … do you know that?”
That moment is also the opening scene of “Just Don’t Tell Anyone,” a 2-hour Polish documentary just released online.
“I just knew there were other victims, I knew it!”, says the traumatized victim after meeting the priest who abused her. She never reported the crime to anyone, instead keeping the secret for 32 years as the priest had asked her to do.
The documentary’s director, Tomasz Sekielski, depicts what is rarely seen in the media – victims confronting their predators. The result is a powerful portrait of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in Poland, following the model laid out by Pope Francis – focusing on the victims, their wounds and their pain.
Stirring people up is precisely what the director wants.
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