MASSACHUSETTS
Crux
By Margery Eagan
On Spirituality columnist March 1, 2016
The also-rans fade from memory fast. Not so the winners. So Sunday’s surprise Oscar winner, “Spotlight,” now takes its place with other famed best pictures: “12 Years a Slave,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Million Dollar Baby, “Forrest Gump,” “Schindler’s List,” and, way back in 1972, “The Godfather.”
Way back in 1972 was still five years after Christine Hickey was sexually assaulted by former priest James Porter, who admitted to molesting more than 100 boys and girls. But almost no one believed such claims in 1972, never mind 1967. Boys and girls then kept their horror and confusion and anguish to themselves. And even later, when they began to tell, nasty counter-accusations flew. They were out for money from the Church. They were disturbed children from disturbed families making up disgusting tales about the beloved parish priest.
Christine Hickey knew she’d been sexually assaulted. But she once thought herself, like so many other survivors, uniquely targeted. Who could even imagine the Church that told us not to lie, steal, cheat, miss Mass on Sunday, or have sex outside of marriage was conspiring from coast to coast and country to country to cover up sex crimes by priests? Who could imagine that those same judgmental bishops were also the chief conspirators?
“I keep thinking how far we’ve come,” said Hickey yesterday about the “surreal” choice of “Spotlight” and all the elated Facebook postings and e-mails she was still receiving from survivors. “Everybody’s using worlds like ‘ecstatic’ and ‘glorious day’ and ‘sheer joy’ and talking about jumping up and down when they read the winner Sunday.”
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