BishopAccountability.org
	Profile of Perfidy Doc Spotlights Pedophile Priests By Jennifer Merin New York Press October 18, 2006 http://www.nypress.com/19/42/film/jennifermerin.cfm Deliver Us From Evil Directed by Amy Berg Amy Berg's documentary, Deliver Us From Evil, is a compelling exposé of the Catholic Church's schemes to cover up its clergy's rampant child abuse. The film focuses on the history of Father Oliver O'Grady, the notorious pedophile priest who raped and sodomized hundreds of boys and girls aged nine months through adolescence, and one adolescent victim's mother, over the course of 20 years. During this time, church superiors avoided exposure to scandal by reassigning him from one California parish to another, never punishing him and failing to prevent his ongoing predatory behavior. O'Grady was eventually tried and incarcerated. He was deported to Ireland after his release from prison, where he now lives comfortably in retirement, still ordained, enjoying his pension, roaming freely. Berg uses archival footage as well as new interviews to reveal O'Grady's flippant attitude. Oozing indifference, he's utterly without remorse about his heinous behavior and the devastation he caused his victims and their families. In contrast, as they recall O'Grady's actions, the victims and their families erupt with anguish and anger—and enormous frustration that there's been no prosecution of LA's Cardinal Roger Mahony who, according to the film, knew of O'Grady's crimes but did nothing to stop them. And it's easy to understand their rage: Mahony still rules the LA Archdiocese. The film traces the trail of deceit and shame all the way to Pope Benedict XVI, who's been accused of conspiracy to cover up the crimes. The Vatican asked President Bush to grant the Pontiff immunity from prosecution—and got it. When O'Grady's victims traveled to Rome to petition for mercy and justice, they were turned away without an audience. The Church also declined to be interviewed for the documentary. Berg substantiates her public awareness agenda by interviewing theologians, lawyers, psychologists and other experts about clergy child abuse. Especially alarming are their statements that that the Church's only solution for ending clergy child abuse has been to scapegoat homosexual priests. Further, as victim Leslie Sloan points out, Church superiors considered molestation of boys "obscene," while they deemed abuse of girls to be "normal curiosity." Deliver Us From Evil stands out from the pack of moralistic docs because of its compelling stories of families devastated by O'Grady's abuse. Bob Jyono's expression of pain and guilt about not suspecting that his daughter was being raped by his trusted family priest and friend is heartbreaking, as is his daughter's confession that she's not been able to forget, forgive, nor marry. The film manages to deliver viewers to the point of moral outrage regarding clergy abuse—Catholic or not.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.