The main difference between Roman Catholicism and other religions is that it allows its practitioners a clean slate by making confessions. Amy Berg’s disturbing documentary brings us face to face with a paedophile priest in California who confessed his transgressions time and time again to his superiors, but still the spiritual and physical abuse was allowed to continue. The only time that Jesus got angry was when he entered the church to find moneylenders here, and Berg feels that, at all levels of the Catholic clergy, they are "ignorant about humanity and real life".
Berg spent four years investigating paedophile priests and became well acquainted with Cardinal Roger Mahony and the 556 priests under his jurisdiction who had abused children with impunity. But nothing quite prepared her for Father Oliver O’Grady who ended up speaking candidly to her about the years he spent violating young lives. He actually apologises for his ‘weaknesses’ that have left a trail of destruction since 1976 that is beyond comprehension. For some children, this was an extreme betrayal of trust as their lives only consisted of home, school and church – and Father O’Grady inhabited all of these.
It is chilling to watch this aggressive calculating predator smile and laugh quietly to himself as he minimises his trespasses and even presents the rape of a 5 year old girl as ‘caring’. O’Grady is a thoroughly deluded man but he is aware that these things should not have happened, and moreover, that being promoted rather than punished was not what should have happened when the church hierarchy became aware of his molestation of numerous children. He blames his bosses for not removing him from all the ‘temptations’ and actually exposes how the church has actively protected offenders for so long. The words ‘mislead,’ ‘lie’ and ‘avoid’ really don’t cover the systematic manipulation and dishonesty that has disseminated from the top of the Catholic Church through every level.
The Catholic Church actually spends millions of dollars on lawyers to prevent the release of incriminating documents rather than helping the hundreds of thousands of people who have suffered at the hands of their priests (an estimated 100,000 in America alone). Berg’s documentary exposes this antiquated institution whose values don’t seem to have changed since the Dark Ages. It puts the Catholic Church on public record as asserting that molesting children is ‘normal sexual curiosity’ while insisting that if you’re homosexual, you can’t go to communion unless celibate.ÂÂ
Berg does not narrate her documentary, but allows everyone to speak for themselves. There are empowering interviews of some of O’Grady’s victims who have had the courage to speak out after so many years of silence and trauma. As they talk of the life-long psychological ramifications of their experiences, you will feel the pain and be witness to the lives ruined and families shattered. While the denial continues, Deliver Us From Evil is part of the solution, allowing at least some of those who have had their lives ruined to go from being victims to being survivors. I hope as many people as possible bear witness to this broken hallelujah.
Deliver Us From Evil is rated MA and directed by Amy Berg.
