Deliver Us from Evil

I am sure many will never take the opportunity to see this film thinking it biased toward the church. Although it will be a painful experience for devoted catholics it is mandatory that they be aware of the deception of their prelates in the cover-up of clergy sexual abuse. The intransigence of the hierarchy is detailed and horrifying. Its machinations to cover up the crimes against the children who they had an obligation to protect and nourish would be loathsome enough in secular society but they are an abomination in the church. There are a few voices that are trying to stimulate reform in the church but the outlook is grim.

I cannot adequately express my sincere sympathy for the victims of clergy abuse. I was totally disgusted with the responses offered by the bishops/monsignor and archbishop/cardinal in regard to their knowledge of abuse by Oliver Grady. How can all these priests keep quiet about these crimes against children? They are not ignorant of this. I am Catholic, and I am the Church as are all the people. These men do not follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ; and we (the real Church) better start taking responsibility for bringing the hierarchy to task. Thank you to the survivors, their families, Amy Berg and all those who are working so hard to raise our consciousness to these crimes, and the truth about our leaders. This isn't the end of the Catholic church. It is the end of the way we've known it; and it's about time.

The most surprising and disturbing scenes in the documentary "Deliver Us from Evil" is to hear from Father Oliver O'Grady himself about the children and babies he sexually abused when he was a Catholic priest in California. We can see that O'Grady is still mentally ill, he is unaware of the seriousness of his actions in the past. He lives a normal life in Ireland as if all his abuses have been forgiven and therefore insignificant and impertinent to him. Another relevant point of the documentary is to present that both the dioceses of California and the Vatican simply deny or cover up all cases of sexual abuse perpetrated by their clergy. It is proven that all religions that view sex as an evil element, or preach fanaticism, certainly have sexual abuse cases done by their members.

This is mighty strong documentary on the abuse of children by the Catholic Church and its cover-up. I read elsewhere that the term "abuse" is a euphemism for much more sordid acts; namely the physical rape of an innocent child.

This film examines the history of one pedophile priest in the United States and how his acts were simply covered-up by the Catholic hierarchy. He performed innumerable acts on both male and female children. Even though some parents reported this to the Catholic ministry, it was only when police officials became involved that he was arrested. There are many interviews with both the victims and those in the Church hierarchy who covered it up, as well as the pedophile himself.

So are we provided with many different angles. The documentary never becomes accusatory in itself – but it allows us to view the heart-wrenching lives of the victims and their families. They try to extract an apology from the Vatican, but this is all in vain.

It even brings us to view the life of this eerie pedophile, not presented as evil incarnate; but as a human being with a severe psychological problem. At times you can feel his ingratiating performance even as he acknowledges the severity of what he has done. This is a rare film that deals with both oppressor and oppressed.

The film is about several things: the nature of the evil that exists in this pedophile, the corruption of the Catholic Church, the Church's refusal to deal with sexual issues and admit its crimes against humanity, but most of all it is about the torment of the victims who are left alone with their families to struggle on with their lives. This documentary contains some very emotional scenes and is very well made.

In my opinion, this film is a front-runner for the Oscar for Best Documentary for 2006.

It's absolutely riveting. If you are a fan of "Silence of the Lambs," you should see this because Oliver O'Grady is just as chilling as Hannibal Lecter -- more so because he is real. Filmmaker Amy Berg did a news piece on O'Grady, a Catholic priest who raped dozens -- possibly hundreds -- of children in California. On a whim, she called him in his exile in Ireland and got him to agree to an extensive three day interview. It is a confession unlike any other.

On one level, Deliver Us From Evil is a righteous indictment of the Catholic Church: its inaction, its enabling, its bureaucracy, its male-dominated backwardness.

At the same time, the film is a profile of some incredibly decent people: Catholic parents and children who were victims in this rampage. Their character is inspiring -- their pain is as raw as anything you will ever see on film.

Finally, it's the study about the way a psychopath can play every human emotion to his own advantage.

There is Hell to pay for this man's sins. And some victims are living that hell every day.