Revelation

Another excellent piece of investigative work, sucks you in fromtfrom get go with it's depth of research following the crumbs, the abject corruption, greed and innocence lost. I don't know what's worse, the excuses put forward by the church members interviewed or the lies they stand so firmly by. Every single Australian for a start needs to see this documentary. In this age of enlightenment - this is a must see.

Revelation examines the historical sexual abuse of vulnerable children by priests in regional Australia from the 1950s to the 1980s, and the institutional power, impunity and cover up of that abuse by the Roman Catholic Church.

This is groundbreaking and finely crafted documentary making by the wonderful Sarah Ferguson and Nial Fulton, with support from a great crew and excellent researchers. The focus is local and deeply personal, but the topic and themes are universal.

In an interview for ABC News, Sarah Ferguson said: "Throughout the long-running scandal of clerical abuse in Australia, there was one voice we hadn't heard and that was the perpetrators. I wanted to ask them how they led their double lives and how the church enabled them, but how do you interview men whose crimes are so vile and disturbing, who've committed crimes against vulnerable children? It was a struggle not to let my revulsion at their crimes drag me off course."

Revelation was broadcast by ABC TV (the national broadcaster) at 8:30pm to moderate audiences over three weeks in Australia.

I think the most outstanding aspect of the whole gruelling journey on which Revelation took us was the integrity and courage with which the subject matter was handled. It was such a far cry from the sensational, cynical and invasive way the commercial channels handle tragic and sensitive subjects (eg; the disappearances of Madeleine McCann or William Tyrell). I have already been a big fan of Sarah Ferguson. I am in awe of her ability to never succumb to the attempted "charm factor" of politicians who use every trick in the psychology book to woo and bamboozle their interviewer. They need not waste their time with Sarah, as certainly as the paedophile priests and brothers in Revelation need not have wasted their time with any schmaltzy, crocodile-teared attempts to break Sarah's resolve to extract the truth from them. The heroes of Revelation, of course, are the victims whose broken lives are laid before us in all their shattered desolation. Some have managed to salvage enough of themselves to be able to present a veneer of normalcy, but most who have somehow kept living, admit that every minute of every day is an ordeal to be endured. We owe it to them to witness their dismantled lives and to become an active part of the movements for justice for these heroic survivors.

In a world of corporatised information, fake news and corruption.... thank goodness for reporters like Sarah, and the ABC for supporting her incredibly important work. The system is f$&ked, we cant continue to look away. Thankyou to the survivors for telling your stories... I believe you.

This series brought to light the horrendous crimes committed to innocent and vulnerable children of all ages. Sarah and the team presented a professional and determined account of these crimes, and showed great sensitivity to the victims and their families. Well done and great series.