UNITED STATES
The Take Away
In recent years, the Catholic Church has faced countless accusations of child abuse, cover ups and institutional secrets. The cases number in the thousands. And all of them are horrific. But one of the most shocking took place in Milwaulkee. It involved a priest named Father Murphy and 200 deaf children in his care.
Alex Gibney delves into Father Murphy’s history of abuse, and the church’s decision to cover it up, in his new documentary, “Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God.”
Gibney, when asked to describe what kind of person could commit these kinds of crimes says, “Father Murphy is an interesting but also appalling character. I mean many of the worst clerical sex abuses turn out not to be the kind of people that are Gollum-like in the corner muttering about precious. These people are very charismatic, they’re charming and that’s their cover.”
Recently, the church in Milwaukee criticized the film for causing more pain to the victims by re-opening old wounds.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.