Posted Nov. 22, 2015
By Rick Holmes
SOMERVILLE
It’s been 14 years since a spark struck in Boston grew to a flame that eventually engulfed the global Roman Catholic Church.
I remember when the story first hit our newsroom, back in the ‘90s, when John Geoghan became the first of the Boston-area priests accused of molesting children. The archdiocese had moved him from parish to parish over a 30-year career blighted by allegations of sexual misconduct and leaves for treatment that never seemed to work. I recall sending reporters to knock on doors for stories and reactions from the parishioners at one of his many stops. Nobody would talk.
When I first used the phrase “clergy sex abuse” in a headline, I remember wondering how readers would react. The term recognized what was becoming clear: that this scandal was no longer about one or two problem priests. And I can still remember picking up the Sunday Boston Globe in January of 2002 and being stunned by the story that exposed in graphic, undeniable detail the depths of the scandal and the complicity of Cardinal Bernard Law.
For every newspaper story, there’s a story of how they got the story, and “Spotlight,” a riveting new movie, tells both of them well.
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