BishopAccountability.org
	Toledo Film Needs a Toledo Showing Toledo Blade [Toledo OH] August 14, 2005 It's an Oscar-nominated documentary set in Toledo, yet no local theater will show it. If I hadn't seen the story unfold with my own eyes (via reports in the local media), I wouldn't believe it. People in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Tucson, and Portland, Ore., have had the opportunity to see it. And before the end of the month, so will those in Seattle, St. Louis, and Indianapolis. Amazingly, Twist of Faith can't get a public screening in northwest Ohio. Could we be any more small-minded? Twist of Faith chronicles the life of Toledo firefighter Tony Comes around the time he went public with allegations of sexual abuse by a former priest, Dennis Gray. It has drawn rave reviews from film critics across the country. If the Maumee Indoor Theater refuses to show it, then it behooves the Toledo Catholic diocese to do so. The diocese should follow the lead of the Rev. Chris Carpenter, who showed Twist of Faith inside Christ the King Catholic Church in Mesa, Ariz. It was one of seven works he recruited for the first Catholic Film Festival, held May 20-21 in the Phoenix suburb. He estimated 60 people saw it in the main sanctuary. Afterward, Father Carpenter, Eddie Schmidt, co-director of the film, and a representative from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) answered questions from the audience. "All of the response we got was positive," Father Carpenter said. "I would recommend that Catholic adults see it." In debunking a popular perception, he said the documentary is "not anti-Catholic, not anti-church." It does take the diocese's leadership to task, though. (Rightfully so, I say.) When told of the situation in Toledo, where an air of timidity has contributed to the film's suppression, Father Carpenter said it was "unfortunate." He said he would "encourage at least a church" to show it and have a discussion afterward. We need not be so small-minded. Please, Bishop Leonard Blair, allow the community to look in the mirror.