Deliver Us From Evil (2006)

Documentary on pedophile Catholic Priest Father Oliver “Ollie” O’Grady, who sexually abused possibly hundred’s of children in various north-central California perishes during the 1970's and 80's. Father O’Grady was eventually successfully prosecuted for some of his crimes and spent a number of years in prison, before being deported back to his native Ireland, where he is now a free man and due to receive a pension when he turns 65. Father O’Grady’s perverted crimes brought sorrow and destruction to many lives, but his deeds are not the sole focus of the film. O’Grady’s story is but one of many, many examples of abusive Priest’s kept in positions that allowed them access to children, because of an administrative cultural within the Catholic hierarchy that in many cases came to value personnel and public image above the safety of some of their most vulnerable parishioners. The Bishop who shielded Father O’Grady for much of his time in the states, Roger Mahoney, had over 500 such dangerous Priests kept active in his California Diosces alone, according to the film.

Of course these kind of tragedies occur in all religions, where perverted individuals manage to work their way into positions where they can abuse children. In the Catholic case however these issues have been seen as more pronounced, especially in recent years. Part of this problem might be alleviated by a return to long former practice and allowing priests to marry, however the traditionalist in sway in the highest corders of power in the Church are vehemently opposed to such change. Even granting that the Catholic Church should retain the practice of ‘celibate’ Priests, it most defiantly should have done a better job of removing sexual offenders from positions where thye could do harm, at the very least sending them off to a monastery where they have little-to-no chance of recidivism. It should be pointed out that Father O’Grady, while allowed to attend some lay therapy during his time as an active priest, was never cloistered away, and in fact today (the time in which the documentary was made, this may have changed by now) has no aperient restrictions placed upon his personal movements in Ireland, and is in fact even interviewed in this film in front of a children’s play ground. Amy Berg’s documentary does a good job of bring these issues even further into the open and showing the damage men like Father O’Grady, and those who enabled him, have done to good Catholics and their Church.