02/27/2016
As Oscar Night draws near, I would like to share this review of the movie "Spotlight".The author is a friend of mine and was a long time member on the Board of Directors for CITI Ministries. Fran Salone-Pelletier has a Master's degree in Theology and is the author of Awakening to God: The Sunday Readings in Our Lives [a trilogy of Scriptural meditations], Lead Chaplain at Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center, Religious educator, retreat leader, lecturer and grandmother of four. She can be reached at [email protected]
It's longer than a typical post but well worth the read.
EVERYTHING COMES INTO VIEW IN THE BEAM OF A SPOTLIGHT
With mixed motivation, I viewed the movie SPOTLIGHT. I knew it would be a disturbing experience as well as an enlightening one. The presented facts, though striking, were not new. I had already heard them in bits and pieces here and there across recent years. The acting was superb and the story line gripping. However, these were not the compelling forces for me. I was drawn to the power of what we humans can do to each other negatively…and what we humans can do for and with each other when we act cooperatively. I was also cognizant of the bleak picture one could or would see in the presentation of a
flawed institution, a marred church. SPOTLIGHT narrows its beam to focus on the complex issue of abuse, especially pe******ia, hidden in the continued coverup and denial by the Roman Catholic Church, an atrocity exposed at length in The Boston Globe. It is the story of determined reporters who, after stumbling upon the depth of the situation, ceaselessly investigated it despite multiple warnings to stop. It is not an easy movie to view.
Some movie-goers might well leave the theater bitterly disappointed in a denomination rooted in Christianity, birthed in its waters, confirmed in its spirit, and married to its tradition and values. Others might depart with a determination to put it all into effortless perspective. Sin can be found everywhere and in every one. This is not an easy pill to swallow. It is not limited to one denomination or to one segment of society. We can wring our
hands in desperation while maintaining a sense of futility. We can rant and rave about ‘those people’ and deny our own frailty. We can seek alternate facts to soften the blow or, worse yet, deflect it by ignoring the log in our eye and seeking the splinter in another’s eye. Response becomes a conundrum. It was for me. I knew I was both saddened to the core and equally angry at the reality of what I was seeing and hearing. It gave proof to my night that this terrible flag was still flying! Then, I took a second look. It happened as I was preparing for the weekly Bible session I facilitate. The chosen readings centered on God’s presence in
our lives, especially as noted by the prophet Isaiah, God’s messenger Paul, and the community of the evangelist John. I am always amazed at the relevance of Scripture in our lives today, but this time the awe was overwhelming.
The first words I read were those of Isaiah, “For Zion’s sake, I will not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet until her vindication shines forth
like the dawn and her victory like a burning torch.” All I saw, in my mind’s eye, were the faces of the Spotlight troupe of The Boston Globe. They would not be silent or quiet until the vindication of the multiple victims…survivors…was a shining force in the darkness of their anguished suffering. Threats of dismissal would not deter them. Long, painful hours of labor would not deter them. Doors slammed in their faces would not deter them. The
profound sorrow which accompanied discovery would not deter them. Accusations of bias would not deter them. They would continue their pursuit of justice, their recovery of truth, until the abused ones no longer felt forsaken or desolate but would know God’s delight once more. They would continue until the name ‘victim’ would be replaced by ‘victor’….not over another human
being, but over the oppressive shame and blame which held them captive and diminished. For a newspaper with a readership 53 % of whom are Roman Catholic, this was a daunting task. For tenacious reporters, it was also a daring test of their ability to ride the waves of an immense tsunami.
Veiled comments were offered, indicating the best process of working together would be to leave well enough alone. Those remarks found a
counterpoint in an ethic grounded in the decision to stand alone, despite the cost. The solitary stance became a spotlight of its own. It evoked statements
like: “It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a village to abuse one.” Everyone was involved. Everyone is always involved, recognized or not. There was enough recrimination to be spread, lest anyone feel superior or without taint. Earlier newspaper reports had been hidden—and lost—in back pages. Volumes of information were dismissed as trash or exaggerated reports.
Loyalty became the core virtue without any questions regarding its object. Would loyalty demand avoidance…or denial…or suppression of memories? Would it declare that ‘one was only doing one’s job’? Would loyalty end in death—or life?
Clearly, the cause would not be served well if this were to be a vendetta against individuals, a relentless hunt to eliminate evil by killing someone’s reputation or standing in the community. Truth and justice would best be served when the focus remained on seeking systemic change. To do anything other would be to derive pleasure in achieving revenge. Such action demeans
everyone and places virtue in vice. The beam of the spotlight must be restricted to a single focus.
And so it was…and is. The focus was not on the pe******ia or
ephebophilia or even on s*xual abuse. It was not solely on an institutional coverup. The focus remains on another evil, another ill: the malice of silence.
Isaiah was accurate. We cannot be silent. We cannot be quiet until vindication shines forth like the dawn and victory like a burning torch. Eli Weisel once remarked, “There is no vindication or victory in silence. I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the
tormented.” The spotlight is now on us, all of us everywhere. Its beam shines brightly in the darknesses in which we find ourselves. It shines with startling brilliance to allow sight and vision; courage and conviction. It warms the heart with the heat of a determined effort to listen to another’s pain to hear another’s hurt. It lights the way to open doors of understanding. When we allow light to shine in the limits of darkness, we become spotlights of embracing grace. All is revealed. Goodness comes
into view. Insidious silence ends in a torrent of truth.
