Customer Reviews

Deliver Us from Evil

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1 star:		(6)

 

 

Oliver O'Grady is a pedophile who preyed on girls and boys for almost thirty years, was sentenced to fourteen years in prison for his crimes, served seven, and is now living in Ireland where he doesn't need to register anywhere as a sex offender (and indeed, the family he's currently living with knows nothing of his past - although I gather they do now), and lives in semi-comfort from an annuity provided to him by the Catholic church.

Oh, and he was a priest. A Catholic priest.

Oh, yeah, and his diocese was fully aware of his pedophilia, may have been aware of it prior to his donning the robes, and shuffled him around from parish to parish, in one instance even promising the police that in his next position he would not have contact with children. On that last one, they lied. His "next position" placed him in full charge of nearly half a county of Catholics.

What was most surprising to me while watching this documentary, presented evenly and without prejudice by Amy Berg (and nominated for an Oscar for Best documentary), was that I was only mildly surprised by most of the information presented. At the end of the film we are told that a bishop who held several positions of office in the diocese during O'Grady's "tenure", Bishop Mahoney, now presides over a diocese where there are more than five hundred and fifty (yes - 550) pending charges against priests for pedophilia. And O'Grady's annuity is likely a payoff for his silence. Were he to testify to what HE knows regarding what the DIOCESE knew (they claim to know little), we assume that the diocese, Bishop Mahoney, and countless other heads would roll. How comforting to know that an organization beset with pedophiles can still buy itself a bit of peace and quiet.

The documentary is comprised of a number of interviews with victims, victim's family members, depositions given by Bishop Mahoney and a Monsignor, commentary from lawyers for the victims family, a theologian, a psychologist specializing in priest abuse, explanations from Thomas Doyle (a former priest who was fired from two positions presumably because he spoke up for the rights of the victims), all of which is interspersed with a long interview with the pedophile himself: Oliver O'Grady.

O'Grady will strike you as charming and affable, and until you hear evidence given that he physically molested an infant (this means insertion, and not with his finger), you're almost willing to buy his reformed act. You'll hear testimony from victim's families that he charmed his way into their homes, even sleeping with a parent on one occasion, to get closer to his victims. It seems that he spent more time maneuvering and grooming his victims than he did ministering - he admits he wasn't much of a counselor, something for which families often turn to their priests. In the end, he will appear insouciant.

While I said that not much surprised me, it doesn't mean the material didn't move me. The comments from one father brought tears of rage to my chest. He railed against the priest, against the church, finally denouncing his belief in God (to which his daughter, the victim, cried), and one can hear the guilt pounding in his soul. His family allowed O'Grady to spend the night at his house, and while everyone else was asleep, O'Grady was in their daughter's bedroom, molesting her, starting at the age of five. I tried to imagine what that would feel like, and couldn't.

One wonders what it will take before real reform in the Catholic church occurs. If it happens tomorrow, it's too late, but for the thousands who aren't being protected right now, let's hope.

I don't cry easily, but there are scenes in this movie that tear your heart out and you will probably never forget. This is definitely not a film for everyone. You can see, in all its emotional rawness, the toll pedophilia takes on a victim and their family: the shame, the self-blame, and the loss of faith. These scenes are in contrast with interviews with O'Grady himself. If you met O'Grady on the street, one's impression would probably be of a kindly, old Irish gentlemen who may have done a few wrong things in his life. But behind this gentlemenly veneer is a monster who is so egotistical that he believes his former victims would like to reconcile with him. Of course, the other character in the film is the Catholic Church, which cannot seem to grasp that you can't enable pedophiles and still serve the community in good faith. The Church comes off as egotistical as O'Grady: we need to hide these dirty deeds in order to present a nice face to the public and help them along on salvation.

The one criticism of the film I had is the psychological speculation on why priests abuse. This is just theorizing by the psychological community and detracts from the rest of the film. Instead it comes off as an agenda for priests to marry. The film would be better served by sticking to the story: priest abuse and enabling by the Catholic Church.

I find it odd that Tom Tamberg claims that the Church is also a victim of O'Grady. Such a statement might be believeable if the O'Grady case was an isolated incident, but the pattern of abuse and denial by the Church over a wide variety of pedophile cases makes any claim completely incredible. Instead Tamberg's arguments belong in the pile with the rest of the refusals to take responsibility, which is why this endemic pedolphilia problem arose in the first place.

Maybe it's not fair for me to review a film I was honored to both edit and serve as one of the producers. But no less fair than the first review -- scribed by Tod Tamberg, the official spokesperson for the archdiocese of Los Angeles.

I won't pick apart his "facts" one by one. Director Amy Berg has already done so, numerous times in the press.

The only one I'll highlight is a statement which best serves as an example of how far some will go to disparage the film and director:

Mr. Tamberg claims above that Amy Berg used "special effects... placing O'Grady at a playground full of children". Why or how he came to that conclusion is pure fantasy. O'Grady was really there. In Ireland. Free. And able to roam near children, un-supervised. Amy Berg chose to document this on camera because the story needs to be brought to public attention. The shot causes outrage because the situation is outrageous. And the only special effect at play is the illusion Mr. Tamberg wishes to cast forth -- that this film is "entertainment" and that the long-standing horrific problem of pedophile priests in the Catholic church is a "conspiracy theory".

Amy and the producers of this documentary, including one who is a practicing Catholic, were adamant about keeping the story fair, factual and accurate.

For those who see the film, you will be inspired by the incredible words, wisdom and leadership of Catholic Priest Thomas Doyle. He is our hero and in my personal opinion, a better spokesperson.

Matthew Cooke
Editor / Producer
Deliver Us From Evil

Well, I am neither the film's editor (as the previous reviewer admits to being) nor a representative of the Catholic Church (as the first reviewer admits to being), but I can unequivocally say this is one of the absolute best documentaries I have ever, ever seen!!! It very methodically unfolds the horrific story of a pedophile priest named Fr. O'Grady who sexually abused (in the most despicable ways) small children over the course of nearly a quarter century. The Catholic Church's official response was to not respond, at least to the claims of victims, but to respond to the potential dynamite of O'Grady's presence in various parishes by shipping him to a new parish whenever things got too hot. And, or course, at each new parish he would start the process of ruining lives all over again.

What makes this film so compelling is that O'Grady actually agreed to participate in its making and thus has a substantial presence in the unraveling of its complex web. Believe me when I say this man is a monster of monumental proportions, but his story is not so black and white. We learn he was sexually abused as a child and naturally conclude that his abusive actions toward others are deeply informed by his own sexually violated past. This effort at contextualizing an otherwise hideous man is a smart move on the part of the filmmaker - it softens the blow of O'Grady's repulsive tendencies, which are hard to take at times

The interviews of victims and their families is gut-wrenching. I sobbed many times. What a terrible thing for anyone to go through. And the lasting effects are more than tragic.

I just love how the first reviewer is trying so hard to trash this film. But throughout his long tirade he fails to mention that the Church refused to participate in the making of DELIVER US FROM EVIL in any way, shape or form! It's a little late to whine about how this film isn't factual and how it's being so mean to the poor, misunderstood Catholic Church (a church that is expected to pay over one billion dollars in lawsuit settlements against pedophile priests)! Give me a break!

This is one of the most powerful documentaries you will ever see. I predict it will not only get an Academy Award nomination, it will also be the film to beat. You must see it!

At a particularly emotional and dramatic point in "The Magdalene Sisters," a woman, who had just been raped by a priest relentlessly shouts at him as he walks away: "You are not a Man of God, You are not a Man of God..." over and over and over.
I thought of this mind numbing scene as I watched "Deliver Us from Evil": itself a chilling examination in general of the Catholic Church's policies when confronted with child abuse among their priests and specifically about
Father Oliver O'Grady's sexual rampage across the Central California area during the 1970's and 1980's.
O'Grady was eventually jailed, released after 7 years and is now living in Ireland a free man. He is featured prominently in this documentary and his contribution, i.e. his testimony/comments are so matter-of-fact and the litany of his rapes and seductions so vile that you leave the theater disgusted at both he and the Catholic Church's handling of this and all other abuse cases pending.
"Deliver Us from Evil" is difficult to watch as well as difficult to listen to as O'Grady's victims describe their rapes at his hands. But the worst thing I think is a scene involving the father of a victim, who allowed O'Grady to stay over night in his house and unknowingly gave him full access to his daughter...sobbing, cursing, obviously emotionally spent and disgusted, yelling: "After this, I do not believe there is a God."

Amy Berg's documentary DELIVER US FROM EVIL presents a devastating and unnerving indictment of the American Catholic Church's persistent refusal to deal aggressively with child sexual abuse by some of its priests. Berg's story focuses not on the widely reported problems of the Boston area archdiocese but rather that of Los Angeles, and her central figure is Father Oliver O'Grady. From the opening scenes where Berg intentionally avoids showing her subject's face, O'Grady slowly emerges as a serial predator and child rapist who utterly fails to accept personal responsibility of his actions or acknowledge their horrific effects on his victims. At his seemingly most reflective moment, the best he can muster is an affectless, third person statement that, "It should not have happened."

DELIVER US FROM EVIL presents its case through the eyes of three victims: Ann Jyono and her parents Bob and Maria, Nancy Sloan, and a young man ironically named Adam. We meet Ann and Nancy as adult women, Ann living in Chicago unmarried and childless as an apparent consequence of the assaults propogated by Father Ollie as the kids knew him. Their stories not only build the case against the wayward parish priest, they also enable us to view at first-hand the terrible after-effects of these events on the victims and their families. Further explanation and background comes from O'Grady's former pastor Case Degroot, as well as from Father Tom Doyle, a priest who lobbies ceaselessly on behalf of victims of priests' sexual abuse, Mary Gail Frawley-O'Dea, a clergy abuse psychologist, and John Manly, attorney for yet another victim who chose not to appear on film. Berg mixes these individuals effectively, intercutting their commentary with the victims' stories and interviews of Father O'Doyle, now living free and unrestricted in Ireland.

As the film progresses, Father O'Grady actually evolves into something of a sympathetic figure. He clearly has deep-seated psychological problems that led him to disassociate himself from his actions; he was a man who needed help and never got it. Not surprisingly given her journalistic background, Ms. Berg reserves her venom for the Catholic hierarchy in the Los Angeles diocese, especially its now-Cardinal Roger Mahony. It is this group who become the film's true evildoers, failing to manage Father O'Grady, sweeping his behavior under the rug, transferring him from one diocese to unsuspecting others, obstructing police investigations, and suffering convenient memory lapses under subpoened testimony.

Berg builds her case against Father O'Grady and the Los Angeles diocese a step at a time, bringing her story's emotional level to an emotional climax through Ann Jyono and her parents. A follow-on trip to the Vatican by the Jyonos, Nancy Sloan, and Adam to deliver a letter to the Pope adds a further sense of unresolved conflict but proves to be far less than the cathartic experience its organizer, Father Doyle, had hoped it to be.

DELIVER US FROM EVIL gains its greatest emotional impact from the jarring disparity between Father O'Grady's casual passivity and the heart-wrenching recollections of his victims. Still, Director Berg saves her three most devastating revelations for the end of her story. One of the three can be revealed here: that President George W. Bush, at the Vatican's request, has granted immunity from prosecution to the current Pope, Benedict, with regard to clergy sexual abuse cases in the U.S. The other two surprises - one concerning Father O'Grady and the other concerning the Los Angeles diocese under Cardinal Mahony's watch - will be left for the viewer to discover in this moving and immensely powerful documentary film.

this is a must see movie for catholic and non-catholic. go ahead watch this film for those who have not seen this movie it will open your eyes. I feel sorry for all the victims and my prayers for them that they will have peace in life and healing and love and strenght.

It was bad enough that Oliver O'Grady was moved from one parish to another in California, then carted off to Ireland to roam scot-free after having molested hundreds of kids. It was bad enough that these kids continued to suffer into adulthood, and that their parents suffer along with them. It's bad enough that the church gives O'Grady a frikking pension! But do you want to know what's worse? Roger Mahony approved the transfers, knew of the abuse, and has never served time in jail. What is he if he is not an accomplice? He is every bit as guilty as the priests he has protected. Where is the justice?

For Catholics, this shows what the corporate underbelly of the Church actually looks like. It illustrates the twisted business ethics of the Church, and the inhuman calculus that seems to regulate the heart and soul of the Catholic Church, as it exists as an ongoing business, which for all practical purposes is morally indistinguishable from any seamy American/International corporation like Haliburton or AIG.

It brings to light the sex abuse scandal in the catholic church leading all the way up to the current pope. I have lost what respect I had for the catholic religion as a whole, not the individuals, but the blind authority of the church. It is done in a way that does not further exploit the victims but honors them.