Left In Lowell

I know I should be working and packing, but I sat down tonight to watch a little bit of Showtime’s new movie, Our Fathers, and ended up watching until the end. The movie opens with the beginning of the Archdiocese of Boston sex abuse scandal, and ends with the resignation of Cardinal Law.

I was raised Catholic in New Hampshire, though by the time the scandal hit the airwaves, I had long ago left the Church. We were just becoming settled in Massachusetts when the story broke. You can find the Globe’s archives of their articles here. I remember the media storm, the formation of the laity group Voice of the Faithful in response to the coverup, the calls for Law to resign. I remember feeling sick to my stomach.

While all that is behind us, it behooves us to remember the victims of Church policy, and continue to work for justice in this world for all its vulnerable. Our Fathers is a good reminder, and that’ll have to stand as my review. With the election of Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI, and the alleged order he gave to cover up the sex abuse, it doesn’t pay to forget.