Based on Actual Events
Boston, MA - 1976
- How's that going?
- Mother's ballin' and
the uncle is pissed off.
She's not married?
Divorced, with 4 kids.
I guess the Father
was helping out.
Helping out?
- Hey, Mr. Burke, they're in
the back talking to the Bishop.
And Father?
We put him in the break room.
- Any press?
Some guy from the Citizen
but we sent him away.
None of the big papers.
Let's keep it that way.
Who's that?
Assistant D.A.
It's gonna be hard to keep
the papers from arraignment.
What arraignment?
- You can tell Father Geoghan
it won't be much longer.
Now Sheila, you know what
I'm going to work...
The Church does
serve to community...
But I give you
my personal guaranty...
that I'm going to take Father
out of the parish....
and this will
never happen again.
We'll just be
another moment Paul.
Of course Father.
Now Sheila, I'm going to give
you my personal card.
SPOTLIGH - Losing a good reporter...
...is always tough.
Boston Globe
Offices - July 2001
But losing one
of our best...
Well, to put it this
eloquently as I can.
It's a real
kick in the ass.
But, Robby here
has known Stewart...
...longer than most
of you been alive.
So I'll handed off to him.
- Robby.
Oh, well, thanks Ben.
I think.
Although I take issue...
...with your reference
to my seniority.
I will say that Stewart's
departure is specially...
painful for me, because...
For what?
Stewart, 20 years now?
Stewart's been more
than willing ...
to part with his money
at a poker table.
And, I've got
a kid in college.
Yeah, but I'm
gonna keep playing.
Oh, problem solved.
God speed then.
Now Stewart, I find the...
timing of your departure...
disconcerted.
A corner office...
sits empty.
The new editor
arrives on monday.
So I'm sorry buddy, but...
I got to ask you.
What the hell do you know?
How's the cake?
It's really good.
You saving yours?
No, that's for Mike.
I can't ever eat those things,
they are kinda depressing.
I know.
Did you see the numbers
from Washington?
Yeah, very interesting.
I'm not asking if the PD is
lying, I know they're lying.
All I'm asking who's behind it?
Ok, I get it,
you don't wanna talk.
No Dan, I'm not mad,
I'm hungry.
I've been talking to you
so long I didn't eat lunch.
So I'm gonna get
something to eat...
and I'll give you
an hour to decide...
whether you want to be on
the right side of this...
or read about it
like everybody else.
Bye Dan.
You think Cahill has something?
Maybe. I just don't think
the story is for us.
- Ben likes it?
- Yeah, it's not bad.
It's just not Spotlight.
- What's just not Spotlight?
- PD numbers.
- The numbers story, feels thin.
Oh, you got Cahill to talk?
No, but I will.
Good, then know if it's thin.
How did it go upstairs?
Ok, Robby gave a good speech.
Sure he did.
I heard Lubin and Conor
are going to the Times.
- C'mon, really?
- Yeah, I heard that.
They are leaching us.
Well, at least they are sending
us a guy from Miami to run things.
That should help.
Has Baron even
spent time in Boston?
He's never been here before.
Maybe we should buy him a map.
I have a friend down in Miami,
said he cut 15% of the stuff.
- Great.
- Hey Robby?
New boss coming in
to make some cuts?
I have no idea.
Aren't you saying none of them?
Yes I am.
So is it about spotlight?
I don't know Mike.
But I do know...
That Ben needs an answer on
that crime number story.
I'm telling you, I really don't
think that story is for us.
Mr. Baron.
Walter Robinson.
- Robby.
- Thanks for taking
a time of your...
- Oh, it's my pleasure.
- Appreciate it.
- What are you reading?
- Curse of the Bambino.
Oh, yeah.
Great book.
Globe has a season
tickets at Fenway...
once you settle in,
by the way.
Thank you.
To be honest, I'm, I'm not
much of baseball fan...
I'm just trying to get
the feel for the city.
Oh, yeah.
- So, you're originally from Boston?
- I am, born and raised, yeah.
A lot of the newsroom
is from here.
Really feels like ah...
like a local paper
in that way.
And did that
changed at all
after the paper were
sold to the Times?
- No. I don't think
that big impact.
- Good.
And... You're an editor
for the Spotlight team.
I prefer to think of myself...
as a player coach, but yes.
Are you familiar with the Spotlight?
No, not particularly.
Well, we are a 4 person
investigative team.
We report to
Ben Bradlee Jr. and...
we keep our work confidential.
- What are you working on now?
We just put out a
piece on a shouty...
constraction outfit
and right now...
we're really just trolling
around for our next story.
- How long does
that typically take?
- Hard to say,
a couple months.
- Couple months?
Yeah, we don't like to rush it.
Once we settle on the project...
we can spend a year
or more investigating.
- Is that a concern?
- Not necessarily.
But, from what I understand
leadership is to how an internet
is cutting into
the classified business.
And, I think I'm gonna need
to take a hard look at things.
So...
You anticipate more cuts?
I think it's safe
to assume so, but...
what I'm more focused
on right now is...
finding the way to make
this paper...
essential to its readers.
I like to think
it already is.
Fair enough. I just think
that we can do better.
- Mr. Bradlee.
- Hey.
- Saw the PD numbers, looks interesting?
- Yeah, there's something there.
- How long do you need?
- Another week.
- Where are you going?
- 10.30.
Since when?
- Technically I am an editor.
- Technically.
- Your sit down with
Baron go that well?
- I couldn't get
a read on him.
That's a first.
How about you?
Oh, he's a barrel of laughs.
Morning everyone.
Lets get started.
Do you want to say
something, Marty?
Sure.
Hello.
As most of you
know by now...
my name is Marty Baron.
I'm... delighted
to be here.
If you could tell me your
name as we go around...
that'd be helpful. Thank you.
- Ok, Peter.
- Peter Canellos, Metro.
I've got a major
big date closure...
- Hey, Steve.
- Mike.
Hey.
- Crappy game last night.
- Hm, they can't
even worth a nickel.
Listen, what's, what's Eileen
McNamara doing in 10.30?
You need something, Mike?
No. Just curious?
Go be curious somewhere else.
I got work to do.
- Ok Steve, see you.
- Yeah.
And it looks like Pedro is going
to be out till september 1st.
Jimmy says he could
be back this year,
but the doctor didn't
seem so sure.
Where is the pez opener?
- Is that everyone?
- Yes, that's it.
Ok, good, thank you.
Did everyone read Eileen
McNamara column this weekend?
- That's the Geoghan case?
- Yeah. What's the follow on that?
It's a column, what kind of
follow would you thinking?
Well, apparently this
priest molested kids...
in 6 different parishes
over the last 30 years.
- And the attorney
for the victims, Mr. ...
- Garabedian.
Thanks Eileen. Mr. Garabedian
says Cardinal Law...
found about it 15 years
ago and did nothing.
Yeah, I think that attorney
is a bit of crank...
and the Church
dismissed the claim.
He said, she said.
Whether Mr. Garabedian
is a crank or not...
he says he has documents
to prove that Cardinal knew.
And as I understand that those
documents are under a seal.
Ok, but the fact remains
that Boston priest...
abused 80 kids.
We have a lawyer...
who says he can prove
Law knew about it...
and we written all of...
2 stories in
the last 6 months.
This strikes me as
an essential story...
to a local paper,
I think that at very least...
we have to go through
those documents.
How would you
like to do that?
Well, I don't know
what the laws are here,
but in Florida,
we would go to Court.
You want to sue the Church?
Technically we wouldn't
sue the Church...
we'd file a motion to lift
the seal on those documents.
The Church would read
that as us suing them.
So will everybody else.
Good to know.
Gutsy call for a first day.
That's one word for it.
How do you think that's
gonna play down front?
I think Gilman's
gonna shit a brick.
- Hey.
- Door.
How did it go?
Well, Baron wants to sue for...
the sealed docs in
the Geoghan case.
Wants to sue the Church?
Hey, that's great!
We covered Geoghan when
the story broke 3 years ago.
Baron was still in Miami.
Thinking might have been
The Times then actually.
He wasn't here.
So do you think that sue
has a chance?
- Depend on the Judge.
- And what parish he belongs to.
Bradlee. Yeah. Ok.
Baron wants to talk to us.
Us?
Ok Jim, thank you.
Yes. Ok, thanks.
I've set up a meeting for
tomorrow with outside counselor.
- Jon Albano.
- Yeah.
Who's the Judge in this case?
- Constance Sweeney.
- Tough.
- Why is that?
- Good catholic girl.
So...
Judging from what
I've read, it doesn't seem...
like we've done the very thorough
investigation in the Geoghan case?
Is that right?
No. It's not.
We looked hard at Geoghan.
David Armstrong from Metro...
and Michael Polson
through Religion.
Ok, but... Just so
that I understand...
beyond our daily coverage,
we haven't commited any long
term investigative resources...
to the question whether or not
Cardinal Law knew about this.
No, we haven't.
- And that's the kind of
thing your team would do?
- Spotlight? Well yeah,
but we're still prospecting ...
the Boston PD story
I told you about.
- Could you set that aside?
- We could.
Marty, in past Spotlight's
had success in large part ...
because they picked
their own projects.
Would you consider
picking this one?
I don't know if he's
writing about you, but...
I will let him know you called.
Ok, bye.
- Hey.
- Hey, how did it go?
Ok. Baron wants us to
scrub the Geoghan case.
- That's great.
- Didn't we cover Geoghan?
There's a lawyer alleging
Cardinal Law knew about it.
Mitch Garabedian, right? - Yeah.
I covered him at the Court House.
Can you get to him?
I only interviewed him once,
he's kind of a character.
I like characters.
I'll take him.
Good, you take him.
Also we should
be talking to...
the lawyer who
repped the victims...
in the Porter case, Eric Macleish.
- That guy who is always on tv.
- The Porter case? Remind me.
- Yeah, Father Porter similar story.
Molested dozens of kids in
Fall River about 10 years ago...
So, we're driving to Boston PD?
I vote yes.
No, we should set that
aside for now. Listen.
I don't need to
tell you guys this...
we need to be more
discreet than usual.
Alright?
Everybody's gonna be interested
in this. Not just Herald.
We can't get Cardinal Law get on
this till we know what we have.
Good luck with that.
So when are you leaving?
The bus is picking us up at
Church parking lot at 9 o'clock.
- We got 40 going.
- And is Father Dominic going?
No, he says he's unlucky.
But luck has nothing
to do with it.
You know, last time
nana won $160.
- You gonna tell us?
- We don't even know
if there's a story yet.
Well, club's in Church.
There's gonna be a story.
Hey Lisa, could you pull all the
relative clips on that for me?
Yeah.
This is for Spotlight?
Just drop 'em off when
they're ready, thanks.
Excuse me, do you know where
the publishers office is?
Will do it.
How are you Marty, settling in?
Yeah, I think so.
Good. What can I do for you?
I'd like to challenge the protective
order in the Geoghan case.
You want to sue the Catholic Church?
We're just filing
the motion, but... Yes.
- You think it's that important?
- Yes, I do.
Because...
Obviously the Church will
fight us very hard on this.
Which won't go unnoticed
by our subscriber base,
53% of them are catholic.
I think they'll be interested.
Ok.
Marty, people will
probably contact you...
about face to face with Cardinal,
it's customary.
Yeah, they already have,
it's set up for next week.
I wouldn't mention this.
Hello?
Hello?
Can I help you?
Hi, I'm Mike Rezendes
from Boston Globe,
I'm here to see Mitchell Garabedian.
- He's on the call, please have a sit.
- Ok.
Alright, I'm listening, go ahead.
Ok.
Bill, where the hell
are those papers?
I asked you to put
them on my desk!
The famous Walter Robinson
in my conference room.
Good to see you again Eric.
Sacha Pfeiffer, Eric Macleish.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
Youd don't play golf, do you?
- No. - Good. Your colleague
here, took some money of me...
at the charity event last year.
It was a very lucky putt, I...
actually had my eyes closed,
by the way.
So, how can I help you guys?
You are familiar with
the Geoghan case?
Sure, 80 plaintiffs.
All of them individual cases,
Garabedian must be swimming.
Yeah, any allegation
against Cardinal Law?
Yeah, it's tricky.
This is what you need to understand,
these are shitty cases.
Statute of limitation is only
3 years, and most of these...
victims don't come forward
till long after that.
- Why is that?
- Well they're kids, you know?
Guilt, shame...
And most of these kids
come from tough neighbourhood,
nobody wants to admit
this kind of thing, so...
you're screwed on
the time moment, and...
even if you argue your way around that,
the charitable immunity statute...
caps damages at 20 grand.
20 grand, for molesting a child?
That is the way
the system is set up, yes.
The Church is tough, so...
your best shot is to
try this cases in the press.
Like I did on Porter.
But you know, most of the
victims they don't wanna...
have anything do to with TV ...
and Mitch isn't exactly
a people person.
Yeah, half Garabedian can kids
victims just go before the press...
that is really...
That's right, and he has
a long road ahead of him.
My guess is, he doesn't
have anything on Law.
- What do you think,
he's bluffing?
- I think he's grandstanding...
to cut a better deal.
- Seems a bit reckless.
- Have you met Mitch Garabedian?
I asked you to
write me that motion Bill,
I didn't ask you to file it.
Hey Bill...
Hi.
- Who are you?
- I'm Mike Rezendes from Boston Globe...
I had an appointment with you,
about an hour ago.
I can't talk to you, I'm busy.
Sharon!
She went for coffee,
she said she'll be right back.
I'm not following up
on an article.
- The one in the Phoenix?
- No, in the Globe.
- Did you see the one in the Phoenix?
- No, I didn't.
I thought it was very good,
I have a copy here somewhere.
It's alright, I'll track it down.
I'm actually
following up on a column...
that Eileen McNamara
wrote about your suit.
Suits, 84 of them.
It's not a class action,
you should get your facts straight.
No, you're right, I should.
So, I'm trying to get
some background information...
You are not
recording this, are you?
No, I wouldn't
do that without asking.
I can't show you
the Church documents...
if that's what you're after.
They're under seal.
Yeah, I know that.
Did you know that
they try to bring me up...
before the Massachusetts
Board of Bar Overseers 3 times?
They are watching me very closely.
- The Church?
- Yeah, the Church. Yeah.
They'd like to get me disbarred,
in fact...Put that away.
- Put it away.
- Sure.
I don't want you recording
this in any way, shape or form.
- Not on paper, not on tape, nothing.
- Ok.
In fact, I probably
shouldn't even be speaking to you.
So...
Look, Mr. Garabedian,
I know there's...
things, you cannot tell me, but...
I also know there's a story here..
and I think it's an important story.
- I already talked to the Phoenix.
- Yeah, there's a reason I didn't see it.
Nobody reads a Phoenix anymore...
they're broke,
they don't have any power.
The Globe does.
If we cover the story,
everybody will hear about it.
The Church thinks
in centuries, Mr. Rezendes.
Do you think your paper
has resources to take that on?
Yeah, I do.
But if you don't
mind me asking... Do you?
I can't talk to you right now,
Mr. Rezendes. I'm very, very busy.
- Sharon.
- Thank you.
Yeah, yeah.
Can I at least talk to
some of the clients?
Victims? I'd really like to do that.
- call me tomorrow, I got to think about it.
- Thank you.
Yeah, yeah.
A FAMILIAR PATTERN
Porter faces Mass. court
as '87 abuse claim arises
- I got more clips from the library.
- Leave 'em right there.
Are you guys doing
a story on the Church?
No, we are not doing
a story on the Church.
Matt. You find anything
on this guy Phil Saviano?
No. Who is he?
He's part of a victims organization.
Kurkjian did a story on him
right after the Porter case.
As of victims organization?
Yeah. It's called SNAP.
It's Survivors Network
of those Abused by Priest.
Chrommy acronym.
- Want me to track him down?
- Yeah, bring him in.
How much longer do you need
to get through the clips?
I mean, a few days,
there's a lot.
- Lisa is still sending it more.
- Ok.
Hey guys, I think I got
another Priest.
Liam Barrett. Molested
some kids in Philly,
and was moved to Boston, did
the same thing and was moved again.
Really?
That sounds like Geoghan.
Is that one of our clips?
Yeah, by our Lance Diego written
in 1987, must have been back...
when he worked on religion.
- Was there any follow?
- Not much, only show one piece.
The Church settled the case.
- Don't you know Jim Sullivan?
- Yeah. Why?
Looks like the Church
bought him an ....
Jesus. Should be Manning
on the ball in field.
- Why do you even
bother with that thing?
- It distracts me from the game.
You know what else
is good for that?
Oh, yeah. Good idea, buy a round.
I'll be right back.
- Anybody want any food?
- A hotdog.
- So you guys making any progress?
- Absolutely, it's a good story.
Why? Because you're another left
catholic pissed off at the Church?
- We got a lot of good stuff.
- Like what?
I'm just watching the game. Omerta.
- They got another priest, Liam Barrett.
- We reported it.
I'm just saying, we did.
Ok, but this guy
was shuffled a lot...
from parish to parish
every few years ...
just like Geoghan and Porter.
I think there's a pattern.
Sounds thin.
What else you got?
Sacha's got another guy from
a victims organization. Phil Saviano.
- From SNAP?
O boy, we reported on him too.
I thought you were
watching a game, Steve.
- That guy is pretty paint up, Mike.
- We did a couple stories on him.
- Guy would not stop writing letters.
- He wants a holy war.
- So, he's not worth talking to?
- Where are you on Garabedian?
I'm working on it.
Robby say Macleish
thinks he's bluffing.
- I think there's
something there Ben.
- Get me something solid
or I'm taking you off him.
I don't want us chasing
our tails on this.
Stay away from that trap.
You couldn't reach that trap
in a million years partner.
- I could reach that trap before.
- Yeah, now Paul.
- How we doin'?
- Good.
We're two up in the front.
- How's that new editor working out?
- Well, he doesn't like baseball.
But, he seems like a smart guy.
Yeah, I read an article
about him, said he's a...
first jewish
editor of The Globe.
Must be the slow news day.
- He got a family, this guy?
- No, he is not married.
- Divorced?
- I don't think so, no.
So, the new editor of
The Globe is not married man...
of the jewish fate
who hates baseball.
- Yeah.
- So you give him to Ben.
It's Brad for crying out loud.
Didn't raise his hand
fast enough I guess.
Hey by the way, I've been
reading about this priest...
Father Barrett, said you
were involved with that?
Barrett yeah, bad egg.
Leaks that extra help we pitched in.
Victims said
Cardinal Law knew about...
Barrett, when he came
to Philly. Is that true?
You know I can't talk
about the case Robby.
Off the record?
Off the record,
I can't talk about it.
- This related to a lawsuit?
- You know about that?
Look.
I don't know this guy Baron...
or what his agenda is,
frankly I don't care.
I just don't wanna see
you taking bullet for.
I think you're away.
- Right over here.
- Lets go, lets go.
So the other day I was
on the world wide web.
Anything you wanna know,
it's right there.
Now, I have to admit
that as a priest,
this makes me
a little nervous.
Should I be worried about
job security?
I don't think so.
You see... Knowledge is one thing,
... but fate. Fate is another.
- Hey.
- Hey.
- So should we golfing or something?
- "Golfing" is not a verb.
And I couldn't get a tee time.
Is that what they
call it, tee time?
They also call it
a leasure activity.
You oughta try it Mike.
- I do, I run.
- Yeah, you run to work.
So why are you here today?
Going over this clips of Saviano.
Yeah, Ben and Steve
thinks it's a dead end.
They gave me a bunch of
crap about it at the game.
- Yeah, Ben emailed me.
- He did?
- Yeah... He said we
should let it go.
- What do you wanna do?
- We bring Saviano in.
- So, just ignore those guys?
I think we got to start
ignoring everybody on this one.
I'm good at that.
Huh.
You think Marty has any idea
what's coming down to plank?
No, I don't think
he cares either.
That's refreshing.
Yeah.
Unless he's wrong.
I have always been fascinated
with the newspaper business.
I used to sit in on
the lectures with...
the Nieman fellows,
when I was at Harvard.
I, I read that you
were an editor once.
Yes. That was
a very long time ago.
The Mississippi Register. Small.
Diocese in newspaper.
But for 30 year old Pastor
it was a big responsibility.
Too much of times.
How so?
I was close with
the Everist brothers,
we took a stand on civil rights.
Our readership was not pleased.
They saw me as meddling outsider.
I can imagine.
Tough sit to sit in,
especially in a small town.
I think you'll find that Boston's...
still a small town too, Marty.
In any ways.
But if I can be of any help, Marty,
don't hesitate to ask.
I find that the city
flourishes...
when its grand
institution works together.
Thank you. Personally,
I'm of the opinion...
that for the paper to
best perform its function...
it really needs to stand alone.
of course. But my
offer still stands.
Thank you.
Come in.
Thank you, Maureen.
Little gift, Marty.
Think of it as a Cardinals
guide to the city of Boston.
CATHOLIC CHURCH
CATECHISM
- I'm here to see Sacha Pfeiffer.
- Your name?
- Phil Saviano.
- Ok, just a minute.
So, am I first
survivor you talk to?
- Yeah, sure you are.
- Ok, well...
First of all, let me say thank
you for having me in today.
And I want you to know
that you'll have...
the full cooperation of
my organization, SNAP.
How many members are in
your organization Phil?
We had 11, at our
last chapter meating...
No 10, Karen just moved.
You had a woman
in your group?
Of course there was a woman,
they don't discriminate,
not when it comes to abuse.
And this has nothing
to do with being gay.
What this is, is priest
using the collar to rape kids.
Kids, boys and girls.
PHIL SAVIANO
AGE 11
I was 11.
And I was preyed upon
by Father David Holly.
In Wester.
And I don't mean prayed for,
I mean preyed upon.
Are any of you catholic?
I was raised catholic,
now I go to my wife's
Presbyterian Church.
I'm lapsed, I go to Church
of my grandmother sometimes.
It's safe to say we were
all raised catholic, but now...
Not so much.
Ok, well let me tell you...
When you are poor
kid from a poor family,
religion counts for a lot.
And when a priest pays attention
to you, it's a big deal.
He ask you to collect a hymnals,
or take out a trash,
you feel special.
It's like God asking for help.
Maybe it's a little weird when
he tells you a dirty joke...
but now you got
a secret together.
So you go along.
Then he shows you a porno mag.
And then you go along,
and you go along...
And you go along.
Until one day he asks you to
jerk him off or give him a blowjob.
And so you go
along with that too.
Because you feel trapped,
because he has groomed you.
How do you say no
to a God, right?
See...
It is important to
understand that this is not...
just physical abuse,
it's spirital abuse too.
Then when a priest
does this to you,
he robs you of your faith.
So you reach for the bottle,
or the needle.
Or if those don't work
you jump of a bridge.
That's why we call
ourselves survivors.
Have you read Jason Barry's book,
he wrote about
a Gauthe case in Louisiana.
- That's G...
- G-a-u-t-h-e.
I talked to Richard Sipe,
he worked in one of...
the Church's treatment center.
He is an ex-priest.
Married a nun.
Yeah. This is his testimony
from the Cass case.
Phil, what's a treatment center?
It's where they send priests
when they get caught...
this is all right
here in the box.
I sent this all to
you guys 5 years ago.
To The Globe?
Who did you send it to?
I don't wanna say who,
but they said that
they weren't interested.
- But Phil... We did run a couple
stories on you, I saw them in the clips...
Yeah, but to be completely
frank it wasn't enough.
You guys gotta understand.
This is big.
This is not just Boston, this is
a whole country, it's a whole world.
And it goes right
up to the Vatican.
- Do you have any proof ot that, Phil?
- No, not yet.
But think about it,
there are so many of them.
How else could they if never saw one.
- So many what?
- Priests!
Priests! I know 13
right here in Boston.
You know 13 priest in Boston
who have molested children?
Yeah, why do you keep
repeating everything I say?
- I just like to clarify things.
- Maybe you should've
clarified it 5 years ago...
when I sent you
all of this stuff,
it's all right here.
- May I use your bathroom?
- Yeah, sure Phil.
Come on.
Well... What do you think?
- The guy's got an agenda, that's for sure.
- You think?
He's obviously been through
a lot, but he's smart and...
it's right about 13 priests.
Yeah, and might be
a big if with this guy.
Do a background check on him.
And follow up some of
the other survivors of this group.
I'll track on this
ex-priests and Sipe.
Ok, but stay on Garabedian,
that's more important.
Garabedian, what
a pain in the ass.
You can be a pain
in the ass, Mike.
Mitchell, what a surprise.
How are you?
- I'm fine Mr. Rezendes.
- Good, you know, I've never
heard back from you...
I left you a couple of messages.
I know. I've been very busy,
I don't have time for calls.
Geez, I'm sure you don't.
Listen, listen Mitch.
Let me talk to
the couple of victims.
You consider on an interview...
and if you're not happy,
you can kill it.
I spoke to my clients and they
don't want to be in the press.
I'm sorry.
I get that, but I don't
need to name their names.
- I don't believe you Mr. Rezendes.
- I'm sure you don't.
- Listen Mitchell.
- Mr. Rezendes, please...
I'm not writing a profile here,
I'm working on something bigger.
Bigger? I don't know
what that means.
I'm not supposed to tell you this
but I'm digging a run for Spotlight.
Spotlight is on this?
Yeah, we're looking into it
but you gotta help me.
You gotta let me talk
to some of these victims, please.
Please.
- Come back tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.
- Thank you.
- Ms. Pfeiffer.
- Joe.
Hi.
- Shit.
- That's ok.
- I'm sorry. Please sit.
- No problem. Thank you.
- Is this table ok?
- This is perfect.
I had a muffin while I was
waiting, two actually.
I eat when I'm nervous.
I did that too actually.
I hope I'm not late.
Phil told me 1 o'clock.
No, you're fine. I got
here early. About na hour.
Would you mind if I took some notes?
Would that be alright?
You don't mind if I take
some notes, do you?
You got to use my name?
No.
I'm not if you don't
want me to, no.
I just had a kid, he's only 1...
but I'm not sure I want
him to know about this.
Sure, I get that.
You can stop this
interview at any time Patrick.
- Alright?
- Ok.
Alright.
- You got it with your notes...
- Ok, so...
Where'd you live
when it first happen?
In the Projects,
over in Hyde Park.
- Over by the Stop & Shop?
- Yeah, you know it?
Yeah, I drove a cab for a few years?
Opened really bad coffee, right?
Yeah, I guess.
How old were you,
when it happened?
I was 12.
Just after my dad killed himself.
- Oh, geez.
- He was a real piece of shit.
And my mom she wasn't
so stable either.
- How do you mean?
- I mean she was nuts.
- She was schizophrenic.
- Same shit.
When did you first meet Geoghan?
Well, my sister... she saw him
over at the Dunkin' Donuts...
tells him about my old man
passing and he rushed right over.
And there was this nun sister
Barbara, and she ran this group...
for kids from troubled families.
- Where is that?
- San Ambrose in Dorchester.
Ok.
She's the one who
introduced me to Father Shanley.
He was a street priest,
long hair, very hip.
- He invited me to his inhabit in Back Bay.
- Where in Back Bay?
- Beacon street.
- Beacon, ok.
Are you from here?
No, I grew up in Ohio
but my mom is from Southie.
I see you got it. I've
never even seen Back Bay.
So, what happened on
that first visit Joe?
Well it was very nice at first.
Very funny. Very casual.
And I think he
could tell I was gay.
So he showed me
this mobile he had,
thing over the babies crib.
But with different words,
homosexual, transexual, bisexual.
Ok. And did you know that you
were gay at that time, Joe?
Yes, but that wasn't information
I'm sharing with anybody.
Not in Dorchester.
Ok.
So, what happened after
he showed you the mobile?
Well, I was a little freaked out.
I think he could tell...
So he said, you
know what'll help...
is if we play strip poker.
Of course I lost.
And thing went on from there.
Can you tell me
specifically what happened?
Specifically... He molested me.
Joe, I think that the language
is going to be so important here.
We can't sanitize this, just
saying 'molest' isn't enough.
People need to know
what actually happened.
- We should probably get these to go.
- Right.
Geoghan shows up and my mom,
you know she's...
She's thrilled. And...
this was like God
showing up, you know?
Sure, right.
So what happened then?
You really wanna hear this shit?
Yeah, yeah Patrick, I do.
He offers to take me
to get icecream.
- He's a priest.
I'm a kid so I go.
- Sure.
So we're driving home, and he...
He starts petting my leg.
You know and then...
His hand just...
slides right up and...
he grabs my dick, alright?
I just froze up,
I was fuckin' petrified...
I couldn't move.
I didn't know what to do,
I was just a little kid.
Yeah.
You know I never even
touched my icecream.
Just melted down my arm.
Did you...hm?
Did you see him
again after that?
Yeah.
Alright, that's good,
let's stop there for now.
Sure.
He said he was a way to make me
more comfortable with my body.
So, what happened after that?
He took off his clothes and
he said I've been so depressed,
but maybe you can cheer me up
and give a blowjob.
classic guy!
- And did you?
- Yeah.
I know what you
must be thinking, like...
why would I ever do that?
To some creepy guy who's
30 years older than me, but...
but we have to understand is that
this is the first time in my life,
that someone told me
that it was ok to be gay.
And it was a priest.
So you had oral sex?
Did you have intercourse?
Yes, not then, but later.
It really messed me up.
I'm sober now, but that,
that was the beginning of it all .
It's very confusing, you know?
To be introduced to
sex like that and then,
and then to be attracted to men.
I'm sorry. I knew I was
gonna do this. Oh I'm sorry.
Don't be sorry.
It's ok Joe, it's ok.
Of course, there is
a Church right there.
And a playground.
Joe, did you ever
try and tell anyone?
Like who, a priest?
- Can I use your phone?
- Yeah, sure, you
know where it is.
You can use my name if you want.
Thanks, Patrick.
Don't thank me, just get
this assholes, will ya?
He's one of the lucky ones.
He is still alive.
- Do you want a cup of tea, Sacha?
- I'm ok nana. Thanks.
- Hello?
- Hi, Joe, it's Sacha Pfeiffer.
- Hi Sacha, how are you?
- I'm good, thanks.
Listen, Joe, I just want
a follow up on one thing.
You talked to Phil Saviano
about all of this, right?
Yeah, I did, I went to
a couple of SNAP meetings.
And did Phil ever suggest
you to do anything about it?
No, the meetings weren't
really about that.
We meet a couple of them
canonical lawyers, but
- I didn't think it was worth it.
- Why not?
There were just so many forms to
fill out, it was overwhelming, you know.
And he said he could only
get me a small settlement, so...
- Who said that?
- The lawyer told me that.
So, you did go
and see a lawyer?
Yeah, but I didn't
end up using him, so...
I didn't think
it was important, I'm sorry.
- I'm not trying to hide anything.
- No, I know, Joe.
Do you remember his name?
The lawyer?
No, but maybe
Phil would know?
The guy was on TV a lot
during the Porter case.
He was handsome.
- Was it Eric Macleish?
- Yeah, that's him. Macleish.
I thought he was
very handsome.
- Hey.
- Hey.
I was just in a newsroom...
Jugde Sweeney set
a date for the hearing.
- Really, when?
- In two weeks, in Springfield.
Canellos started a pool
of 10 bucks to get in.
Anyone picking The Globe?
He's only taking best if how
fast Sweeney rules against us.
- Robby.
- Hi, it's me.
- Did you got my message?
- I did.
Looks like Father Shanley
could be our fourth priest.
- Yeah, I think he is.
- Did you follow up on Macleish?
I just talked with Phil,
he said Macleish...
dealt with a number
of this cases.
- I guess he forgot to mention that.
- Yeah.
I'm gonna go to the courthouse
tomorrow, see if I can ...
find any cases he settled
against the Church.
Alright, call me
after yo do.
- Good night.
- Ok, good night.
Hey.
You on to a Jack?
Yeah, I'm late for dinner,
you wanna walk me out?
Sure.
- Jesus, does this
guy ever go home?
- Apparently not.
I got guys pull in till he does,
he's wearing over
the goddamn newsroom.
- Where are we on Geoghan?
- Yeah following up
on more victims.
- Hey I want to expend
the investigation. - Why?
We got fourth priest,
it might be as many as 13.
- 13?
- Yeah.
- Who's your source?
- Phil Saviano.
Oh, Jesus Christ Robby,
I told Mike...
I know, I know.
I know, I think Saviano
might be legit, Ben.
- You want to elaborate on that?
- No, not really.
It just feels like this thing
is stacking up. He's my guy.
- Ok.
- Ok, good, thank you.
Hello?
- Mr. Rezendes?
- Yeah, who is this?
It's Richard Sipe.
Oh, yeah, hey Richard,
how are you?
I'm good.
Thanks for calling.
Look... Phil Saviano
gave me your name,
I was wondering if I could
ask you a few questions?
- Of course, yeah.
- Great.
So, Phil told me that you
were working at one of...
the Church's treatment
centers in Baltimore?
Yes, the Seton
Psychiatric Institute.
It was run by
the Daughters of Charity.
And ...?
When was that, Richard?
Well, I started my psychotherapy
fellowship there in 1965.
And I was there for 5 years,
then I spend the next 30...
studying abusive priests
and their victims.
Really?
And that's been your sole focus?
Look Mike, the Church
wants us to believe that...
it's just a few bad apples.
It's much bigger
problem than that.
- How much bigger, Richard?
- Well, based on the research...
I would classify it as
a recognizable psychiatric phenomenon.
That's big?
- Hey, Mag.
- Hey.
If I wanted historical
data on a priest,...
parishes, sit he'd been asigned to,
where would I find it?
The Geoghan case? It's all in clips.
Lis has this classed material.
Yeah, what if it was for another priest,
the one that hadn't been in the papers.
- Looking at another priest?
- Who're you looking at?
Any ideas?
Come on, Matt.
You're not gonna tell me?
I got to get to
a meeting, thanks Mag.
Hey, D.
The Archdioceses puts
out the annual directory.
Every priest in parish.
That's great. This go back
any further than '98?
Oh yeah, going back to
the '80 in the mass.
The all night you
got to go to the BPL.
- The mass, ah? Thanks, Lisa.
- Bye.
He said the all target
is the same kind of kid.
Low income families,
absentee fathers,...
broken homes.
For guy like Geoghan, goes after
boys, not because he prefers them...
but because they are more
ashamed,less likely to talk.
And these guys are
predators, Robby.
I talked to Sipe.
Said he's seen dozens
of them in '60 in Seton.
He called it a "phenomenon".
- Why didn't he go public?
- He did.
But the Church made a huge
effort to discredit him.
Smear campaigns. Public statements
by prominent Bishops.
It's just like Saviano said.
And Garabedian.
- You get anywhere with him?
- More victims.
More victims?
You can't empty his files.
I'll get to him,
I just need more time.
- Come on Mike, you got to get them.
- I'll get them, I'll get them.
Jesus, what the hell is that smell?
There's a dead rat in the corner.
What have you got?
Church directories.
It's every priest in Massachusetts.
- What parish they were assaigned to?
- Is it official?
Yeah, I figure it would
help us track down some...
of the priests
that Saviano mentioned.
Maybe find some more victims.
Can we turn on some
more light in here?
I couldn't find the switch.
Do you want to borrow my glasses?
- No, I'm good, I'm good.
- Look, look 1983.
John Geoghan,
Saint Brendan Parish Dorchester.
So, so we can find out...
where any priest is
at any given year?
Yeah, I got him here.
What?
1980, the year Geoghan
was pulled from JP.
Said he's on sick leave.
Come on, it really says that?
Where is, 1991?
- Yeah, here.
- Let's see this.
Barry Liam, I can't read this,
look for Liam Barry there.
1991 is the year they pulled
him of the Charleston abbey.
Burt Liam?
Yeah.
Sick leave.
That's an official designation.
Get this upstairs.
And match...Check on those
priests Saviano gave us.
Robby.
- I'm at the Court House.
- Yeah.
Something's not right here.
Nothing on Shanley either, Sacha.
Ok, thanks.
Yeah, we need to go
talk to Macleish again.
Really? Why?
There's nothing here.
There aren't any records...
Thanks for waiting, so sorry guys.
Stuck in a call.
- Not a problem, how are you?
- Good.
- Thanks for meeting us.
- You bet. What's up guys?
Mr. Macleish, are you familiar
with the priest named Paul Shinley?
Yes, I am familiar with him.
And have you settled
cases against Father Shinley?
As I'm sure you can
understand, I can't...
discuss that with you.
Yeah, how about
Father Ronald Paquin?
Well, I can't discuss that
with you either, c'mon guys.
We understand you've settled
several cases against each of them.
Even if I've been
involved in those cases...
the settlements
would be confidential.
And I can be disbarred for
acknowledging their existence.
Ok?
Look, I told you guys,
these are tough cases.
Most of these folks, they
just want some acknowledgement...
of what happened.
We got them a sit down
with the Bishop and...
a little dough, and that's
the best they can hope for.
Well, certainly, the best
that priest could hope for.
No, the Church promises to take...
the priest out of circulation.
And did you follow up on that?
- You guys need anything else?
- Yes.
Why aren't there any records?
I was down at
the Court House earlier...
there aren't any records
of any of these settlements.
We dealt directly
with the Church.
We withdraw all but the man letter
and send it to the Chancery.
You never filed anything in Court?
- It's a private mediation.
- So...
this is just you and
the Archdiocese lawyers...
- in a room.
- Correct.
Anyone else?
Occasionally the Church would bring in
another defence attorney to help out.
- You know names?
- No.
No I don't.
So this was all under the table.
There's no paper trail, at all.
The victim has to sign
the confidentiality...
agreement to get the settlement.
The lawyer takes the third and...
the Church sweeps it under the rug.
- Jesus, that's freaking racket.
- It's more complicated than that.
Macleish has got
the duty to client...
to get the best deal he can.
Sure, but how many victims...
do you represent and profit from,
before you say someting?
Garabedian would say none.
And that's why he's taking
these cases to Court.
Because he wants
people to know about this.
I agree.
And legal acts is aside,
Ben, I mean...
operating the way Macleish has,
all the guarantee is that
abuse stays under wraps.
Yeah, did Macleish confirm
all Saviano's priests?
No, he is...
limited by his
confidentiality agreement.
But clearly he settles cases
against a number of them.
Phil's put me in touch with
some of the other victims,
I'm pretty confident all of his
priests are going to check out.
- So there's 13 priests?
- Yeah.
Looks that way.
Holy shit!
Ok, keep going.
CATHOLIC CHARITIES GALA
Guest List
I'm sorry, what was
the name again?
Baron.
B-A-R-O-N.
I'm having trouble finding it,
just give me a second.
It's ok Kim, I can vouch for him.
I'm Pete Conley, I'm on
the Board of Catholic Charities.
Welcome to Boston, Mr. Baron.
- Thank you.
- Appreciate you joining us.
We're very proud of the work
we do here at Boston.
Oh, the Cardinal said
you had a nice visit.
- Yes. We did.
- He's an extraordinary man.
I'm glad you had
a chance to chat.
Enjoying yourself?
To be honest, these events
aren't really my strong suit.
- Yeah.
- Are you involved with The Charity?
Not directly, no.
Some of my friends are,
we all went to...
highschool, BC High, that's a...
school across the street
from The Globe.
- It's hard to miss.
- Yeah.
Hard to get away
from too apparently.
The Cardinal is in the corner,
if you're so inclined.
- We've met.
- Really?
Did he mentioned the suit?
No, but he did give
me a copy of cathecism.
Yeah, well, the Cardinal is
not known for his subtlety.
During the Porter investigation,
he'd literally...
call down the power
of God on the Globe.
How that got out?
Week later, I got
broke leg skiing.
Shrimp toast, gentlemen?
No, thanks. Thanks.
He said one of
the victims father...
a criminal complaint?
Yeah, there were a few of them.
But the Judge had
the case reconciled...
after friends of
the Church complained.
And the Church has
a lot of friends.
Like Eric Macleish?
Yeah. Let's just say...
he is not part of the solution.
- You follow what I'm saying.
- Sure.
You work hard Mr. Rezendes.
Are you married?
Yeah.
And your wife doesn't mind
you working all the time?
Yeah, she does.
That's why I never got married.
To busy.
What I do is to important.
Your new editor,
he's a jew, right?
- That's right, yeah.
- Well, see...
He comes in ...
and suddenly everybody is
interested in the Church.
- You know why?
- No.
Because it takes the outsider.
Like me. I'm Armenian.
How many Armenians
do you know in Boston?
Steve Kurkjian, works at The Globe.
That's two. You should
get a prize or something.
- What are you, Italian?
- No, I'm Portugese.
- From where?
- East Boston.
Really? East Boston?
You don't sound like it.
This city.
This people.
Making the rest of us
feel like we don't belong.
But they're no better than us.
Look at how they
treat their children.
Mark my words Mr. Rezendes,
if it takes the village
to raise the child,
it takes the village to abuse one.
- Hey, there he is.
- Hey.
- You want a beer?
- Love one.
- Another? You with Barbara?
- No, no.
- She hates this things.
- Karen too.
- Yeah.
- Smart ladies.
- Slinte.
- Slinte.
I met your new editor.
- Somebody a decent fella.
- I think he is.
Hey, I had an interesting conversation
with Eric Macleish the other day.
Turns out he's been
settling abuse cases...
with the Archdioceses for years.
You want to talk about this here?
Jim... You said you helped out...
on the Father Barrett as a favor.
That was a loan off?
How many of these cases
you've been involved with?
You know I can't answer
that Robby, it's unethical.
Is that all it is?
So, this...
would be the Robby Robinson
I've always...
heard about, but never met.
Listen, Jimmy.
You want to be on
the right side of this.
This is the Church,
you're talking about Robby.
Look around,
these are good people,
done a lot of good
for this city.
Enjoy the party.
I've been through
a lot these now.
"Sick leave" isn't
the only designation...
they use when they take one...
of these priests
out of the circulation.
They use slew of terms.
Absent on leave...
On assign. Emergency response.
- They work for everything, these guys.
- Except belief.
And they move parishes...
way more frequently
than other priests.
When I was a kid, priest
moved after 7, 8 years.
Sometimes longer.
These guys,
it's 2 to 3 years tops.
And did they use
this designation...
for all Saviano's priests?
- Yeah.
- It's pretty clear pattern.
- Guys, I got Sipe.
I think that if you really
want to understand the crisis...
you need to start with
the celibacy requirement.
That was my first
major finding.
Only 50% of the clergy are celibat.
Now, most of them are having
sex with other adults.
But the fact remains
that this creates...
a culture of secrecy that
tolerates and even protects...
pedophiles.
So you believe
the Church is aware...
of the extent of this... crisis?
Well, absolutely.
After the first major
scandal in Louisiana...
Tom Doyle, the secretary
candidacy for papal nuncio...
co-opted a report...
warning pedophile priests,
were billion dollar liability.
That was in 1985.
- 1985?
- That's right.
Who saw that report, anyone
from the catholic hierarchy?
Sure.
Doyle tried to
introduce the report...
at the National Conference
of Catholic Bishops.
In fact, Cardinal Law initially
helped to fund the report.
But then he backed out
and he shelved it.
- Are you kidding me?
- Oh, Richard.
Robby here.
We think we have 13 priests...
in Boston, that fits
this pattern, which...
would be a very,
very big story.
Does that sound right to you?
In terms of scale?
No, not really, Robby.
Sounds low to me.
My estimate suggests 6% act
out sexually with minors.
6%, of what?
6% of all priests.
How many priest do
we have in Boston?
About 1.500, 1% is 15, 6% is...
90?
- Right, 90 priests.
- Is that possible?
From a metric standpoint.
Yes. That would certainly
be amount of my findings.
Hello?
90 fucking priests? In Boston?
That's what he said.
If there were 90 of these
bastards, people would know.
- Maybe they do.
- And no one said a thing?
Good Germans.
I don't think that's a comparison
you want to make publicly.
Macleish knew.
- He just didn't say anything.
- That's 13 priests.
There's a big difference
between 13 and 90...
Where's this Sipe guy
getting his numbers?
Well, he's been studying
it for 30 years...
He is a trained psychotherapist.
Ok, but we need something
more than a metric from some...
hippie ex-priest who's
shacking up with the nun.
Ok so, we'll track
down more victims.
We'll get more priests, then...
then we could, we could check
them against the directories.
- That's a shitload of victims.
- We'll get there.
How long is it going to take?
Too long.
- Wait, what, the meeting is over?
- Yeah, for now.
- What do you got?
- What if we work backwards?
- What do you mean?
From what?
- From the directories.
We've been using them
to confirm bad priests.
What if we do it
the other way around.
Use the directories
so we identify bad priests.
Yeah, exactly.
We search by designation.
You know, we look
for any priest...
on a sick leave or unassigned.
- But who've been
moved around a lot.
- Yeah.
Which can take a longer work.
Well, not if we're all on it.
You too?
Generally, that's what
all means, yeah.
Yeah, generally.
Sick Leave
Unassigned
unassigned
active
Library is closing!
Library is closing!
O Sullivan, Eugene M.
Treatment Center
Oh shit!
No freaking way.
KIDS.
Stay away from this
house at 276 Pelton Street.
And stay away from
the men who live inside it.
- Talbot?
- Yeah.
- Tivnan?
- Yeah.
- Toma?
- Yeah.
- Turnbull?
- Yeah.
- Walsh?
- Yeah.
- Welsh?
- Yeah.
- Is that it.
- That's it.
Holy shit! Robby?
That's 3 off Sipe estimate,
that's incredible.
Robby!
- How many?
- 87.
87 priests in Boston.
- Call Macleish.
I want to talk to him.
- Ok.
- Can you print it?
- Sure I can.
Jim Sullivan's office?
Yeah, Walter Robinson
for Jim Sullivan.
Tell him it's important, please.
One moment please.
Hey, Robby, everything ok?
I need you to tell me
something, Jim.
- Could it be 90 priests?
- What?
Could it be as high as 90?
Jesus, Robby!
I need to know, Jim.
I wouldn't be asking
if it wasn't important.
You're gonna stop this, Robby.
Robby, Macleish's assistant...
said he's all booked up,
he can't see us.
Yeah, well, the hell he can't.
Alright, it'll be fine.
- You know I'll not catch
up with you, ok? - Ok.
Hey guys, I'm really sorry,
I am, I don't have any ...
time to talk right now but...
- Mr. Macleish.
- If you call my assistant.
We have reasons to believe
that there are...
allegations against as many
as 87 priests in Boston.
I can't talk to you about that.
Does that number
sound right to you?
You gotta be kidding me,
I just told you...
I don't have time for this crap.
Eric, how many
priests did you sign?
Robby, you know
I can't tell you that.
You're going to give
me their names...
and the names of their victims.
- Are you threatening me?
- We've got two stories here.
We got a story
about degenerate clergy.
And we got a story
about a bunch of lawyers...
turning child abuse
into a cottage industry.
Now, which story do
you want us to write?
Cause we're writing one of them.
I already sent you
a list of names.
What are you talking about?
To whom?
The Globe, years ago.
After the Porter case
I got plenty of calls.
I had 20 priests...
in Boston alone.
But I couldn't go after
them without the press.
So I sent you guys...
a list of names
and you buried it.
- I want those names tomorrow.
- Check you goddamn clips, Robby.
- I didn't find anything in the clips.
- Yeah, big surprise.
Richard...
Do you still go to mass?
No, I haven't been to Church
for some time now.
But I still consider
myself a catholic.
How does that work?
Well, the Church is
an institution, Mike.
Made of men.
It's passing...
My faith is in the eternal.
I try to separate the two.
Sounds tricky.
It is. Especially...
since the Church continues
to go after me.
It takes the toll, Mike.
They'll try to silence
anyone who speaks out.
And I'm sure they'll come after you
and your team soon enough.
Really? And how do you
think they'll do that?
Hello? Richard?
- Who is it?
- It's the Archbishop of Canterbury.
I had dinner at Santarpio's,
that's some leftovers.
You're the freaking best.
Thanks. You want a beer?
- Yeah.
- You got it.
Jesus. How much longer...
you're gonna be
in this shithole??
Yeah, I'm working on it.
- She's a good girl, Mike.
- Yeah, she is.
We'll figure it out. I haven't
had a lot of time lately.
I just got off the phone
with Sipe, actually.
Have you met this
guy in person yet?
No, but his knowledge on this
is on a whole other level.
I'm freaking starving.
So, where are we with the 90?
- I'm close.
- How close?
I'm close.
Just answer the question, will ya?
We got 87 names.
We're trying to get confirmation,
I think we will.
Something bugging you?
It's just surprise, that's all.
Yeah, yeah it is.
For everybody.
Hey, Ben, I forgot to ask you.
Hey Phil Saviano
said he sent a bunch of...
info over to The Globe a years ago,
do you have an idea to whom?
- No, why?
- Well, I'm just curious.
I wanted to see if there's any
lead you guys didn't worn out.
Saviano was a fucking train wreck...
5 years ago, but we
didn't miss anything.
This story needs Spotlight.
Yeah, I agree.
I'm just following up.
- Good night.
- Yeah, good night.
- This is unbelievable.
- When did you get this?
Macleish emailed
the list this morning.
He settled cases
against 45 priests.
Where are we on Law?
Anything that shows
the acknowledge of this.
- Still working Garabedian.
But nothing concrete.
I keep thinking about that
conversation we had the other night,
about how Law called
down the power of God.
When we reported the Porter.
That's just Law being Law.
Ok, but I checked the clips...
And Porter, isn't even...
in Boston Archdiocese,
he's from Fall River.
So...
Why the extreme reaction?
Law had to know.
That's why he had the reaction.
Senior than others.
I think that's
the bigger story.
Bigger than 50 priests?
If it came from
the top down? Yes.
But the numbers clearly indicate that
there were senior clergy involved.
- That's all they do "indicate".
- Are you telling me that...
that if we run a story about
50 pedophile priests in Boston.
- Mike.
- We're going to the same cat
fight you got in to on Porter.
Which made a lot of noise,
but changed things not one bit.
We need to focus
on the institution.
Not the individual priests.
Practice and policy.
Show me the Church
manipulate the system...
so this guy wouldn't
have to face charges.
Show me they put
those same priests...
back into parishes
time and time again.
Show me this was systemic
that it came from the top down.
Sound like we're
going after Law.
We're going after the system.
Make the list of all the victims...
we have, start reaching out.
- And bring Matt in if you need help.
- Ok.
- Hey when do you go to Springfield?
- Hearing's on monday.
Ok.
Hey, Robby, you got a second?
Yeah.
I, I got one of those treatment
centers a block from my house.
We got neighbours with kids.
I know that the work we do
is confidential but,
I'm feeling like...
I should tell 'em.
- We'll tell 'em soon.
- Are you sure?
- Yeah.
- Ok.
Hi there, I'm Sacha Pfeiffer,
with The Boston Globe.
It's just looking for the gentleman
by the name of Matthew Walsh?
No, he's not.
- Take there right.
- Ok.
- Hi
- Hi.
I'm Sacha Pfeiffer
from The Boston Globe.
Yeah, what do you want?
I'd like to speak
with Thomas Kennedy?
He doesn't live here any more.
Do you know where he lives?
Ser, I'd just like to ask a few...
Sacha Pfeiffer, Boston Globe.
- Oh, yeah, hi.
- Hi. Thank you.
- Anything else you can recall?
- No.
No, but I got
a cousin in Queens...
he sure saw him in the streets
a few years later.
The bishop came
over to house.
He said nothing like this
ever happened before...
and he asked us not
to press charges.
And what did your mother do?
My mother?
She put out freakin cookies.
There was a lot of
pressure to keep quiet.
From the Church?
Yeah, from the Church.
But not just the Church.
From my friends.
From the other parishoners.
Well, many of the priest
I treated were...
psychosexually stunted.
On the emotional level of
the 12 or 13 year old.
Jesus.
Sure the chief knew.
EVerybody knew.
But nobody wants
to come for priest.
And what about the prosecutor?
I shouldn't talk about this shit.
I think you should, actually.
Do you know Father Hurley
or Father Gale?
I do.
Just get your shit
out of here, alright?
I'm sorry about it.
You leave me alone,
you leave my brother alone...
you hear me goddammit?
Hi there.
I'm looking for Ronald Paquin.
Yes?
- You're Father Paquin?
- Yes, that's right.
I'm Sacha Pfeiffer
from The Boston Globe.
Ok.
Could I ask you a few questions?
Go ahead, dear.
We spoke to several men who
knew you when they were boys...
at St. John the Baptist in Haverhill.
They told us you molested
them, is that true?
Sure, I fooled around.
But I never felt gratified myself.
Right, but you admit to molesting
the boys at St. John the Baptist?
Yes, yes, but as I said,
I never got any pleasure from them.
That's important to understand.
Right, but...
Can you tell me where and how
you fooled around with these boys?
I want to be clear,
I never raped anybody.
There's a difference.
I should know.
- How would you know?
- I was raped.
I'm sorry, who raped you?
Darling, who are
you talking too?
- It's ok, Jane.
- Father, who raped you?
Who are you?
- Sacha Pfeiffer, from The Globe.
- Please, get off my porch.
- Get inside the house, Ronald.
- Mister...
- Get inside once!
- Alright.
- I'm sorry, who are you?
- I'm his sister.
- And I don't want you coming back here.
- Miss Paquin?
No, you won't,
I beat you last time....
Cause you cheated...
Could you please clarify
The Globe's position for me, Mr. Albano?
Yes, Judge Sweeney.
Our argument to make
this documents public rest...
mainly on First Amendment grounds.
We also have a number
of other relevant arguments.
After all, Your Honor,
this was discretionary audit.
Yes, it was made
the Judges discretionary.
Hey Mike!
Hey, Joe.
What's the Spotlight
reporter doing in Springfield?
Your boy Albano is sliding uphill.
Actually thinking he has
a shot of winning this thing?
You want me to comment
for The Herald?
Globe reporter would not comment.
But he did not seem hopeful.
He didn't try
to hide it at all.
He had this really odd
rationalization for it,
like it was totally normal
to fool around with little boys.
I'd really like to go back,
I think he'd talk to us.
Oh, we will.
Just not yet.
I want you to stay focused
on the victims right now.
Sacha, where did they send
Father Talbot again?
- I think, wasn't it at Scheffers.
- Scheffers, that's right.
Wait, Father Talbot, from BCI?
- Yeah, you know him?
- Yeah, he was there when I was.
- We have a victim?
- Yeah.
Lives in Providence.
There's nothing personal
within this documents, Your Honor.
They can serve how
the Cardinal is handling ...
Say the "Archdiocese".
Excuse me?
You don't get to tag the Cardinal
with everything, Mr. Albano.
Say, the Archdiocese.
Judge Sweeney, The Globe
is not a party to this case.
They just want to
sell the papers.
If Mr. Garabedian, had not...
smeared the Cardinal's good name...
- we wouldn't even be here.
- Your Honor,
I object to the use
of the word "smear".
- Duly noted, Mr. Garabedian.
- Thank you, Your Honor.
- Anything else, Mr. Rogers?
- No, Your Honor.
Sr. Albano, you may continue.
The Globe's really having...
Hola Mitch, how you doin'?
I'm fine.
He's tough that Wilson Rogers.
He's smug.
- He's sloppy.
- Doesn't seem sloppy.
You don't know
the half of it. Trust me.
What's the half of it?
Tell me the half of it, Mitch?
- Of the record.
- Of the record, yeah.
3 years ago I get the call
from an ex-priest.
Anthony Benzevich.
He was at Blessed Sacrament
back in '62...
and he saw Geoghan.
Taking little boys up to
the rectory bedroom, ok?
So he's bold, alright?
- Alright.
- Tells the bishop about it.
And the bishop
threatens to reassign him.
- To South America.
- Jesus.
Yeah.
Alright, so fast-forward 35 years.
Benzevich reads that Geoghan
has been charged...
with molesting hundreds of kids.
Alright, so he feels guilty
and he calls me.
So you have
a testimony of a priest...
telling his superiors
about Geoghan in '62?
No, I do not.
Because when I call Benzevich
in to give a deposition...
He comes in with the lawyer.
- Wilson Rogers?
- Right.
And suddenly Father Benzevich
has a very foggy memory.
Can't remember anything.
He's useless.
So, I go back to work.
I forget about it, whatever.
Until about a year ago, I find
an article about a priest...
who warned Church officials
about Geoghan.
- Benzevich went to the press?
- Yeah.
Yeah, local paper Patriot Ledger,
nobody saw it, but now
I got Benzevich on record.
so, I file a motion to depose...
Benzevich the second time.
Alright? And Wilson Rogers,
that smug son of a bitch,
he files a motion,
opposing my motion.
And that's when I have him.
- Have, have him how?
- Rogers opposes my motion.
So I have to make an argument
as to why am I allowed to...
depose Father Benzevich
the second time, ok?
But this time I'm allowed
to attach exhibits.
- You follow what I'm saying?
- The sealed documents?
Yes. I can attach
the sealed documents...
that I've gotten in discovery,
Mr. Rezendes.
The same documents that your
paper is currently suing for.
- You're shitting me?
- What? No, no,
I'm not shitting you.
So, I pull out the 14
most eminent docs...
and I attach them to my motion.
And they prove everything.
Everything.
About the Church, about
the bishops, about Law.
And it's all public...
Because your motion...
to oppose Rogers motion is public.
Is public, yeah. Exactly.
Now you're paying attention.
And so I could just walk in
to that courthouse right now...
and get those documents?
No, you can not.
Because the documents
are not there.
But you just said
they're public.
I know I did.
But this is Boston.
And the Church does not
want them to be found,
so, they are not there.
Mitch, are you telling me
that the Catholic Church...
removed legal documents
from that courthouse?
- Look, I'm not crazy,
I'm not paranoid.
I'm experienced.
Check the docket, you'll see.
They control everything.
Everything.
I got to go back.
I just got the fucking documents!
- Docket entry number 49,
with the Geoghan case.
- Ok, thanks.
- We're closing in 10 minutes.
- 10 minutes? Alright.
- Rev. James F. Talbot -
- Robby.
- Hey, it's me.
- Hey.
- You're not gonna believe it.
Garabedian gave me a tip.
Some of the sealed
docs are already public.
They're part of
the motioning file.
He said they're the best of
a bunch, we don't have to...
wait for Sweeney's ruling.
So, we can get them?
Yeah, but they
are not there.
I already talked to Albano,
he said all we
have to do is...
file a motion
and Sweeney will...
order Mitch to refile the docs.
And you think
this documents are...?
He said this 14 docs
are all we need.
They are huge.
- Ok. I'll call Ben.
Good work.
- What happened?
- They are saying
it's a prop plane.
But that's not a prop plane.
Tell Linda to get every...
reporter we have in here now.
You pray for the victims,
you pray for the injured...
and you pray for
those who survived.
You pray too for the nation.
That our response to this...
might reflect the best
ideals of our nation.
And even more reflect
God's own teaching.
Not only as it's shown in
Christianity and Judaism...
but in Islam as well.
- Not bad. Who's there?
- Paulson.
I want to talk to
him when he's back.
Did Rezendes find a way
to get to Florida yet?
They just opened
the airport in Providence,
he's on his way there now.
- Ben I'm gonna need more
people on mass report.
- I'll give you three of my guys.
Robby, put your team on that too.
Got it.
- And Robby, everything else stops.
- Understood.
- Why is Mike going to Florida?
- Flight school.
That's where they
learned to fly.
Robby, I've got...
a lot of victims
introduce set up this week.
- We got to cancel them.
- That's gonna be hard.
I know.
This is nuts. Two days ago...
I told my wife we
gotta be working...
on biggest story
on the planet.
- Boston Globe.
- Boston Globe, one moment please.
- Yes if you have a tip, I...
- Boston Globe...
Mitchell Garabedian.
Mitch, it's Mike.
I've been trying to reach you.
I don't have time to talk
to you Mr. Rezendes.
Hey just quickly. Did you
refile those docs yet?
No, I just got the order.
It takes time.
- Ok, great.
Can you hold off...
on refiling...
- Hold on?
I have to go to Florida...
Once you refile,
they're public.
Other newspaper will be able
to get a hold of them.
"Other newspapers
are not my concern.
I received the judicial order.
I told you the Church
is watching me.
Hey Mitch, please.
All I need is
a few more weeks.
I can't make any promises.
Goodbye.
Mitch! Mitch! Shit!
Shit.
Look, I get it.
No one wants to read about
kids getting raped by priests.
Especially now, but you asked...
a lot of people to relive...
some very painful experiences...
Phil you know why we were
taking off of this story...
It's been six weeks since 9/11.
I realize that, and we're
gonna get back to it.
When?
You're doing the same thing
you guys did the last time.
No.
- You're dropping us.
- No.
Maybe I should tell
The Herald that story.
Ok, Phil. You go
ahead and do that.
It'll undo all
the work we've done.
But I can't stop you.
Listen to me.
I am here because I care.
We're not going away.
We're gonna tell this story,
we're gonna tell it right.
We just need a little more time.
That's all we're asking for.
Why bother asking?
You're gonna do
what you want anyway.
You always do.
Phil... Phil!
- Hey.
- How's South Beach?
It's Pointe Beach.
Remarkably different place.
What's up?
Mitch Garabedian called me today.
Why did he call you?
Because he knew
you'd yell at him.
He refiled the docs.
What?
Robby, those docs are public now.
We got to get there before
everybody else does.
I know, I know, I know.
Just wrap up whatever
you're doing...
and get the first flight out.
I'll book the flight now and go
straigth to the courthouse tomorrow.
- Alright, call me when you get in.
- Ok.
Robby, I'll go to a Phil Saviano
now that we're back on it.
Good idea.
Go and have dinner with Hansi.
Might be the last
time for a while.
- Robby...
- Yeah?
After we saw Macleish, I started
going back through the clips...
and I had a little time
last week finally, so...
I found that.
It's from'93.
Lawyer for Porter victims says...
20 other priests in
area are accused.
Is that it?
Yeah, yeah... That's it.
- Good night.
- Ok. Good night.
So I was probably a few
years after you, right?
No, you were more
than a few. Believe me.
After the BC High,
I came down to Providence...
I played hockey for the Friars.
Oh well, you must've
been pretty good.
No, rode the bench
in college. Yeah.
But I love the city.
And we just had
our third kid...
and I still get my Globe
for the record.
That's good to know,
good to know.
Look, Kevin...
It's actually why I'm here.
I...
Need to ask you some
questions about Father Talbot.
- How'd you find out?
- Well...
I guess it doesn't matter.
I never even told my wife.
Excuse me!
- Hey, hey, I need
to get in there!
- We're closed.
Come on, let me in,
5 minutes.
I'm sorry, we're closed.
C'mon. 5 minutes.
Fuck!
Here you go.
- This is the Geoghan case?
- That's right.
- Those records are sealed.
- No. That's a public motion.
Those record are public.
Look, I work for The Globe.
Good for you.
- Can I talk to your supervisor?
- He's not in today.
What about a Judge?
There must be Judges that
work on this kind of thing.
6th floor.
We understand the nature...
of the allegations
against Father Talbot.
I'm just not sure what you
want from President Kemeza.
- Talbot taught here long
before Bill took over.
- Of course.
We just want to know
if that's possible...
that the President,
the Faculty, the Board...
that no one knew what
was going on at the time.
I graduated in 1979 and...
I had no idea
about any of this, so...
If you're suggesting
that Father Gibbons...
and Father Callahan,
had in anyway...
Gibbons and Callahan...
I'm hearing this
place was like the Navy.
You really think
they didn't know?
It's a big school, Robby.
You know that.
And we're talking
about seven...
alleged victims over
what, eight years?
Well, we're talking about, you know...
Seven that we know about.
This is ridiculous!
- You're reaching for the story here...
- Jack. Jack, Jack.
If I had been President then,
I would have known.
Bill, I'm not sure
that's relevant.
Why do you think they sent
Talbot up to Cheverus?
You know, they wanted
him out of town.
Robby...
As well intentioned this
Bill's remarks are,
I'm hoping we can
keep this between us...
until we all get
on the same page.
Is that why we are here?
To get on the same page?
No. We're here because
you're in the poor...
dilemmas Robby and a friend.
Exactly. And we know...
you care about
the school as much as we do.
Did you play your
sport here, Jack?
Yeah, football. Why?
I ran track.
You know, I went to
Providence yesterday...
talked to one of
Father Talbot victims.
He played hockey here...
And...
He was one of
the better ones...
He's got wife, kids...
good job.
About 10 minutes
into the conversation...
guy breaks down.
You know, couldn't stop crying.
Said he could never
figure out why...
Father Talbot picked him.
Father Talbot coached
the hockey team.
So...
I guess we just got lucky.
You and me.
Does Jack Dunn
work for the school?
No. He's PR for
the Boston College.
They call him
when they need help.
And Pete Conley,
why was he there?
Good question.
Pete's a bigger lump, but
I called Bill directly...
and I asked for
the sit down.
I never mentioned anybody else.
Looks like everybody
already knows the story.
Yeah, except us...
and we work right there.
- Judge Volterra?
- Yes.
Hi, I'm Mike Rezendes
from The Boston Globe.
I've been having some troubles...
accessing some public records
down in the records room.
I was wondering if I can
have a word with you?
- Alright.
- Thank you.
These exhibits you're
after Mr. Rezendes...
They're very sensitive records.
With all due respect Your Honor,
that's not the question.
The records are public.
Maybe so, but tell me...
Where is the editorial
responsibility...
in publishing records
of this nature?
Well, where is the editorial
responsibility...
in not publishing them?
You can't take those.
You need to make copies.
- I'm going to the copy room.
- It's been closed at 4 p.m.
Look, I'll give you...
$83 to use yours.
Hey, cab!
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Take me to The Boston Globe
on Morrissey Boulevard.
Don't take 93,
take Dorchester Avenue.
Robby, it's incredible.
Law knew about Geoghan
for years, no question.
There's a letter to Law...
from a woman Martha Gallet
who lived in Jamaica Plain...
in early '80 when Geoghan
was there.
Listen to this.
Our family is rooted in
the Church.
Our desire is to protect
the holy orders.
Even in the midst
of our agony...
over the seven boys
in our family...
who have been violated.
Seven Robby.
Seven boys!
It was suggested
that we keep silent.
We did not question
the authority of the Church...
two years ago.
But since, Father Geoghan
is still in his parish.
Which she send it to Law
and Law did shit!
Here's another one
to Law, same year.
Listen to this.
Order of a recent
assaignment to Father Geoghan...
as an associate at
Saint Julius in Weston...
Father Geoghan has a history
of homosexual involvement...
with young boys.
I understand his recent departure
from San Brendan's may be...
related to this problem.
I wonder if Father Geoghan
should not be...
reduced to just
weekend work while...
receiving some kind of therapy.
You know how grateful I am to
you for you constant concern...
sincerely yours and our Lord,
most reverend John M. Darcy...
Auxiliary Bishop of Boston,
December 7. 1984.
- An Auxiliary Bishop wrote that?
- That's incredible.
He broke ranks, I mean...
When did Gallet write that letter?
- 1984.
- And Law just ignored it.
How do you ignore
that freaking letter?
We got them.
You can't read this letters
and think anything else.
It's proof.
Yeah, it is.
- This is good work.
- Should we take it up to Ben?
- No, not yet.
- Why not?
We got Law. This is it.
No, this is Law
covering for one priest.
There's other 90 out there.
Yeah, we'll print that
story when we get it.
But we got to go
with this now.
No, I'm not gonna
rush this story, Mike.
But we don't have a choice, Robby.
If we don't rush to print somebody
else is gonna find this letters...
and butcher the story.
John Quinby from The Herald
was at the freaking courthouse.
So we'll write a holding story...
and we'll keep our
eye on The Herald.
- Keep our eye on The Herald?
- Yeah.
If they run this and
they get it wrong...
the Church will bury it.
We got to do this now.
- Mike, Mike.
- What? Why are we hesitating?
Baron told us to get Law.
This is Law.
Baron told us to
get the system.
We need the full scope.
That's the only thing that
will put an end on this.
Then let's take it up to
Ben and let him decide.
We'll take to Ben
when I say it's time.
It's time, Robby! It's time!
They knew and
they let it happen...
to kids. Ok?
It could have been you,
It could have been me.
It could have
been any of us.
We gotta nail these scumbags.
We gotta show people...
that nobody can
get away with this.
Not a priest or a Cardinal,
or a freaking Pope!
- You finished?
- Yeah, I am.
This is bullshit!
You ok?
- Hi Hansi.
- Hard day at work, Mike?
- Here.
- Thank you.
I don't know why I got
so pissed off, you know.
I think Robby is wrong.
You know, you just...
You care about
the story, Mike. We all do.
Yeah, I guess.
I stopped going to
Church with my nana.
It was...It was to
hard, you know.
I'd be sitting
there and I...
I would start thinking
about Joe Crowley...
or someone else
and I just...
I just got so angry.
Did you, did you
tell her why?
She goes to Church
3 times a week, Mike.
It really pisses me off.
Yeah.
I actually really liked going
to Church when I was a little kid.
- Why did you stop?
- Typical shit.
But the weird thing is, is...
I think I...
I think I figured that
maybe one day I would...
I would actually go back.
I really, I was
holding on to that.
Then I read
those letters and...
And something's just...
cracked.
- It's a shitty feeling.
- Yeah.
It's a shitty feeling.
- Looks like a long day.
- Hey Pete.
I'm sorry to make it longer.
Brian...
Does anyone ever said no
to a drink with you, Pete.
Well sure.
The trick is to keep asking.
- For Boston.
- For Boston.
- So... You're here
for the Cardinal?
- No, no, no. I wouldn't.
I wouldn't presume to speak
for the Cardinal, you know.
You know?
You got a lot of people
here respect you, Robby.
- Yeah.
- With work you do.
- That's good to know.
- You know, it's cause you
care about this place.
Yeah.
That's why you do what
you do, that's who you are.
You know people
need the Church.
More than ever right now.
You know, you can feel it.
And the Cardinal...
You know, the Cardinal,
he might not be perfect...
But we can't throw our
other goodies doing...
over few bad apples.
Now, you know I'm
bringing this up to you...
because I know this is
Baron's idea, his agenda.
I gotta tell you,
honest to God, I mean...
He doesn't care about
this city the way we do.
I mean, how could he?
- This is how it happens isn't it, Pete?
- What's that?
Guy leans on the guy
and suddenly...
the whole town just
looks the other way.
Robby, Robby...
Look it...
Marty Baron is just
trying to make his mark.
He's gonna be here
for a couple of years...
and he's gonna move on,
just like he did in
New York and Miami.
Where are you gonna go?
Good night, Robby. Brian.
- Hey Pete?
- Yeah.
When we do run the story,
I'm gonna need a comment
from the Cardinal.
We'll talk again later.
Good night, Robby.
Good night, Pete.
Robby.
What?
No shit. When?
Ok. Yeah.
Hey...
What's up?
Sweeney ruled in our favor.
She ruled to
unseal the documents.
Jesus!
Church has already
filed an appeal...
but the trial Court of ruling...
is generally upheld
in this matters.
And when do we
get the documents?
Probably takes common
a few weeks to rule...
and then there's
a redaction process.
I'd say it would be made
public, mid January.
- Ok.
- Alright.
- Thanks Jon.
- You bet.
- Nice work.
- Thanks.
- Metro should run
something, Marty.
- We can't run this one big.
Why wouldn't we?
It's a major
First Amendment victory.
Not to mention you got
an Irish catholic Judge...
ruling against the Church.
- That's a hell of a precedent.
- We don't want the Herald
going deep on this.
Why is that?
- You're gonna have
to step out, Peter.
- I'm not stepping out.
Peter...
- When did you...?
- Couple of weeks ago.
Couple of weeks?
Yeah.
- And you're telling us now?
- These are substantial.
It clearly shows
that Law was negligent.
I need more time.
I wanna keep digging.
- For what? This is
the goddamn story.
It's not the whole story.
Tough shit, we're on
a clock now.
Even if we don't
run Sweeney's rulings...
another paper could find this
letters and fuck the story.
Agreed.
But we run these letters alone...
Law apologizes, says
it's one time thing...
and he can bury it.
How? This clearly
show he knew...
and did nothing about it.
Look, I'm close
to stories on 70 priests.
We nail that along
with those letters...
this is proof that this
is bigger than Law.
This is the whole system.
Your multiple sources...
confirming all those priests?
Some. I'll get more.
Too risky. If we're
not buttoned-up...
on every single one of them
the Church will pick us apart.
I think I can get us someone
from the other side of the isle.
- Somebody inside the Church?
- Yeah, a lawyer.
- Will he go on the record?
Deep background,
but he's a solid source.
Rezendes needs time
to write the story.
We don't want to drop
it on Christmass...
not after the 9/11.
We can run it just
after New Years.
Before they release
the rest of the documents.
Alright.
Tell Canellos to bury
the ruling in Metro.
- You got six weeks.
- Thank you.
Tell Mike I want
a draft by Christmass.
- And we need a response
from Lake Street. - Yeah.
Who does PR for the Cardinal?
Still John Walsh?
No, somebody new.
Donna Morrissey.
She came from TV.
She's young.
Good, get in quote. If we need
something from Law on...handed.
Robby, next time give me
a goddamn heads up.
Will do.
SPECIAL REPOR SPOTLIGHT ARTICLE #1 - GEOGHAN LETTERS.
Almost alway, his victims
were grammar school boys.
One was 4 years old.
You have 21 days and
4 hours until deadline
...that Church officials
never told him why...
You have 8 days and
2 hours until deadline
...Three years later,
Geoghan was still...
Where are we on your source?
It's time. Ben
Robby, what a nice surprise.
Come on in.
Hey hun... Look who
I found outside.
Karen, can you
give us a minute?
- Sure.
- Good to see you, Karen.
What's up?
I'm out of time, Jim.
We got cover-up stories
on 70 priests.
But the boss is
not gonna run it...
unless I got confirmation
from your side.
Are you out of your mind?
C'mon. This is
our town, Jimmy.
Everybody knew
something was going on.
And no one did a thing.
We got to put
an end to it.
Don't tell me
what I got to do.
Yeah, I helped
defend this scumbags,
but that's my job, Robby.
I was doing my job!
Yeah.
You were never one of us.
Get out of my house.
Hey!
You come to my home and
lay this shit on me?
You were right, Robby.
We all knew
something was going on.
So where were you?
What took you so long?
I don't know, Jim.
Give me the list.
Larry, we're gonna
press in 6 hours.
Donna Morrissey says she calls
with quote from Law hours ago.
- That's what I thought.
- Where did you talk to her?
- Ok, Ok, bye.
- Yeah, yeah that's
good to know.
- Thanks Pete.
- Anything?
Conley said that Donna Morrissey
should have called,
he just left Lake Street.
Yeah. Resky said
the same thing.
This si ridiculous.
You think they wanna
get ahead on this.
I mean they be
idiots not to.
I would love to see their faces
when they read this thing man.
You know Sunday is the feast
to the epiphaney?
Seems appropriate.
Mike Rezendes.
Hey Donna.
Thanks for calling.
Yeah. I just had a few questions
if you have a minute.
What?
- Other adjective.
- Anything?
- Law just turned us down.
- Jesus Christ.
- I just got of the phone
with Donna Morrissey...
she said, quote
"we don't even want...
to know what
the questions are".
- End quote.
- Did she really said that?
- Yeah.
- Well, that oughta do it.
The Church had no
interests in knowing...
what the Globe's
questions would be.
Work it in somewhere before
the jam. Anything else?
Matt wants to put the letters
online, so that the readers...
can see for themselves.
We can run the URL at
the bottom of the article ...
- it's pretty straightforward.
- Ok.
We also put the Spotlight tip
line at the end of the story...
so people can call in.
It goes directly
to our office.
Matt and I can go
in the morning...
in case we get any calls.
I'm more concerned about
the phones at reception.
After we ran the Porter case...
the message center
were tight up for weeks.
That's a real problem.
They would take at us too.
Lots of them.
I'll talk to Richard about
the security and the phones.
How are we coming
on the follow story?
Well we've now done multiple
stories on 70 priests.
All 70?
And with confirmation
from Robby's source...
we are ready to go.
We can have a drive next week.
Robby, that source of yours,
is it something
we could revisit?
It might be tough.
But he has no problem helping...
the Church protect
dozens of dirty priests.
- Guy is a scumbag.
- He's a lawyer, he's doing his job.
- He's a show for the Church.
- He knew and he did nothing.
He could have said something
years ago. Maybe save some lives.
What about us?
- What's that supposed to mean?
- We had all the pieces.
- Why didn't we get it sooner?
- We didn't have all the pieces.
We had Saviano, we had Barrett,
we had Geoghan.
We had the directories
in the basement.
- You know what,
we got it now.
- Robby, this story
needed Spotlight.
- Mike, Spotlight's been
around since 1970.
So what? We couldn't see...
the scope of this.
No one could.
Robby, this started
with one goddamn priest.
Macleish sent us a letter
of 20 priests years ago.
Sacha found a clip.
Are you kidding, 20 priests?
When?
Just after Porter,
december '93.
I buried the story
in Metro. No follow.
That was you?
You were Metro?
Yeah. That was me.
I just didn't know and
I don't remember at all.
But yeah.
Can I... Say something here?
Sometimes it's
easy to forget...
that we spend
most of our time...
stumbling around the dark.
Suddenly a light
gets turned on and...
there's a fair share
of blame to go around.
I can't speak
to what happened...
before I arrived, but...
All of you have done some
very good reporting here.
Reporting that I
believe is gonna have...
an immediate and
considerable impact...
on our readers.
For me... This kind of
story is why we do this.
Having said that,
Cardinal Law and...
the catholic community
are gonna have ...
a very strong
response to this.
So if you need a moment,
you've earned it.
But, I will need you back here
monday morning, focused...
and ready to do your job.
- Leaving?
- Yeah.
I... just got a
call from Cardinal.
Really? Why?
He wanted to tell me personally
they decided not to comment and...
said he wanted
to extend the courtesy.
Jesus, the balls on that guy.
What did you say?
I told him he was making mistake
and that we're gonna run the story.
Damn right we're gonna run it.
Sacha, can I have
a drink of water?
Yeah, sure nana. Yeah.
Can I keep this?
Sure.
I thought you
should see it first.
Thank you for bringing it by.
Now I have some plans
I have to attend to.
Both kids were abused.
Jamaica Plain two weeks ago.
Keep... Doing your
work, Mr. Rezendes.
Hello!
How are you guys doing?
Good...
Church allowed abuse
by priest for years
- Hey.
- Good morning.
- How did you sleep?
- Not very well. You?
I haven't slept well for months.
I... Actually started writing.
Writing?
Yeah. I'm working on a book.
Gives me something
else to focus on.
- What kind of book?
- Horror.
Spotlight?
Yeah, yeah. Of course.
Can I get your name please?
- You do know it's sunday, right?
- Couldn't get a tee time.
No picketers.
Yeah. Well they're
still at Church.
Hey Linda. It's quiet?
Yeah. Easiest overtime
I ever made...
Phone hasn't rang once.
Matty send two of aid
down to Spotlight.
- Great article guys.
- Thank you.
- Thanks.
- Spotlight?
Phones have been
ringing all morning.
- That's right.
- Thank you very much.
Spotlight?
- Mike, can you grab that?
- Yeah, yeah.
They're almost all victims, Robby.
I'm sorry...
This is Sacha Pfeiffer.
I'm sorry, can I...?
Yes you can reach me...
This is Spotlight.
This is Spotlight.
Over the course of 2002, the Spotlight team
published close to 600 stories about the scandal.
249 priests and brother were publicly accused of
sexual abuse within the Boston Archdiocese
The number of survivors in Boston
is estimated to be well over 1,000.
In December 2002, Cardinal Law resigned
from the Boston Archdiocese.
He was reassigned to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
in Rome, one of the highest ranking Roman Catholic churches
in the world.
Major abuse scandals have been uncovered in the following places: