Hand of God

TV Hub

Joe Cultrera documents efforts by his brother, Paul, to reveal Paul's abuse by their Catholic church priest in the 1960s.

Transcript

00:00:00Tonight's program contains descriptions of child sexual abuse.

00:00:06Viewer discretion is advised.

00:00:24Funding for Frontline is provided by the Park Foundation,

00:00:28committed to raising public awareness.

00:00:30With additional funding for this program from the Jerome Foundation

00:00:34in celebration of the Jerome Hill Centennial.

00:00:37Frontline is made possible by contributions to your PBS station

00:00:41from viewers like you.

00:00:49Tonight on Frontline...

00:00:51All those years when I lived in silence, I believed that I was the only one.

00:00:54In recent decades, more than 10,000 children were reportedly sexually abused by Catholic priests.

00:01:02But years before the headlines, one family broke the story for themselves.

00:01:07For the 12 years since my brother told me,

00:01:09I've been wondering how he could have hid it so well, and where.

00:01:13Tonight, filmmaker Joe Coutrera and his brother Paul tell a very personal story.

00:01:19This was my first sexual experience.

00:01:20The story of a secret held for 30 years.

00:01:24I remember him saying,

00:01:25You don't tell anybody about this.

00:01:26This is part of your penance.

00:01:28Of the abuse of power.

00:01:30The church moved him around from parish to parish.

00:01:32And this guy was accused of molesting kids.

00:01:34And the triumph over betrayal.

00:01:36The game's over.

00:01:37You guys are not the ones who can preach to us.

00:01:40Tonight on Frontline,

00:01:41one family's encounter with the hand of God.

00:01:44These are all tapes.

00:02:04Take a look at these tapes.

00:02:06The title, see if you can remember.

00:02:08It says Paul.

00:02:09I remember places where it happened.

00:02:36I remember smells.

00:02:39I remember the sun coming through the rectory window.

00:02:43I remember the placement of the furniture in the room in the rectory.

00:02:46I remember the red leather upholstery.

00:02:50I, for the life of me, cannot remember how long it happened.

00:02:53My guess is it happened over the course of about four to six months,

00:02:56between the spring and the summer in 64.

00:02:58There's parts that you just, you know,

00:03:01I think your subconscious protects you.

00:03:02It just kicks in and you don't want to remember that.

00:03:08It's not the story of my life.

00:03:09It is a thing that happened to me.

00:03:12It's got to be confusing to people.

00:03:14People must wonder, how could you let this happen to you?

00:03:16Why didn't you tell somebody about it?

00:03:18Why didn't you stop it?

00:03:18Why didn't you walk out of the room?

00:03:20And I think that it's hard enough for me to understand how I let it happen to me.

00:03:25I mean, it's hard, you know, that's part of what I've sort of beat myself up for years.

00:03:29You know, I thought I'd let it happen to me.

00:03:32It's that whole power structure, that whole environment that we're in,

00:03:36that allows this to happen.

00:03:38And hopefully something like this can explain that.

00:03:40This is my brother Paul, my father Paul, my grandfather Paul.

00:03:52My name's Joe.

00:03:53You know, I don't like to be in films.

00:03:56This is my mother Josephine, her father Joseph.

00:04:01This is Nonna, my grandmother Maria.

00:04:04My sister Maria.

00:04:06Mary, mother of God.

00:04:09Here's how it all starts.

00:04:11Salem, Massachusetts.

00:04:13Best known for its witchcraft trials and executions.

00:04:17Our small pocket of the city was an Italian neighborhood.

00:04:20Close-knit.

00:04:21One house tied to the next.

00:04:24By clotheslines.

00:04:25By culture.

00:04:27By bonds of family and friendship.

00:04:31And in that neighborhood, a church.

00:04:34St. Mary's, Italian.

00:04:36Built in 1925 by the neighbors.

00:04:38A place where everyone met for religion and community.

00:04:42A tribute to lost loved ones.

00:04:46Down the street was our house.

00:04:48Built by my grandfather Joseph, my mother's father.

00:04:51It's where we grew up and where my parents still live.

00:04:5354, you weren't even born then.

00:04:59This is Paul Maria.

00:05:00My sister Maria was ten years older than me, and my brother Paul, nine.

00:05:08You lived in this house, and you came to know it intimately.

00:05:11On every spare wall.

00:05:12Jesus, Mother Mary and the saints, keeping time, tracking our movements.

00:05:18In the hallway, popes and cardinals kept an eye on the door and the stairs.

00:05:26We lived up those stairs, where the saints made room on the walls for my father's paintings.

00:05:32It was a hobby he came home to after days of factory labor.

00:05:36In this house, there was comfort in details.

00:05:41Familiar crevices and paint peels.

00:05:44Family hiding places.

00:05:46For 30 years, my brother Paul hid a secret about something that happened to him in Salem, not far from here.

00:05:53And for the 12 years since he told me, I've been wondering how he could have hid it so well.

00:06:00And where.

00:06:03And so I've been looking back at those hiding spots we both knew.

00:06:07And looking for other spots that Paul just kept to himself.

00:06:23It was a big Italian family.

00:06:28Our grandmother, a couple of our aunts and uncles lived downstairs.

00:06:31From time to time, there were various cousins and our older Sicilian relatives who were sharing the space.

00:06:38Mona, she would talk to us in Italian, and she was a love.

00:06:44It was a wonderful, you know, childhood.

00:06:48Mom have seven brothers and sisters.

00:06:50You know, I'd say for the first 10 years of my life, they all lived in that same house or within a block of each other.

00:06:56You were surrounded by family.

00:07:00It was very protective, very safe, very nurturing.

00:07:05There were all these people who clearly loved you, and you were very much like them.

00:07:10Maybe the downside of it was that once you got out into a world where people weren't speaking that dialect and people weren't your family,

00:07:17maybe, you know, you could get into some trouble.

00:07:22When we first got married, my wife and I agreed that all my children had to have a Catholic education.

00:07:41The Italian church, St. Mary's, didn't have a school.

00:07:44And St. James, which was the Irish parish not that far away, they had a kindergarten through high school.

00:07:49It was a dream that I'm in that school building.

00:07:57I was all nuns. There were no lay teachers back in those days.

00:08:01That dress is frightful enough in itself.

00:08:05If you came home and you said, oh, sister, somebody was yelling at me.

00:08:09It wasn't, what's wrong with sister?

00:08:12What's wrong with you? What did you do?

00:08:14As children, we were very passive, and we were just told to do it.

00:08:20We did it.

00:08:26The May processions, well, every year, they would have this procession.

00:08:29They'd get every kid from kindergarten all the way up to the graduating girls in senior class.

00:08:33A long line of kids.

00:08:38Each of their nuns would be standing next to them with a little clicker, keeping them in line.

00:08:43Some girl in the senior class, they'd pick the May queen.

00:08:46They had these little page boys.

00:08:50With a little blue beret-like puffy hat and a kind of little skirt-like thing.

00:08:55If you could get a kid to dress up like that, you could get a kid to do anything.

00:09:04There was the Catholic Church, and everything else was hell.

00:09:07Everyone beyond the bounds of the Catholic Church were doomed.

00:09:12Everything was presented to you in terms of sin.

00:09:15I remember these images of hell.

00:09:17Souls being tossed down into hell, and the flames coming up, and the devil being down there.

00:09:22The vision you had of life that you picked up early on was that you had to sort of tread a narrow path.

00:09:30There were a lot of things that you just shouldn't do, and if you did them,

00:09:33and you had the misfortune of dying soon thereafter,

00:09:36you were going to be one of those souls that were being tossed down into the flames.

00:09:40So it was sort of this game that you played where you committed these sins,

00:09:43and then you'd go into the confessional on Saturday and reel off your sins,

00:09:46and the priest would say, yep, okay, you're safe, go.

00:09:49And then you'd go out and do it again, and then you'd come back and say it again.

00:09:54I bought it hook, line, and sinker.

00:09:58The women in our family gave more credence to what the priest would say

00:10:01than they did to their husbands or their brothers or their uncles.

00:10:05That's kind of the way they were brought up.

00:10:07I think it's partly fostered by the whole myth of the priest's purity and moral superiority,

00:10:16because they supposedly lived this humble existence

00:10:20apart from the physical pleasures that the rest of the people indulge in.

00:10:25These were the people that could walk on water.

00:10:27They were the authority figures in whatever they said.

00:10:30We, as little lambs, would go.

00:10:33We knew nothing else.

00:10:38The priest had the power to turn that host,

00:10:42that piece of bread and the wine,

00:10:44into the body and blood of Christ.

00:10:47And that was something none of us could do.

00:10:50I mean, that was the ultimate magic trick.

00:10:54It was this mystery that you were taking part of.

00:10:57The priest was the guy who gave you access to that.

00:10:59It all reinforced that sense that these people have a power that we don't have,

00:11:04a direct line to God.

00:11:06That's why I wanted to be an altar boy.

00:11:08You actually handed them the water and the wine,

00:11:10and you were there when they were making this miracle happen.

00:11:15I remember wanting to be a priest.

00:11:17Early on, that's what I thought was going to happen.

00:11:191964.

00:11:30Me and Billy Mahoney are the smallest kids in the first grade class

00:11:34and have to be the page boys in the May procession.

00:11:38I cried all day when they gave me that costume to take home.

00:11:42Paul's in high school now,

00:11:44but he's still an altar boy back at St. James.

00:11:46It's an Irish school.

00:11:48All the nuns and all the priests are Irish.

00:11:51Father McCormick and Father Birmingham are the youngest priests.

00:11:55They're not as scary as the old ones.

00:11:59Birmingham, when he first showed up in Salem,

00:12:00was right around the town that the Vatican II was happening,

00:12:03and there were a lot of changes in getting rid of the Latin and the Mass.

00:12:06And he was young, and he was more of a liberal thinker, I would say,

00:12:10than, you know, the Monsignor O'Leary

00:12:13or Father Scringy down at the Italian church.

00:12:16He was given charge of the altar boys.

00:12:23Birmingham had this big, shiny, black Ford Galaxy

00:12:26with red leather interior.

00:12:30I mean, it was cool.

00:12:32You know, this young teenage kid in the 1960s,

00:12:34and here's this guy who pulls up in this big, black, shiny car.

00:12:39It was always waxed.

00:12:40I mean, that was my memory of it.

00:12:41We take groups of us for rides, and he was immediately very friendly

00:12:46and gathering us all around and saying,

00:12:48let's go to Hampton Beach, and let's go to the movies, and let's go to Boston.

00:12:52I remember he took us to see Juliet of the Spirits.

00:12:56And I remember he brought us to see a Pasolini film,

00:12:58the Gospel according to St. Matthew.

00:13:02He was taking you golfing and taking you to the beach and taking you on ski trips.

00:13:08They had to be covering for him saying Mass because he wasn't there to do it.

00:13:13He would have us come over to the rectory on Friday nights and Saturday nights

00:13:17and have pizza parties in the Monsignor's parlor.

00:13:19We'd sit around and watch TV and joke around and do whatever, you know.

00:13:24And it was always a group of us, so I always felt real comfortable going into the rectory.

00:13:27It was like the clubhouse.

00:13:31You know, growing up, I don't know how many times the word sex was actually mentioned in our house.

00:13:36It just wasn't part of our environment.

00:13:38Those things weren't talked about.

00:13:41Fourteen, fourteen and a half.

00:13:42I was at a Catholic high school taught by Zaverian brothers.

00:13:46I was pretty shy.

00:13:47I went out with girls a couple of times, but certainly didn't have sex with them at that age.

00:13:53Meanwhile, you know, you're growing up and your hormones are kicking in and your horny is crazy.

00:13:57Being as brainwashed as I was, I would actually tell him what I had done.

00:14:03Bless me, Father, I've sinned.

00:14:05It's been, you know, one week since my last confession.

00:14:08And I lied two times.

00:14:09I just talked back to my mother.

00:14:11I jerked off 43 times.

00:14:12He cut right through all the other sins and went right to that one.

00:14:15I said, well, well, we need to talk about that.

00:14:18And, you know, I'm going to give you forgiveness.

00:14:21But, you know, what I want you to do is come see me in the rectory.

00:14:24You walked in and there was an office.

00:14:29He's behind the desk and I'm in a chair and we discussed this problem.

00:14:34I remember him saying, it's kind of normal for boys your age, but it can be a real problem.

00:14:39And so we're going to have to work with this.

00:14:41And it was like this merry-go-go-round.

00:14:43You go to confession, you confess masturbation and you'd have to go back to the rectory.

00:14:46By the third time, I remember him standing up at the top of the stairs and saying, send Paul up.

00:14:55I remember going to the top of the stairs and sitting in the living room ahead of me.

00:14:59And I remember him saying, no, we're going to go to my room.

00:15:02I looked around the room and all there was was a bed and a bureau, you know, maybe a chair.

00:15:07He says, well, I think part of the problem is that you're too tense.

00:15:14So he says, lay down on the bed.

00:15:15He said, I'm going to give you a back rub and still help you relax.

00:15:19And I don't know, he's the priest, you know.

00:15:21He's got the hotline to God, you know.

00:15:23He knows he's the guy who does the magic.

00:15:26He's everybody's friend.

00:15:27He's not going to hurt me or anything.

00:15:29I remember him, like, rubbing my shoulders and then rubbing my back and then sort of sliding his hands under my shirt.

00:15:33And I thought, this is a little bit uncomfortable, but I still felt safe.

00:15:39I felt like, okay, you know, this is what I get for being a sinner.

00:15:44You know, he's trying to help me out.

00:15:46I believe it was, like, the second time he tried the back rub routine on me.

00:15:49It progressed beyond that.

00:15:52He started to undress me and he started to, you know, touch my penis.

00:15:54And he started, you know, having me touch him.

00:15:56And then, you know, he gets his clothes off and he gets in bed and he's naked and he's got me masturbating.

00:16:03And at that point, you know, that's where the trauma kicks in and you think, I'm not here.

00:16:08I couldn't possibly be here.

00:16:09This couldn't possibly be happening.

00:16:13The reason I've come for this counseling is now the thing that he's having me do to him and he's doing it to me.

00:16:21And I just remember kind of, like, staring at the ceiling.

00:16:23This was my first sexual experience.

00:16:34If it was nighttime, it was dark.

00:16:36And we'd drive around the streets, you know, have me jerk him off in the car.

00:16:43He'd bring me down to the youth center.

00:16:45I remember down in the basement and he would do it there.

00:16:47And then one weekend, I remember he took me away to go golfing, theoretically, down to the Cape.

00:17:16I remember this motel that he took me to.

00:17:18It was like overnight.

00:17:19And mom and dad just thought it was normal.

00:17:21They never would have imagined that this was going on.

00:17:24They just would never enter their consciousness.

00:17:25I thought it was a wonderful priest.

00:17:30Terrible, what they did to my son.

00:17:33I always thought he was very, very quiet.

00:17:35Always very, very quiet.

00:17:37But I didn't think anything of it.

00:17:39Then when all that happened, then I came too.

00:17:42That's why he was so quiet, the poor kid.

00:17:44I remember him saying, you don't tell anybody about this because this is between us and this is part of your penance and part of your counseling.

00:17:54I still had my paper route back then.

00:18:01And I'd deliver papers and go over to the rectory and I'd get my counseling session and then go home and try and act like nothing happened.

00:18:09Of course, I'd be shaking and I'd be like, you know, wanting to throw up.

00:18:13When you're totally wrapped up with this environment of sin, guilt, you internalize it yourself.

00:18:22At least I did.

00:18:24I decided it was my fault.

00:18:27It was something the matter with me.

00:18:29What did this mean?

00:18:35My whole attitude became to act like life was going as normally as possible.

00:18:40Mom would say, well, where were you?

00:18:41I said, well, I went over to the rectory to see Father Birmingham.

00:18:44And she thought that was normal.

00:18:45We're always hanging out there.

00:18:49I convinced myself as long as I didn't have an ejaculation, it wasn't even happening to me.

00:18:55He was ejaculating all over the place.

00:18:57I mean, he was...

00:19:02He took me and three of my friends to the World's Fair.

00:19:08We stayed in a hotel in Manhattan.

00:19:11We were all in one room.

00:19:14I remember there were two beds.

00:19:17He said, okay, you two get in that bed and you two get in this bed.

00:19:20And then he got in between myself and whoever was on the other side of me.

00:19:25In the middle of the night, he started to roll over to my side and reaching into my pajamas.

00:19:32And I thought, Hugh, I'm not going to do this in front of my friends.

00:19:34I was able to, like, break out of the trance, I guess, because it was like, now someone else is going to know about this.

00:19:42I remember that moment in that hotel room, just pushing him aside, literally just pushing him aside and getting as far to the edge of the bed as I could.

00:19:48In my mind, that was the last time it happened.

00:19:54I remember sort of like drawing the line in my mind, you are not going to do this anymore.

00:19:57I was 16, I got my license.

00:20:04I thought this was this incredible freedom.

00:20:06I could borrow Mom and Dad's car and I could get away.

00:20:10I could get beyond the radius of the parish.

00:20:14It was kind of like I was in this cold war with him.

00:20:16I would still have to encounter him.

00:20:20He was asking me where I was applying to college.

00:20:23I really wanted to go to Columbia.

00:20:25Columbia is not a Catholic school.

00:20:27Yeah, I remember Birmingham saying, you've got to go to a Catholic college because if you go to a non-Catholic college, you'll lose your faith.

00:20:37And I remember, like, laughing to myself, thinking, well, pal, because of you, I've already lost it.

00:20:42But I don't know what you're talking about.

00:20:43My college years, I don't even remember going to school.

00:20:50It was 1967.

00:20:52I remember driving up to Boston College.

00:20:54There was a lot of stuff going on in the world.

00:21:00It was still a little protected Catholic college world, but people were tuning in and dropping out.

00:21:05All hell was breaking loose.

00:21:06It was the summer of love in Hade Ashbury.

00:21:09I was growing my hair a lot, wearing crazy clothes.

00:21:12I was protesting the war.

00:21:16And I wasn't going to church.

00:21:17So basically everything I was doing was breaking away from that very tight, ordered, predictable life that we grew up with in our household.

00:21:26I think it was a combination of that cultural influence plus me getting away from all of that oppressive Catholic thing and me wanting to just say, screw it, you know, I don't want to do any of that.

00:21:39I was starting to see through the hypocrisy of it all.

00:21:47I remember coming home weekends and telling Mom and Dad I'm going to church.

00:21:50I'd drive around Salem for a couple of hours.

00:21:53I don't remember when they ever figured out I wasn't going to church anymore.

00:21:56Oh, Birmingham.

00:21:58I was from Birmingham.

00:21:59I went and told him that Paul was going to college.

00:22:02And you know what, Father?

00:22:03He's not going to church anymore.

00:22:04He says to me, so what?

00:22:07And I didn't know at that time that he had molested my son.

00:22:10Otherwise, I would never, I'd probably have gone up and killed him, maybe.

00:22:15He's my temper.

00:22:16I think he would have been dead long ago.

00:22:18This whole thing put a filter over my relationship with my family, especially with my parents.

00:22:26Why did I stop going to church?

00:22:27Why did I stop acting the way they did?

00:22:30Since that was such an important part of their life, I think that they felt there was a huge gulf between us opening up.

00:22:38I think there was a part of me that was just so angry that this had happened to me.

00:22:44Angry with everybody who didn't stop it from happening.

00:22:46Even though you're not giving them a chance to help you.

00:22:51I felt a little bit set up by the situation.

00:22:55Here I was, a product of this educational system and this religious system taken advantage of by that system.

00:23:04And there was nobody there to protect me.

00:23:11Between junior and senior in college, I decided that I was going to be a conscientious objector.

00:23:16The war was going on in Vietnam.

00:23:19I wanted no part of it.

00:23:21You had to prove that you were a conscientious objector on religious grounds.

00:23:25And you had to get a letter from a priest that you were on the level.

00:23:29Well, I really didn't know any other priest.

00:23:32I found out that he was at St. Michael's in Lowell.

00:23:34I remember driving to Lowell one night with this letter in my hand.

00:23:40And ringing the bell of the rectory, he came to the door.

00:23:44He kind of looked at it, and he looked at me kind of almost like with disdain.

00:23:47And he signed it and handed it to me.

00:23:49That was the last time I ever saw him.

00:23:50I had a college degree, and I probably could have used my degree and made a career somewhere, but it never occurred to me to do that.

00:23:59I felt like I was outside of society on some level.

00:24:02I wasn't totally conscious.

00:24:03I wasn't motivated.

00:24:06I was depressed.

00:24:07There was a part of me that felt there was something the matter with me, that I didn't deserve what other people deserved.

00:24:14I went through a long string of jobs, none of which had anything to do with the preceding one.

00:24:20When I got out of college, my first job was working as an attendant nurse at Danvers State Hospital, the state mental institution.

00:24:25I worked as a lobsterman.

00:24:28That was the best job of my life, except that I had terminal seasickness.

00:24:31I took a job driving a cab, took a job driving a bread truck, ended up driving a milk truck, ended up stripping furniture.

00:24:42There was no clear pattern going on here.

00:24:45I actually left the country, went to Italy for about four or five months.

00:24:51My whole trip over to Sicily turned into this trip to go find my grandfather.

00:24:57Just some weird way of finding my father, I guess.

00:25:01I didn't do it.

00:25:04Yeah, why don't you do it?

00:25:09When Birmingham was molesting me, I probably had more awe for the priest than I did for Dad at that time.

00:25:15Forgive me for saying this, Dad.

00:25:17You know, it's just like I didn't know who you were.

00:25:20Birmingham stole the position of my father.

00:25:24Dad didn't have a role model for father.

00:25:26He was brought up by his mother to think that his father was dead until he was about seven years old, I think.

00:25:32He tells the story that one day he was outside playing baseball, and this older-looking guy shows up and says,

00:25:37do you know where Mrs. Coltrueva lives?

00:25:39And he says, yeah, she's my mother.

00:25:41My mother telling me, he says, see that man with the white hair in front there?

00:25:45He just come to see you?

00:25:47He says, that's your father.

00:25:48I said, what the hell is that?

00:25:50So then he had a relationship with his dad for a few years until his dad decided to go back to Sicily,

00:25:57and then he never saw him again.

00:26:00I've always been saying that one of my children never would understand me.

00:26:06When I think of growing up, Dad was a great father.

00:26:12He was working all the time.

00:26:15He worked in a leather factory.

00:26:17He was tired when he came home.

00:26:20Our aunts Jenny and Kay, they were there in the house.

00:26:23They were unmarried, and they had all this attention that they gave us.

00:26:26So it was very easy for Dad to kind of recede into the background there.

00:26:31What the heck?

00:26:31I said, oh, they're taking care of my kids.

00:26:35Why should I worry?

00:26:37Worry about it now.

00:26:41I think Birmingham stepped in there at a time in my life

00:26:44where I was probably looking for some strong father figure,

00:26:48and he fit the bill.

00:26:52Father.

00:26:54Literally, he was the father figure.

00:26:56Because he was father.

00:26:59He replaced our fathers.

00:27:011976.

00:27:061976.

00:27:08While my brother is still drifting around trying to figure things out,

00:27:12I'm starting to mess around with this Super 8 camera I bought.

00:27:15Cousin Matt comes over in one costume after another,

00:27:20and the films get longer and crazier.

00:27:23Aunt Grace is the family saint, but always up for a challenge.

00:27:27She teaches Sunday school, has the keys to the church,

00:27:30and is willing to let us in, as long as she has her son.

00:27:33Of course, confession is the sacrament of penance or reconciliation,

00:27:38which means forgiveness and love.

00:27:42Jesus loves us very, very much, more than we can understand,

00:27:46and that is no baloney.

00:27:48In my film school thesis, Cousin Matt plays a priest.

00:27:51Morning, Father. How are you?

00:27:52Based on Father Lorano, the new pastor at St. Mary's Italian,

00:27:55that everyone is complaining about.

00:27:57It's my parish, isn't it?

00:27:59I mean, what do they want from me?

00:28:00At an Italian neighborhood reunion in 1983,

00:28:04I finally captured the real Lorano

00:28:06and his stunningly candid description of what a priest really is.

00:28:10I'm a worker. I'm a serviceman.

00:28:13When somebody needs to have life given to them, I give them life.

00:28:18The man of God should not be accepted by a community.

00:28:21He should be revered, he should be feared,

00:28:23he should be listened to, you know?

00:28:25No father is ever accepted by the children.

00:28:28I'm a man set apart.

00:28:31I'm somebody different, you know?

00:28:34And when you're different, you've got to watch out for them.

00:28:41You know what this is?

00:28:45This is your paintings?

00:28:46All paintings.

00:28:48Gloucester.

00:28:49Gloucester.

00:28:50That's pretty good, huh?

00:28:51I think I moved to Gloucester in 1976 or late 75.

00:29:02Gloucester's a really great town,

00:29:04and I felt very much at home there.

00:29:06The first time I saw Harley, she was at the Blackburn Tavern.

00:29:25I remember this waitress walking through this crowd.

00:29:28Some guy got in her way,

00:29:29and she just spontaneously cussed him out in perfect Italian.

00:29:34And I thought, wow, that's pretty impressive.

00:29:36I wonder who this woman is.

00:29:37I wonder who this woman is.

00:29:38The St. Peter's Festival was going on in Gloucester.

00:29:54It's the blessing of the fishing fleet.

00:29:58It's basically about four days of wild partying all through the town.

00:30:02A lot of people got together and started partying

00:30:04and having a good old time.

00:30:05They hardly like.

00:30:06So they hit it off there and just sort of went off

00:30:08and became a couple.

00:30:12We moved in together in the fall of 79.

00:30:15We decided to get married.

00:30:17We got married in 81.

00:30:23It must have been about 1989 when I was back at the house.

00:30:26I don't know what else I've done.

00:30:28I was standing over by the radiator in the kitchen,

00:30:30and I remember Ma saying,

00:30:33oh, you know, your friend Father Birmingham died.

00:30:36I told him that.

00:30:37I didn't think anything of it.

00:30:38I said, you know, Father Birmingham died.

00:30:40I outwardly didn't make a big deal of it,

00:30:42but inwardly was kind of like,

00:30:44thank God he's dead.

00:30:46I didn't think anything of it.

00:30:48How did I know what was going on?

00:30:51It was a sense of relief that he was dead

00:30:54and that my secret was going to be my secret.

00:31:00There's the sexual abuse itself.

00:31:04It does whatever it does to you.

00:31:06But the other damage as important is that

00:31:08it tosses you into this life of secrecy

00:31:11because you think there's something to matter with you.

00:31:15You think you've done something really bad.

00:31:17So you become very adept at drawing a huge circle

00:31:20around that part of your life.

00:31:21And then that kind of leaks out

00:31:23to other parts of your life.

00:31:25You've been creating these elaborate defenses

00:31:27around yourself.

00:31:30There's always been this part of me

00:31:32that's very open and wants to be very trusting

00:31:34and at the same time I'm pulling back from everything

00:31:36because it's like, oh, wait a minute.

00:31:37What's behind the secret door, you know?

00:31:39I started realizing I wasn't that happy

00:31:51with my life situation.

00:31:53I started talking to Hartley about it,

00:31:55but I wasn't really prepared to figure out what's going on.

00:32:00She was shocked when I sort of was saying

00:32:02to her all these problems.

00:32:04And my way of dealing with the problem

00:32:08was to say, okay, there's a problem, so I'm leaving.

00:32:10We split up in 1990.

00:32:14A lot of people were totally shocked.

00:32:16People thought we were just like this totally happy couple.

00:32:19I thought we were too.

00:32:20I never really doubted it that much

00:32:21until probably about three or four months

00:32:23before we split up.

00:32:27There were parts of me that sort of shut down

00:32:29as a 14-year-old

00:32:30and didn't have a chance to, you know, mature.

00:32:35When things got difficult in our marriage,

00:32:37I wasn't confronting a lot of the truth

00:32:39about what was going on.

00:32:39I'd get defensive.

00:32:40I would get scared.

00:32:41I would think that, of course,

00:32:42I can't maintain this marriage

00:32:43because there's something to matter with me.

00:32:45And I wasn't going to let her really question me

00:32:48to find out what was really going on.

00:32:52That's how I think this whole experience

00:32:54helped contribute to the demise of my marriage.

00:32:57But, you know, it's a lot more complicated than that.

00:33:01We split up in May.

00:33:04So I split for my wife, quit my job,

00:33:05and then decided I should just leave the state.

00:33:07So I left in the fall.

00:33:09I was offered a temporary consulting job

00:33:11out in Southern California,

00:33:12and that sounded like a good place to go.

00:33:18I was horribly miserable at the time

00:33:20that I was doing this.

00:33:21But there was a sense of, you know,

00:33:23okay, I'm going to get in my car

00:33:24and drive across the country in my Fiat.

00:33:36It was a period of time

00:33:37where it was just really difficult for us

00:33:38to even talk to each other.

00:33:41Justifiably, she was having a really hard time

00:33:42dealing with the fact that her husband

00:33:44just kind of one day got up and left.

00:33:46About a year or so later,

00:33:47I was back in Massachusetts.

00:33:49We decided we'd get together and go to dinner.

00:33:54We were sitting in the car on Main Street in Gloucester.

00:34:01I remember it was foggy.

00:34:02It was kind of raining out.

00:34:03I remember the windows were all kind of fogged up in the car.

00:34:05And at one point, she just said,

00:34:07I've got to ask you something.

00:34:14Did something happen with that Boy Scout troop leader

00:34:17that you used to tell me about?

00:34:19I used to tell her stories about our Boy Scout troop leader.

00:34:21He was pretty crude

00:34:23and telling these lewd jokes and things.

00:34:26She said,

00:34:27Did that Scoutmaster molest you?

00:34:39And I remember looking straight ahead

00:34:41and thinking for about three seconds,

00:34:43here's my chance.

00:34:44I could say no,

00:34:45and she's never going to ask me this again.

00:34:46But I heard myself saying,

00:34:49No, it wasn't him.

00:34:57Then she looked at me,

00:34:58and I looked at her,

00:34:59and she said,

00:34:59What do you mean it wasn't him?

00:35:03I just said,

00:35:04Well, it was this priest.

00:35:10That was the first time I had told anybody,

00:35:12and that was in 1992,

00:35:15almost 30 years after it happened.

00:35:21She said,

00:35:22All the time we were together,

00:35:22there was this thing

00:35:23that I couldn't get beyond.

00:35:26You obviously were pretty whacked out

00:35:27about the Catholic Church,

00:35:28but I just figured

00:35:29that's a normal reaction

00:35:30to the Catholic Church.

00:35:32But...

00:35:33There was this part of you

00:35:34that was closed off.

00:35:36I always wanted to ask you,

00:35:37but never really had the courage to do it

00:35:38because you could shut me down pretty easily.

00:35:42There was kind of this mode around me

00:35:43that there was only so much intimacy

00:35:47you could have with a person,

00:35:49and I was, you know,

00:35:50sort of unconsciously limiting that.

00:35:53What really surprised me

00:35:55is how understanding she was.

00:35:57She didn't start screaming,

00:35:59yelling at me.

00:36:00She understood,

00:36:01and she was sympathetic

00:36:02and said,

00:36:02That's a horrible thing

00:36:03to have happened to you.

00:36:04Okay, I've just told this

00:36:07deep, dark secret to somebody.

00:36:10I feel actually better about it.

00:36:13The heavens didn't open.

00:36:14The ground didn't open.

00:36:15There was no earthquake.

00:36:16My life didn't end.

00:36:18All those years

00:36:19when I lived in silence,

00:36:20I believed that I was the only one.

00:36:22And let me tell you,

00:36:22that was a very lonely feeling.

00:36:25It's just been this gradual process

00:36:27of being able to talk about it.

00:36:29The world doesn't think

00:36:31that you're a freak

00:36:31because it's happened to you.

00:36:32You know,

00:36:33people don't turn against you.

00:36:34They actually usually support you.

00:36:42We're driving through

00:36:43the streets of Sacramento

00:36:44on the way to the Sacramento

00:36:45Natural Foods Co-op.

00:36:47I've been managing it

00:36:48for the past, oh, three,

00:36:49three and a half years, I guess.

00:36:55We've got about

00:36:55160-something employees there.

00:36:58My job is to be

00:36:59a general manager

00:37:00of the whole shooting match.

00:37:01What I've been doing

00:37:04in this labor work

00:37:05since about 1980

00:37:06is this community organization,

00:37:09an alternative business structure.

00:37:11That's always what appealed to me.

00:37:13when Paul and I first met,

00:37:18we were both co-op managers.

00:37:21We were colleagues.

00:37:22I lived in New Mexico at the time,

00:37:24and then Paul went out to California

00:37:25to work in a co-op.

00:37:27He ended up closing that co-op,

00:37:29and he came back.

00:37:29I offered him a place to stay

00:37:31to recover from, you know,

00:37:32not having a place to live.

00:37:33I feel like I need a hug.

00:37:36We got biblical.

00:37:40Yeah, we got biblical

00:37:41to recovering Catholics.

00:37:44There were some closed doors

00:37:46in our relationship

00:37:47as there are in any relationship,

00:37:48but I knew that there was

00:37:49something else, something deeper.

00:37:53You know, I don't think

00:37:54that Paul and I ever really

00:37:55intended to live together forever

00:37:57or anything like that,

00:37:58but I knew that I wanted him

00:37:59to deal with whatever that was,

00:38:01whether it be with me

00:38:02or with someone else.

00:38:03He told me what it was,

00:38:07but it was only after

00:38:08we had an argument

00:38:09about his Fiat.

00:38:11His Fiat brought up the issue

00:38:13because I criticized his Fiat,

00:38:14and you know,

00:38:14his Fiat was very dear to him.

00:38:18Yeah, I haven't seen it

00:38:18in about four years, so...

00:38:20It was a typical Fiat.

00:38:21It kept falling apart all the time.

00:38:24I had so much of my identity

00:38:25and then pride wrapped up

00:38:27in this car after a while.

00:38:28That's a new wrinkle.

00:38:29It does come with the

00:38:30Our Lady of Guadalupe

00:38:31gear shift knob.

00:38:33Finally one day I said,

00:38:36why don't you just get

00:38:36a reliable car?

00:38:38And Paul hit the roof,

00:38:40and then I realized

00:38:40he really overreacted to that.

00:38:44He told me then

00:38:45all about the church.

00:38:46It was like I hit some core.

00:38:48I remember just holding him

00:38:52for hours because I wanted

00:38:55to just make it all go away

00:38:57and protect him.

00:39:01I thought Paul had managed

00:39:03to keep his life very together

00:39:05despite such an incredible obstacle

00:39:08in his childhood.

00:39:09He's amazing.

00:39:10and he's amazing

00:39:12that he's so together

00:39:14for all of that.

00:39:16All those Catholic ceremonies.

00:39:18Sheesh.

00:39:19Lee and Hartley reacted

00:39:20as though they wanted

00:39:21to go on the offensive

00:39:22about it in some way or other.

00:39:23I encouraged him

00:39:26to confront the church.

00:39:36Going in,

00:39:37that was the first time

00:39:37I had walked into

00:39:38some Catholic office building

00:39:40in a long time.

00:39:44It felt an awful lot

00:39:45like walking into the rectory

00:39:46at St. James

00:39:47where I was abused.

00:39:48The whole environment

00:39:50was just too eerily reminiscent.

00:39:55It kind of has this power over you.

00:39:56It makes you feel like

00:39:57this little kid again.

00:40:01There was a nun

00:40:02sitting behind the desk.

00:40:04I was still internalizing

00:40:06all this shame

00:40:06and embarrassment.

00:40:08I didn't really want

00:40:09to walk in and talk

00:40:10to some nun

00:40:11and tell her

00:40:11that I was sexually abused.

00:40:14I started feeling

00:40:14like a cold sweat

00:40:15like I was going

00:40:16to throw up.

00:40:18When I started telling her

00:40:19this story,

00:40:19she wasn't surprised.

00:40:21It wasn't like

00:40:21she was in shock.

00:40:23It was almost a routine.

00:40:25Her job was to process

00:40:26these claims

00:40:27and it seemed like

00:40:28I wasn't the first one.

00:40:31I said back in the

00:40:32early 60s,

00:40:33I was at St. James School

00:40:34in Salem

00:40:34and I was molested

00:40:35by Joseph Birmingham.

00:40:37She clearly knew

00:40:38who I was talking about.

00:40:39She was just kind of like,

00:40:40oh, Joseph Birmingham.

00:40:42I said,

00:40:43if you need this story

00:40:44to be corroborated,

00:40:45there were three other

00:40:46priests in the parish

00:40:46at the time.

00:40:47One of them was young.

00:40:48He was the same age

00:40:49as Joe Birmingham.

00:40:50His name was

00:40:50John McCormick.

00:40:52And she said,

00:40:53John B. McCormick?

00:40:54And I said,

00:40:55yeah, yeah,

00:40:55it was John B. McCormick.

00:40:57She said,

00:40:57well,

00:40:57he's in the next room.

00:41:00He's my boss.

00:41:02And I said,

00:41:02he's your boss?

00:41:03And she said,

00:41:03yeah,

00:41:04he's in charge

00:41:04of these cases.

00:41:05My memory of him

00:41:14was he was the young,

00:41:15good-looking priest.

00:41:17One time we went

00:41:17on a ski trip.

00:41:19All the girls were like,

00:41:20whoa, look at this,

00:41:21and he's a priest,

00:41:22and you know,

00:41:23and stuff like that.

00:41:24Always very friendly.

00:41:27There he was,

00:41:28and he looked very similar,

00:41:29and oh, Paul,

00:41:30I'm so sorry to hear

00:41:31about this.

00:41:32I remember you as a boy,

00:41:33and I remember your parents.

00:41:37What we want you to do

00:41:38is find a psychiatrist,

00:41:39and we'll pay for

00:41:40some help for a while.

00:41:43And I said,

00:41:43what ever happened

00:41:44to Father Birmingham?

00:41:46And he said,

00:41:46well, I don't know.

00:41:47He said,

00:41:47I know he died.

00:41:48You know,

00:41:48he died a few years ago.

00:41:49I said,

00:41:50you don't know

00:41:51anything about him?

00:41:52And he said,

00:41:52well, no, no,

00:41:53we never really kept in touch.

00:41:55I knew they were

00:41:56really good friends

00:41:56at St. James.

00:41:58They used to take us

00:41:58to the movies together.

00:41:59They took us skiing together.

00:42:01I assumed that they probably

00:42:03stayed in touch.

00:42:05He said,

00:42:06the only thing I know

00:42:06about him,

00:42:07in 1971,

00:42:08he said,

00:42:08I was at Catholic Charities

00:42:10in Salem,

00:42:11and then I got a call

00:42:12from a parent

00:42:13of one of the boys

00:42:14at St. James.

00:42:15Their son had reported

00:42:16that Father Birmingham

00:42:17either had molested

00:42:18the son or had molested

00:42:19some other kids

00:42:20in the school.

00:42:21I called the pastor

00:42:22of St. James

00:42:22and reported it.

00:42:24He left St. James,

00:42:26and then I really

00:42:27didn't have anything

00:42:27more to do with him.

00:42:28I don't really know

00:42:29what happened to him.

00:42:29I just know he died

00:42:30a few years ago.

00:42:32And he said,

00:42:33I really hope

00:42:34that you're not

00:42:35going to be one

00:42:35of these people

00:42:36who's going to try

00:42:37and sue the church

00:42:38over this because,

00:42:39you know,

00:42:39that's really not

00:42:39going to be productive.

00:42:40That's just going

00:42:41to make you more angry.

00:42:42He just kept saying,

00:42:44the best thing to do

00:42:44is try to get some help

00:42:46and we'll help you

00:42:47get the help

00:42:47and then put this

00:42:49behind you.

00:42:55I've had dreams

00:42:56about Birmingham

00:42:56for years.

00:42:59Back then,

00:43:00the dreams were

00:43:00that Birmingham

00:43:01was alive

00:43:02and he was sort

00:43:02of a threatening figure.

00:43:04I'd be walking

00:43:05with someone I knew

00:43:05and he would walk up

00:43:06and start talking to me.

00:43:08Or even more

00:43:09frightening scenarios.

00:43:13I called McCormick

00:43:14and I said to him,

00:43:15I need to know

00:43:16for sure that he's dead

00:43:17and you're back in Boston.

00:43:19I wondered if you

00:43:19could get me a copy

00:43:20of his death certificate

00:43:21so I could just

00:43:22have that physical proof.

00:43:24And he said,

00:43:25oh, no,

00:43:25I can't do that.

00:43:26But I can assure you

00:43:27that he's dead

00:43:27because I visited him

00:43:28in the hospital

00:43:29before he died

00:43:29and I went to his funeral.

00:43:31Wait a minute,

00:43:32when I met you

00:43:32about two months ago,

00:43:33you said you had

00:43:34nothing to do

00:43:34with Birmingham

00:43:35after you guys

00:43:36left St. James.

00:43:40That really made me think

00:43:41something's going on here

00:43:42and these guys

00:43:43aren't dealing straight.

00:43:44I want to get

00:43:45to the bottom of this.

00:43:511994.

00:43:52The phone rings

00:43:53on a Sunday afternoon.

00:43:56My brother has

00:43:57something to tell me.

00:43:59I have something

00:43:59to tell him.

00:44:01And now I'm asking you

00:44:02to sacrifice once again.

00:44:04In the previous three years,

00:44:05I had made

00:44:06three fundraising films

00:44:07for the Archdiocese

00:44:08of Newark

00:44:09that helped them raise

00:44:10over $100 million.

00:44:11And even after Paul

00:44:13reveals to me

00:44:14his whole history

00:44:15with Birmingham

00:44:16and his suspicions

00:44:17regarding McCormick,

00:44:18I have another

00:44:19Little Joe,

00:44:20good God,

00:44:21guilt moment.

00:44:23I mean,

00:44:23I'm actually happy

00:44:24to hear that Paul

00:44:24is only asking for therapy,

00:44:26that he doesn't want

00:44:27money from the church.

00:44:28How much do we need

00:44:29and what exactly

00:44:30do we need this money for?

00:44:31Because money's got

00:44:32nothing to do with it.

00:44:33Well,

00:44:34we must raise

00:44:35$50 million.

00:44:35It was just

00:44:37one bad priest,

00:44:39one parish.

00:44:41I jump on the Boston train

00:44:43to the Boston Public Library.

00:44:45I feel my heart skip

00:44:47as I scan the faces

00:44:48of this photo,

00:44:50St. John's Seminary, 1960.

00:44:52There's Smiling Joe Birmingham

00:44:54and there's John B. McCormick.

00:44:58And this was just the beginning.

00:45:02Birmingham and McCormick

00:45:03graduated from St. John's Seminary

00:45:05the same year.

00:45:07Birmingham went to Sudbury.

00:45:09McCormick came to

00:45:10St. James and Salem

00:45:11and then about

00:45:11four years later

00:45:13Birmingham shows up

00:45:14in Salem.

00:45:16They're in the same parish

00:45:17together for a couple of years.

00:45:20Birmingham goes to

00:45:21St. Michael's in Lowell.

00:45:23He was in Brighton

00:45:24at St. Colum Kills.

00:45:26Then he went to

00:45:27St. Anne's in Gloucester.

00:45:30St. Anne's was literally

00:45:32less than four blocks

00:45:33from where I was living.

00:45:33It would have

00:45:35shocked the hell out of me

00:45:36I guess if I'd seen him.

00:45:37May they remain faithful

00:45:39to the Holy Church.

00:45:41It turned out that

00:45:42McCormick,

00:45:43he was in charge

00:45:44of personnel

00:45:44when Birmingham

00:45:45was sent

00:45:46to become

00:45:47pastor of St. Anne's.

00:45:50He wasn't just

00:45:50sent to Gloucester,

00:45:51he was made pastor.

00:45:53It stands to reason

00:45:54that the head of

00:45:54ministerial personnel

00:45:55had to be involved

00:45:56in making him a pastor

00:45:57or at least

00:45:58knew about it

00:45:59and didn't say

00:46:00to somebody

00:46:00you know

00:46:02back in 1971

00:46:03this guy was accused

00:46:04of molesting kids.

00:46:06He's been moving

00:46:06from parish to parish

00:46:07and maybe we ought to

00:46:08check and see

00:46:09what went on there.

00:46:13It seemed clear

00:46:14that this organization

00:46:15was protecting him.

00:46:17There was nothing

00:46:18exceptionable

00:46:19about Newer Birmingham

00:46:20so there were probably

00:46:21a lot of other priests

00:46:22that were being treated

00:46:23the same way.

00:46:26The whole idea

00:46:27of getting a large

00:46:28sum of money

00:46:28from the archdiocese

00:46:29is now starting

00:46:30to sound like

00:46:31not such a bad idea

00:46:32and it wasn't like

00:46:33I just wanted

00:46:34to get a bunch of money

00:46:35I just wanted

00:46:36them to feel the hurt.

00:46:42I ended up

00:46:43being connected

00:46:43to a lawyer

00:46:44named Matt McNamara

00:46:45and he advised me

00:46:47there is a statute

00:46:48of limitations

00:46:48and the start date

00:46:51on it is when

00:46:51you first recognized

00:46:53that this happened

00:46:54to you and that

00:46:54it had harmful effects

00:46:56upon you.

00:46:57So if you're going

00:46:58to do anything

00:46:59we need to start

00:46:59acting now.

00:47:01On top of that

00:47:02there's this statute

00:47:03of charitable immunities

00:47:04in Massachusetts

00:47:05that says that

00:47:06the Catholic Church

00:47:06is a charitable institution.

00:47:08If you bring them

00:47:09to court

00:47:10the maximum penalty

00:47:11that they could be assessed

00:47:12would be $20,000

00:47:13unless you can prove

00:47:15that they were

00:47:16willingly and knowingly

00:47:17negligent.

00:47:19The quest was

00:47:20to find out

00:47:21if there was somebody

00:47:22who reported him

00:47:23before he got

00:47:24to Salem

00:47:25then we would know

00:47:26that he did nothing

00:47:26about it.

00:47:27We sent him over

00:47:28to Salem

00:47:28and I got molested

00:47:29there.

00:47:32I got the idea

00:47:33to put ads

00:47:35in the newspapers

00:47:36in each of the towns

00:47:37where Birmingham

00:47:38had been stationed.

00:47:40We had my sister

00:47:41and her husband

00:47:41from Oregon

00:47:42pay with their

00:47:43credit card

00:47:44so that it couldn't

00:47:44be traced back

00:47:45to Paul.

00:47:46It just was a little

00:47:46ad that says

00:47:47do you remember

00:47:47Father Birmingham?

00:47:50Then we got

00:47:51the street address

00:47:52thanks to you

00:47:52in New York.

00:47:54Paul was convinced

00:47:55that we wouldn't

00:47:56hear from anybody.

00:47:58December 1994

00:48:00each day

00:48:01I checked

00:48:01the mailbox.

00:48:04Cold,

00:48:05metal,

00:48:06empty.

00:48:07I'm almost relieved.

00:48:09The next day

00:48:09paper

00:48:12Birmingham's first

00:48:14assignment

00:48:14Sudbury.

00:48:15I wish Paul

00:48:16was here to do this.

00:48:19Sudbury.

00:48:20Yes,

00:48:21I do remember

00:48:22Father Birmingham.

00:48:23If your intent

00:48:24is as I suspect

00:48:25I can probably

00:48:26be of assistance

00:48:27to you.

00:48:29It was so easy

00:48:30to uncover

00:48:30people that

00:48:31Birmingham had

00:48:32molested

00:48:33that I thought

00:48:33man,

00:48:33this thing is huge.

00:48:35Salem.

00:48:36There are several

00:48:37of us St. James

00:48:38classmates from

00:48:39the mid-60s

00:48:40who had close

00:48:40contact with

00:48:41Father B.

00:48:42Could you give us

00:48:43some information

00:48:44regarding what

00:48:45has renewed interest

00:48:45in the man

00:48:46who had a hand

00:48:47in our development

00:48:47during junior high?

00:48:49Some of them

00:48:49wrote letters

00:48:50and said

00:48:50I know Father B.

00:48:52What do you know

00:48:53about Father B?

00:48:54Are you looking

00:48:54for what I think

00:48:55you're looking for?

00:48:56Lowell.

00:48:57Who are you?

00:48:59What would you

00:48:59like to know?

00:49:00I remember him

00:49:01very well.

00:49:03He's been dead

00:49:03about five years.

00:49:05Thank God.

00:49:06And then there

00:49:07was a guy

00:49:07in Gloucester.

00:49:08Gloucester.

00:49:09Yes,

00:49:10I do remember

00:49:10Father Joseph

00:49:11Birmingham.

00:49:12He would get me

00:49:13out of school

00:49:14to counsel me

00:49:15in St. Anne's

00:49:16Rectory,

00:49:17his private quarters.

00:49:19Is this concerning

00:49:20what I think?

00:49:21I knew this kid

00:49:22when he was a kid.

00:49:23I got in contact

00:49:26with a number

00:49:26of different people

00:49:27who then would

00:49:28turn me on

00:49:28to their friends.

00:49:29Sudbury.

00:49:31Father Birmingham

00:49:32did attempt

00:49:32to molest me

00:49:33on more than

00:49:33one occasion.

00:49:35The two incidents

00:49:36I remember

00:49:36occurred in the Rectory

00:49:37in, I believe,

00:49:391963.

00:49:40I remember the year

00:49:41based on the car

00:49:42he was driving

00:49:43at the time,

00:49:44a black 1963

00:49:46Ford XL

00:49:46with red bucket seats.

00:49:49Once in the Rectory,

00:49:50we went to his room

00:49:51where he began

00:49:52to molest me.

00:49:53He was interrupted

00:49:54by another priest.

00:49:57If 30 years later

00:49:58you can just uncover

00:50:0020, 30, 40 people

00:50:01like that,

00:50:02how many more

00:50:03were there?

00:50:05Sudbury was kind of

00:50:06like the gold mine.

00:50:07One of the first ones

00:50:08I remember

00:50:08was Steve Blanchett.

00:50:10I went out

00:50:10and I met him.

00:50:12He told me,

00:50:13yeah, you know,

00:50:13I was molested,

00:50:14my brother was molested,

00:50:15my other brother

00:50:15was molested,

00:50:16my friends were molested.

00:50:18This was the first parish

00:50:18he was at.

00:50:19This was before

00:50:20he got to Salem.

00:50:22I said,

00:50:22well, what happened

00:50:23to Birmingham?

00:50:23He said,

00:50:23well, it was kind of

00:50:24a mystery.

00:50:25He just kind of

00:50:25disappeared one night.

00:50:26He was there

00:50:27and then he wasn't

00:50:27there anymore.

00:50:29And we didn't know

00:50:30where he ended up.

00:50:34I got in contact

00:50:35with a woman named

00:50:36Marie Caret,

00:50:37one of the mothers

00:50:38in Salem

00:50:38who finds out

00:50:39that her son

00:50:40may have been molested

00:50:41by a priest.

00:50:42Gets together

00:50:43with four or five

00:50:43other mothers

00:50:44who have the courage

00:50:46to go in

00:50:46and confront these guys,

00:50:48these powerful figures

00:50:49and was told

00:50:51by the bishop

00:50:53that was in charge

00:50:53that they were

00:50:54spreading scandal

00:50:54about a holy man.

00:50:56They should examine

00:50:56their consciences

00:50:57and go to confession

00:50:58and go back

00:50:59and be quiet

00:50:59about this.

00:51:00The first time

00:51:07that I talked

00:51:08to mom and dad

00:51:08about all of this,

00:51:10they were having

00:51:10their 50th wedding

00:51:11anniversary

00:51:12in January of 95.

00:51:13We had planned

00:51:14this big party for them

00:51:15so I came out for it.

00:51:17I want to thank them

00:51:18for being really

00:51:18great parents.

00:51:19Neither of my parents

00:51:20are great preachers

00:51:21or teachers

00:51:22but I've learned

00:51:22and I know Joe

00:51:23and Marie have learned

00:51:24a lot from them

00:51:24just by their example.

00:51:26They taught us

00:51:26how to practice love.

00:51:27They taught us

00:51:27how to love each other

00:51:28and for that,

00:51:30you know,

00:51:31I'm eternally grateful.

00:51:33They were real happy

00:51:34and it was like

00:51:34a big moment

00:51:35in their life.

00:51:38The next morning,

00:51:39we were sitting down

00:51:40and we were having coffee

00:51:41and I said,

00:51:41you know, mom and dad,

00:51:42there's something

00:51:42I need to talk to you about.

00:51:45Do you remember

00:51:45Father Birmingham?

00:51:46I'm terrible.

00:51:47I'm terrible.

00:51:49Had me crying that day

00:51:50when he came home

00:51:51to tell us.

00:51:52I was sitting in that chair

00:51:53and he came home

00:51:53to tell us.

00:51:54You know how I felt?

00:51:55I said,

00:51:59wait a while.

00:52:00Is he making up stories?

00:52:03You know?

00:52:04For a while,

00:52:05I thought that was thinking.

00:52:08Was he telling me something?

00:52:09And I just couldn't grasp

00:52:13the whole thing.

00:52:15I couldn't.

00:52:17Well, maybe that's,

00:52:18you think that's why

00:52:19he never told anybody

00:52:21because he thought

00:52:22people wouldn't believe him.

00:52:23Well, at that time,

00:52:25he was the only one.

00:52:26He thought he was

00:52:27the only one.

00:52:28And he probably figured,

00:52:30you know,

00:52:31I can't shame my family

00:52:33or stuff like that.

00:52:34That's why he kept

00:52:35all that damn poison

00:52:36into him.

00:52:38I know they feel guilty.

00:52:40They feel embarrassed.

00:52:41They feel like

00:52:41they should have done

00:52:42something.

00:52:42Gad kept saying,

00:52:43if I had known it,

00:52:43I'd have killed the guy.

00:52:45He probably would have.

00:52:47Mom said,

00:52:48well, you know,

00:52:49Sister Grace,

00:52:50the Sister Superior

00:52:51at St. James' at the time,

00:52:52she's in Beverly

00:52:53and maybe you and I

00:52:54should go over there

00:52:54and see what she knows

00:52:55about all of this.

00:52:57I said,

00:52:57yeah, right on.

00:52:58Well, let's go, you know.

00:53:03And I said,

00:53:03well, the reason I'm here

00:53:04is to talk about

00:53:05Father Birmingham.

00:53:07And Sister Grace's face

00:53:08kind of went white.

00:53:10She kind of looked at me like,

00:53:11don't tell me

00:53:13it happened to you, too.

00:53:14And she,

00:53:15we could tell

00:53:16she knew something,

00:53:17but she couldn't say

00:53:18too much

00:53:18because,

00:53:20well.

00:53:20She basically said,

00:53:23yep.

00:53:24Something happened

00:53:25with Father Birmingham.

00:53:27We tried to report it.

00:53:29She couldn't say nothing.

00:53:32But if Paul had an idea,

00:53:34she knew what it was all about.

00:53:36We put all of our findings together

00:53:44and we wrote a demand letter

00:53:45to the archdiocese.

00:53:49Matt Mackin,

00:53:49I remember my lawyer,

00:53:50he had some information

00:53:51from inside the archdiocese

00:53:52that McCormick

00:53:53was about to be

00:53:55appointed bishop.

00:53:57You're not just

00:53:57indicting this priest.

00:53:59You're basically saying

00:54:00that McCormick

00:54:00was his friend

00:54:01who protected him,

00:54:02his friend who

00:54:03promoted him.

00:54:03And now the archdiocese

00:54:06is going to make

00:54:06this guy a bishop.

00:54:09About two weeks later,

00:54:11we heard back from them.

00:54:13My lawyer said to me,

00:54:14this is the fastest turnaround

00:54:16I've ever seen

00:54:16in one of these cases.

00:54:18They said that they

00:54:19wanted to have a meeting.

00:54:21I said that

00:54:22I wanted McCormick

00:54:23to be at the meeting.

00:54:27I started laying it out

00:54:29to McCormick.

00:54:30I said,

00:54:30when I went to you,

00:54:31you told me Birmingham

00:54:32disappeared out of your life

00:54:33back when you left

00:54:34St. James

00:54:34and you reported him.

00:54:36For about ten years

00:54:37of his career,

00:54:38you were actually

00:54:39in charge of

00:54:39ministerial personnel.

00:54:44And he started

00:54:44backtracking.

00:54:46He said,

00:54:46oh, no, no, no,

00:54:47Paul, no, no,

00:54:47you misunderstood me.

00:54:50I didn't say

00:54:50that I never knew

00:54:51anything about him.

00:54:52No, no,

00:54:53of course I knew

00:54:53about him.

00:54:54We were priests

00:54:55and we were in

00:54:56the same archdiocese,

00:54:57but we weren't close.

00:55:00I had a role

00:55:01in the personnel decisions,

00:55:02but it wasn't

00:55:03all my decision.

00:55:04Basically,

00:55:05the cardinal

00:55:05appoints the pastors.

00:55:09I just said,

00:55:10not only did he molest me,

00:55:11but he clearly molested

00:55:12hundreds of people.

00:55:14The church basically

00:55:14moved him around

00:55:15from parish to parish.

00:55:16You were involved in it.

00:55:18You told me

00:55:18you wanted to help me.

00:55:19How do you think

00:55:19it helps me

00:55:20to lie to me

00:55:21about this?

00:55:22It would have been

00:55:23a lot more helpful

00:55:23for me if the first time

00:55:24you just said,

00:55:25look, I blew it.

00:55:26I didn't stop him

00:55:27when I was in St. James

00:55:28and I didn't stop him

00:55:29when I was in charge of him.

00:55:30We were friends.

00:55:31And he said,

00:55:32if we knew back then

00:55:33what we know now

00:55:34about the effects

00:55:35of sexual abuse

00:55:36on teenagers

00:55:38and young boys,

00:55:38then, you know,

00:55:39of course we'd have

00:55:40acted differently.

00:55:41But we didn't know

00:55:42back then.

00:55:44I said,

00:55:45you left St. James

00:55:45and you went back

00:55:46to Boston College

00:55:47and got your master's

00:55:48in social work.

00:55:48You never studied

00:55:50or had an inkling

00:55:51that a priest

00:55:52having sex

00:55:52with an altar boy

00:55:53might have

00:55:55some effect

00:55:56on this kid?

00:55:56Day two,

00:56:03the mediator

00:56:03says,

00:56:04the archdiocese

00:56:05wants to give you

00:56:05$20,000.

00:56:08And I said,

00:56:08isn't that strange

00:56:09that that's the maximum

00:56:10I could get

00:56:10if I went to court

00:56:11because of charitable

00:56:12immunity?

00:56:12He said,

00:56:12well,

00:56:13that's exactly it.

00:56:14And he said to me,

00:56:15you've got a good job now

00:56:16and, you know,

00:56:17you're fairly well together

00:56:18and you're not an alcoholic

00:56:19or a drug addict

00:56:21and, you know,

00:56:22you're not a molester yourself

00:56:23and you don't show

00:56:24all the symptoms

00:56:24of a lot of the things

00:56:25that, you know,

00:56:26some of these guys,

00:56:27some of these guys

00:56:27have just gone off

00:56:28the deep end.

00:56:29And I just listened to him

00:56:30for about 10 minutes

00:56:31going on about this

00:56:32and at one point

00:56:33I almost jumped

00:56:33across the table

00:56:34and just grabbed him

00:56:35by his throat.

00:56:37You're telling me

00:56:38that because I kind of

00:56:40held it together

00:56:41through some inner strength

00:56:42or just incredible powers

00:56:44of repression,

00:56:45I don't merit

00:56:45some treatment here?

00:56:48I'm talking about

00:56:49a lifetime of damage.

00:56:53Why do you think

00:56:53I should accept that?

00:56:55He kind of looked at me

00:56:56and said,

00:56:57okay, okay, okay,

00:56:57I'm starting to see

00:56:58the damage.

00:57:02And finally,

00:57:03he came back,

00:57:03he said,

00:57:04$60,000.

00:57:05They're never going

00:57:06to go any higher than that.

00:57:08A lawyer said,

00:57:09Paul,

00:57:09you're not dealing

00:57:11with a bunch of

00:57:11pious little saints.

00:57:13They've got the insurance

00:57:14claims figured out,

00:57:15they've got their legal

00:57:16exposure figured out.

00:57:18To get $60,000

00:57:19out of them

00:57:20is pretty remarkable.

00:57:22You keep pushing

00:57:22and you're going

00:57:23to drive yourself crazy.

00:57:33My plan had been

00:57:34that I was going

00:57:35to get the money

00:57:35from them

00:57:36and then I was going

00:57:36to go public

00:57:37because by then

00:57:38I was really pissed off.

00:57:40But by the time

00:57:41I came out

00:57:42of that negotiating room,

00:57:43I just wanted

00:57:43to go back home

00:57:44up to the desert

00:57:45in New Mexico

00:57:46and just forget

00:57:47about it all.

00:57:48It was just too painful

00:57:48to go through again.

00:57:49I didn't want it

00:57:53to be my life cause.

00:57:57I wanted to be able

00:57:58to speak the truth

00:57:59about it,

00:57:59but when I got up

00:58:00in the morning

00:58:00I didn't want that

00:58:01to be my defining

00:58:02issue of every day.

00:58:03about a year later

00:58:17John McCormick

00:58:18is ordained a bishop

00:58:19and three years

00:58:20after that

00:58:21Pope John Paul II

00:58:23appoints him bishop

00:58:24of Manchester,

00:58:25New Hampshire.

00:58:25In January of 2002

00:58:33I was back

00:58:34for the holidays.

00:58:37Dad came in the room

00:58:38he had a copy

00:58:38of the Boston Globe

00:58:39and he threw it

00:58:40down at the table

00:58:40and he said

00:58:41this will make you sick.

00:58:45It was the first edition

00:58:47of the Globe

00:58:48where they broke

00:58:48the whole story.

00:58:50I looked at it

00:58:51and I said

00:58:52no dad

00:58:53this doesn't make me sick

00:58:53this makes me happy.

00:58:55About eight years

00:58:58after I had gone

00:58:59through this thing

00:58:59with the archdiocese

00:59:00now all the stories

00:59:01were coming out

00:59:02and I didn't have

00:59:03to stand alone

00:59:04when I was talking

00:59:04about this.

00:59:07And the Globe

00:59:08was relentless

00:59:09at that point.

00:59:11I just kept digging up

00:59:12more and more stuff.

00:59:16The courts forced

00:59:17the diocese

00:59:18to open up

00:59:18all of their files

00:59:19on all of these priests.

00:59:22The ad that we put

00:59:23in the newspapers

00:59:23you know

00:59:24do you remember

00:59:24Farther Birmingham?

00:59:25That was in the files.

00:59:27The smoking gun

00:59:28that I was looking for

00:59:28who reported Birmingham

00:59:30when Birmingham

00:59:31was at Our Lady Fatima

00:59:32in Sudbury

00:59:32it was there

00:59:33in the files.

00:59:36They told the parents

00:59:38in Sudbury

00:59:38they were going to

00:59:40hospitalize him

00:59:40in Salem.

00:59:41He was going to

00:59:42get treatment there

00:59:43and might actually

00:59:44become like the chaplain

00:59:45of the Salem hospital.

00:59:47So they sent him

00:59:48to Salem

00:59:49and they put him

00:59:49in charge

00:59:49of the altar boys.

00:59:51When he was in Brighton

00:59:52he was the chaplain

00:59:53to the juvenile court.

00:59:57In Gloucester

00:59:58he was made pastor

00:59:59the ultimate authority

01:00:01that made it very clear

01:00:03that the archdiocese

01:00:04knew about him

01:00:04as early as 1964

01:00:06and all the way

01:00:08through his career.

01:00:10The Boston Globe

01:00:11back in I guess

01:00:1292 or 93

01:00:13had some information

01:00:14about Birmingham

01:00:15and they tried to call

01:00:16Sister Grace Kenny.

01:00:17she called the archdiocese

01:00:19and said

01:00:20what should I do?

01:00:22In the files

01:00:23Father John McCormick

01:00:24basically says

01:00:25tell her not to say anything

01:00:26tell her not to go

01:00:28looking into the records

01:00:28tell her not to talk

01:00:29to the globe.

01:00:32You know in my days

01:00:33when a priest

01:00:33told you that

01:00:34tomorrow you're going

01:00:35to go to hell

01:00:36you figure you accepted it

01:00:38you know

01:00:39it's a different item

01:00:42now for me

01:00:43that it's about

01:00:44priests

01:00:44they're nothing

01:00:46but a bunch

01:00:47of hypocrites.

01:00:59When Birmingham

01:01:00was molesting me

01:01:01there was that sense

01:01:03I was going through

01:01:04some strange

01:01:05indoctrination

01:01:06some ritual

01:01:06along with trying

01:01:10to get some

01:01:11sexual gratification

01:01:12he was trying

01:01:13to change my life

01:01:14he was trying

01:01:15to take me

01:01:16out of

01:01:17the realm

01:01:18of young boys

01:01:20who were going

01:01:21to have a normal

01:01:22sexual life

01:01:22because he had

01:01:26given that up

01:01:26he was going

01:01:27to say

01:01:27okay Paul

01:01:28you don't get it either

01:01:29I'm going to put

01:01:30this darkness

01:01:31in your life.

01:01:38December 2002

01:01:40after publicly

01:01:41admitting he had

01:01:42placed sexually

01:01:43abusive priests

01:01:44in new assignments

01:01:45and facing

01:01:46several lawsuits

01:01:47and parishioner

01:01:48rage over his

01:01:49handling of

01:01:49multiple cases

01:01:50Boston's

01:01:52Cardinal Bernard

01:01:53Lahr

01:01:53is forced

01:01:54to resign.

01:02:02Through the course

01:02:03of the year

01:02:042002

01:02:04I made some

01:02:05contact with

01:02:06some of the people

01:02:07who had formed

01:02:07the survivors

01:02:08of Joe Birmingham

01:02:08in January

01:02:112003

01:02:12they had organized

01:02:13a meeting

01:02:13in Salem

01:02:14where Bishop

01:02:15McCormick

01:02:15was going to come

01:02:16and talk to the group

01:02:17and answer their questions

01:02:18echo echo echo echo echo echo

01:02:22at this point in my life

01:02:23if there's one thing

01:02:24that's really stuck with me

01:02:25and made me feel real bitter

01:02:26it was the way

01:02:27that McCormick

01:02:28treated my case

01:02:29and now we're looking

01:02:30at these files

01:02:30how he treated

01:02:31lots of them

01:02:32I might hang out

01:02:35over here

01:02:36tonight

01:02:36I hope I can

01:02:38keep my voice

01:02:38together

01:02:39this has been

01:02:41a process

01:02:42getting to this point

01:02:43to get him down here

01:02:44a lot of work

01:02:44most of these guys

01:02:47from this group

01:02:49I were in

01:02:49they're going public

01:02:52and now getting

01:02:53therapy

01:02:54and meeting

01:02:55all these other guys

01:02:56and doing this

01:02:57while you supposedly

01:02:57work for a living

01:02:59you know

01:02:59it's amazing

01:03:00these guys

01:03:05had this thing

01:03:05really well organized

01:03:06there were well over

01:03:08a hundred people

01:03:09who showed up

01:03:09family

01:03:10old friends

01:03:12mom and dad

01:03:13were there

01:03:14and hardly

01:03:14my ex-wife

01:03:15showed up

01:03:16and then

01:03:17the so-called

01:03:18Bishop John McCormick

01:03:19showed up

01:03:19and said

01:03:21how he never thought

01:03:22that his return

01:03:23to Salem

01:03:23would be under

01:03:24these circumstances

01:03:25there must have been

01:03:26about seven or eight

01:03:27people who got up

01:03:28and just told

01:03:29their stories

01:03:30it was

01:03:32incredibly moving

01:03:33Jamie Hogan said

01:03:36you know

01:03:36I remember you

01:03:36coming over to our

01:03:37house for dinner

01:03:38all the time

01:03:38when I was a kid

01:03:39what would you say

01:03:41to my father

01:03:41if my father

01:03:42was here alive

01:03:42how would you explain

01:03:45that you didn't do

01:03:46anything about this

01:03:47there was a woman

01:03:49who got up

01:03:50the sister of

01:03:51a man in Lowell

01:03:52who had been abused

01:03:53by Birmingham

01:03:54and who had committed

01:03:54suicide

01:03:55I read this statement

01:03:58that I wrote

01:03:59I've flown across

01:04:00the country

01:04:00from Sacramento

01:04:01California

01:04:02the town

01:04:02where I now live

01:04:03to Salem

01:04:04the town

01:04:04where I was born

01:04:05and grew up

01:04:06to ask John McCormick

01:04:07some questions

01:04:08I hope you'll understand

01:04:10why I do not

01:04:10address John as father

01:04:11my father is here

01:04:13in the audience

01:04:14and John McCormick

01:04:15does not deserve

01:04:15to share that title

01:04:16with him

01:04:17how'd that make you feel

01:04:18I was pretty proud

01:04:19you're not fit

01:04:23to be called

01:04:24the father

01:04:25he says

01:04:25there is my father

01:04:27and mother there

01:04:28remember that

01:04:32yeah

01:04:34how can you say

01:04:40that you didn't know

01:04:41about this

01:04:42when

01:04:421, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

01:04:44here's the evidence

01:04:45why you're lying

01:04:46I faced him

01:04:48he was 2 feet away from me

01:04:50he wouldn't even look at me

01:04:51at the end of the meeting

01:04:52he got up

01:04:53and made some lame

01:04:54statement about

01:04:54well I would like

01:04:55to answer your questions

01:04:56but there are so many of them

01:04:57that there's not

01:04:58enough time tonight

01:04:59you can individually

01:05:00come and talk to me

01:05:01if you want

01:05:02I can't talk

01:05:04that's all

01:05:04sure I have to hear

01:05:06that speech

01:05:06nothing

01:05:07we all felt

01:05:09good that we were able

01:05:10to get up

01:05:11and say what we needed

01:05:11to say

01:05:12and disappointed

01:05:13in his reaction

01:05:14thank you gentlemen

01:05:16bye

01:05:17McCormick had prevented us

01:05:19from shooting the meeting

01:05:20we caught him outside

01:05:22and asked if he'd learned anything

01:05:24I learned what their lives are like

01:05:26because of what has happened to them

01:05:29so John was only now considering

01:05:32how the other half lived

01:05:34as for his pals

01:05:38the class of 1960

01:05:3911 of them

01:05:41would turn out to be abusers

01:05:43or enablers

01:05:43probably the most familiar

01:05:46among them

01:05:46was Paul Shanley

01:05:47a serial abuser

01:05:48who addressed

01:05:49the initial gathering

01:05:50of NAMBLA

01:05:51the North American

01:05:52Man-Boy Love Association

01:05:53McCormick covered for Shanley

01:05:55and Birmingham

01:05:57and other alumni

01:05:58and colleagues

01:05:59in 1985

01:06:03John McCormick

01:06:05Joe Birmingham

01:06:05and three other priests

01:06:07from their class

01:06:08took a trip to Europe

01:06:09together

01:06:09in celebration

01:06:10of their 25th anniversary

01:06:12in the priesthood

01:06:13this was some 10 years

01:06:15before he told my brother

01:06:17he knew nothing about Birmingham

01:06:18between the time he left Salem

01:06:20and the time he died

01:06:21and that they certainly

01:06:22weren't close

01:06:23two years after

01:06:25this European vacation

01:06:27a parent of an altar boy

01:06:28from St. Anne's in Gloucester

01:06:29who had heard rumors

01:06:31of Birmingham's

01:06:31previous misconduct

01:06:32contacted McCormick

01:06:34about his concerns

01:06:35McCormick told the parent

01:06:37that he spoke to Birmingham

01:06:38and that

01:06:38quote

01:06:39he has assured me

01:06:40there is no factual basis

01:06:42to your concern

01:06:42from my knowledge

01:06:44of Father Birmingham

01:06:45and my relationship

01:06:46with him

01:06:47I feel he would tell me

01:06:48the truth

01:06:48and I believe

01:06:49he is speaking the truth

01:06:51in this matter

01:06:51my work with John McCormick

01:06:56is over

01:06:57he has no moral authority left

01:06:59he's so clearly discredited

01:07:01by just the evidence

01:07:02sitting in his file

01:07:04Paul was done with McCormick

01:07:08but I had to give him

01:07:10another chance

01:07:10I was on the road

01:07:12when we finally connected

01:07:13so the reason I called you

01:07:15this whole process

01:07:17for my brother

01:07:18has sort of become

01:07:19a process for me too

01:07:20and Paul went

01:07:21and got therapy for this

01:07:23and my therapy

01:07:23is that I've been

01:07:24working my way through it

01:07:25by making a film about it

01:07:26and it's a film

01:07:28about a family

01:07:29and how we're all

01:07:31trying to find our way

01:07:32through whatever

01:07:33this religion was

01:07:34to all of us

01:07:34I don't know

01:07:36if you would be interested

01:07:37in being part of it

01:07:38because you are part of it

01:07:39you're a big part of it

01:07:42and a lot of people

01:07:42talk about you

01:07:43and frankly

01:07:44it's not very complimentary

01:07:46I'm just offering you

01:07:48the opportunity

01:07:49because I don't want

01:07:50to go through this process

01:07:51and make a film

01:07:52and then at the end

01:07:52someone say

01:07:53well you know

01:07:53it seems so one-sided

01:07:54why don't we hear anything

01:07:55from John McCormick

01:07:58why wouldn't you?

01:08:03why won't you be believed?

01:08:05I don't understand that

01:08:05I am giving you

01:08:08this opportunity

01:08:08and you're denying it

01:08:10I mean I think

01:08:12what my brother's doing

01:08:13by doing this film

01:08:14is a lot higher

01:08:15than what you'd have

01:08:16to go through

01:08:17I want you to know

01:08:18that I did ask you

01:08:19to do this

01:08:20and that when this thing

01:08:21comes out

01:08:22and there's negative things

01:08:23about John McCormick

01:08:24in it

01:08:24that you understand

01:08:25why they are not counted

01:08:26every once in a while

01:08:32there's a little kid

01:08:32in me

01:08:33that says

01:08:33he shouldn't be bishop

01:08:34and then I kind of

01:08:35stand back

01:08:36and say

01:08:36yeah but it's just

01:08:37a big joke anyway

01:08:37what does it mean?

01:08:40what does the post

01:08:41of bishop

01:08:41in the Catholic Church

01:08:43really mean?

01:08:44the organization

01:08:45has just been around

01:08:46a long time

01:08:46it's built this

01:08:47incredible power

01:08:48and it's holding

01:08:49on to that power

01:08:50it is more

01:08:53concerned with

01:08:54maintaining that power

01:08:56than it is

01:08:56and actually carrying out

01:08:57the mission

01:08:57that it says

01:08:58that it's all about

01:08:59it's not the religion

01:09:01and it's not all the priests

01:09:02and it's not all the people

01:09:03who go to church

01:09:03it's the guys at the top

01:09:05it's the guys

01:09:07that protect

01:09:08the Birminghams

01:09:09and the Gagans

01:09:10and all of these priests

01:09:11the cardinals

01:09:13that promote

01:09:14the McCormicks

01:09:15being the bishop

01:09:17basically means

01:09:18there's a good chance

01:09:18you probably are a rotten guy

01:09:19that has just climbed

01:09:20to the top

01:09:21of that corporate ladder

01:09:22they're just a bunch

01:09:24of corrupt businessmen

01:09:26and they are sitting

01:09:28on top of

01:09:29the evil empire

01:09:30I can read the Bible

01:09:35I can read the Gospels

01:09:37and draw my own conclusions

01:09:38and maybe I ought to

01:09:39get together with some friends

01:09:40and sit down

01:09:40and talk about Christianity

01:09:41and figure out

01:09:42how to lead my life

01:09:43but I'm not going

01:09:43to take it from you

01:09:44just because you're

01:09:45dressed in black

01:09:46and you've got a collar on

01:09:46back at the house

01:09:50the family holds tight

01:09:51to old habits

01:09:52downstairs

01:09:56my Aunt Kay

01:09:5799 years

01:09:59upstairs

01:10:03my parents

01:10:04still attending church

01:10:06they still have their church

01:10:08St. Mary's Italian

01:10:09built by neighborhood hands

01:10:11funded by neighborhood money

01:10:13it is a refuge

01:10:15free of scandal

01:10:16it was a comfort

01:10:18after we found out

01:10:20what happened to Paul

01:10:21that we had our own church

01:10:23we found comfort

01:10:24in our own church

01:10:25but for good Catholics

01:10:27like my parents

01:10:28even that comfort

01:10:29would soon be taken away

01:10:31I have a copy

01:10:32of a letter

01:10:33from the apostolic

01:10:35administrator

01:10:36of the Archdiocese

01:10:37of Boston

01:10:37the most reverend

01:10:38Richard G. Lennon

01:10:39after a thorough study

01:10:41of the situation

01:10:42of St. Mary Italian Parish

01:10:44in the city of Salem

01:10:45and having consulted

01:10:47the current administrator

01:10:49and parishioners

01:10:50of St. Mary's

01:10:51Italian Parish

01:10:52a recommendation

01:10:54was made

01:10:55by the most reverend

01:10:56Francis X. Erwin

01:10:57that St. Mary

01:10:59Italian Parish

01:11:00will be suppressed

01:11:02every time

01:11:07I come in this church

01:11:08I look and I can see

01:11:09everything that everybody did

01:11:10all the names

01:11:11of all the people

01:11:12I see my father's

01:11:13painting up there

01:11:14and it made him

01:11:16live in that

01:11:17the goods and obligations

01:11:18of St. Mary Italian Parish

01:11:20become the goods

01:11:21and obligations

01:11:22of the Archdiocese

01:11:23of Boston

01:11:24we gave these gifts

01:11:26to God

01:11:26they are taking it

01:11:28they are stealing

01:11:28the gifts

01:11:29and to have this church

01:11:31being taken from us

01:11:33is a sin

01:11:34it's a big sin

01:11:36whensoever you do

01:11:44through the bleach

01:11:45of my people

01:11:48when I hear

01:11:51that they're going

01:11:51to close the church

01:11:52part of me says

01:11:52big deal

01:11:53but when I look

01:11:55at the reality

01:11:56of what closing

01:11:57this particular church

01:11:58means to this

01:11:59particular community

01:12:00it's just one more

01:12:02screwing

01:12:04that somebody's getting

01:12:04from the hierarchy

01:12:06here are my parents

01:12:08trying to deal

01:12:09with what happened

01:12:10to their son

01:12:11and at the same time

01:12:12the organization

01:12:12that did this

01:12:14to their son

01:12:14is ripping the one thing

01:12:16that's the most important

01:12:16thing in their life

01:12:17out of their lives

01:12:18their kid was abused

01:12:20and now they're getting abused

01:12:21clearly there's a connection

01:12:25between the millions

01:12:26of dollars

01:12:26that are going to be

01:12:27bled out of the Archdiocese

01:12:27of Boston

01:12:28to settle these cases

01:12:30and the fact

01:12:31that they're closing down

01:12:32churches like this

01:12:32that are debt free

01:12:34and sitting on

01:12:35valuable pieces

01:12:36of real estate

01:12:36January 2003

01:12:40the last mass

01:12:41a bishop

01:12:43steers me down

01:12:44a priest

01:12:46tries to get me

01:12:47to stop

01:12:47to throw me out

01:12:49but he can't tell me

01:12:50or us to leave

01:12:51it's not his to take

01:12:53it's ours

01:12:54our culture

01:12:55our names below

01:12:56the statues

01:12:57embedded in the stained glass

01:12:59I stand my ground

01:13:01start to feel

01:13:02the power shift

01:13:03it makes him

01:13:05very sad

01:13:06and this local bishop

01:13:09the one who closed it

01:13:10Francis Irwin

01:13:12one more member

01:13:14of the church's

01:13:15power elite

01:13:15that came out

01:13:16of that class

01:13:17of 1960

01:13:18two parishioners

01:13:20are supposed

01:13:21to give speeches

01:13:22tributes

01:13:22to the history

01:13:23of Salem

01:13:23Italian Catholicism

01:13:24House of Senate

01:13:26let's go in peace

01:13:27to love and serve

01:13:28the Lord

01:13:28Irwin decides against it

01:13:30abruptly ends the ceremony

01:13:31before any unanointed

01:13:33local voice

01:13:33can be heard

01:13:34dad

01:13:35can't let this one pass

01:13:37thank you

01:13:37brother

01:13:38thank you

01:13:38what happened to the last

01:13:39two speeches

01:13:40uh Bishop

01:13:41oh come on

01:13:42this is the bishop

01:13:43didn't like the idea

01:13:44I says

01:13:45who the hell

01:13:46is the bishop

01:13:46this is our church

01:13:52we had a right

01:13:54to have one of our

01:13:55people speak

01:13:56no please

01:13:59no please

01:14:01then I apologize

01:14:04literally why

01:14:06I don't know

01:14:08what the hell

01:14:08made me apologize

01:14:09in a sense

01:14:10now that I think

01:14:11of it

01:14:11the more I think

01:14:12of it

01:14:12I don't know why

01:14:13that's my bringing up

01:14:16in the church

01:14:17that's what it is

01:14:18initially when I talked

01:14:22to mom and dad

01:14:22about this

01:14:23they were supportive

01:14:24and they wanted

01:14:24to do something

01:14:25but they would be

01:14:26defending the church

01:14:27you know that

01:14:27actually pissed me off

01:14:29sometimes

01:14:29I think you know

01:14:30how can

01:14:31after what I've told

01:14:32them what happened

01:14:33to me

01:14:33how could they

01:14:33still be going

01:14:34to church

01:14:34and giving money

01:14:35to these people

01:14:35I was just being

01:14:39pretty self-centered

01:14:40the church

01:14:42was their life

01:14:42now that they know

01:14:44that sexual scandal

01:14:46has happened

01:14:46to so many people

01:14:47and they saw

01:14:48the reaction

01:14:49of the archdiocese

01:14:50then having their

01:14:51church taken away

01:14:52from them

01:14:53I think that

01:14:53my relationship

01:14:54with them

01:14:54has changed

01:14:56the reason we go

01:14:57to church

01:14:58it's

01:14:59what you have

01:15:00to remember

01:15:00it's been

01:15:01an instill in us

01:15:02since we were born

01:15:04well

01:15:06I was brought up

01:15:07that I believed

01:15:07in everything

01:15:08but now

01:15:09things have changed

01:15:10I go wrong

01:15:11with what's going

01:15:12on

01:15:12I mean

01:15:13it's wrong

01:15:13I don't believe

01:15:15all these priests

01:15:15are doing it wrong

01:15:16with the ones

01:15:18that did it

01:15:18I like getting punished

01:15:19I still have my faith

01:15:21and that's why

01:15:22I do go to church

01:15:23and that's how

01:15:24I express it

01:15:24is it the same

01:15:26no

01:15:26I lost my church

01:15:27I lost my

01:15:29you know

01:15:30my brother was

01:15:31lost by him

01:15:32right

01:15:33I lost my brother

01:15:34part of my brother

01:15:35you know

01:15:36Paul and I

01:15:37are

01:15:37not going to

01:15:39go back to church

01:15:40I know that

01:15:41I know that

01:15:42how do you feel

01:15:43about that

01:15:43well it hurts

01:15:44it hurts

01:15:45it hurts

01:15:47did I ever say

01:15:49anything to you

01:15:49because you don't

01:15:50go to church

01:15:50no

01:15:51well

01:15:51because it's your life

01:15:53you do what you want

01:15:54I never interfered

01:15:55with your thinking

01:15:56did I

01:15:57I never said

01:15:58no you shouldn't

01:15:59do this

01:16:00or you shouldn't

01:16:00because I had

01:16:01no reason

01:16:02to doubt you

01:16:03you ended up

01:16:04to me you ended up

01:16:05my wonderful children

01:16:08you figure whatever

01:16:10happened to Paul

01:16:12you're holding that

01:16:12all against

01:16:13that you're holding

01:16:15that against God

01:16:16but

01:16:16well you don't

01:16:17go to church

01:16:18I can see God

01:16:19without church

01:16:20yeah well it's true

01:16:21to him

01:16:22well what's the old

01:16:24saying is

01:16:24God is everywhere

01:16:25I'm not going to

01:16:28go to hell now

01:16:29because I want

01:16:30no you ain't

01:16:31going to hell

01:16:31I'll save a place

01:16:35up there for you

01:16:36a year after

01:16:42Cardinal Law

01:16:42was forced out

01:16:43of Boston

01:16:43the Pope puts him

01:16:45in charge

01:16:45of one of the

01:16:46most important

01:16:46basilicas in Rome

01:16:47even Anke thinks

01:16:49this one crosses

01:16:50the line

01:16:50she asks my brother

01:16:52to perform

01:16:53the sacramental

01:16:54rite of removal

01:16:55extracting Bernard Law

01:16:57from the holy

01:16:57hallway wall

01:16:58of Popes and

01:16:59Cardinals

01:17:00you've got another

01:17:01you've got the old

01:17:02Pope hidden

01:17:03underneath there

01:17:03there he goes

01:17:05you get him

01:17:06there he goes

01:17:07he's sitting in

01:17:09Rome the big guy

01:17:10you want to leave

01:17:11this one in there

01:17:12he wasn't much

01:17:12better

01:17:13Medeiros

01:17:14he did

01:17:15that'll bum too

01:17:16I'd like to send

01:17:19this to the Pope

01:17:20I'd like to send

01:17:22it to the Pope

01:17:23and say get that

01:17:25guy out of Rome

01:17:26you don't belong

01:17:27yeah he's the Pope's

01:17:30best friend

01:17:31so when's the last

01:17:34time you were here

01:17:35oh

01:17:37a long time ago

01:17:39I don't know

01:17:39it's funny

01:17:40I almost feel like

01:17:42it would have more

01:17:43effect on me

01:17:43but it doesn't

01:17:44that was the room

01:17:46up there

01:17:46yeah it was

01:17:47actually I think

01:17:48it's the one

01:17:48that was in

01:17:49so I had spent

01:17:51two years piecing

01:17:52it together

01:17:52first

01:17:53the hiding spots

01:17:55then the specifics

01:17:56so we went

01:17:57and we shot them

01:17:58here and here

01:17:59and there

01:18:00and here

01:18:01and here

01:18:02some priest came out

01:18:04and told my

01:18:05cameraman to stop

01:18:06hello

01:18:06we did

01:18:07but then a very

01:18:08slow burn

01:18:09comes over me

01:18:10I'm thinking

01:18:11abuse

01:18:12the cover up

01:18:13the pedophiles

01:18:14the enablers

01:18:15my brother

01:18:16thousands of

01:18:17other survivors

01:18:18just like him

01:18:19the million dollar

01:18:20fundraisers

01:18:21I made for them

01:18:21they take my

01:18:22parents donations

01:18:23and then they take

01:18:24their church

01:18:25and we can't take

01:18:27some simple shots

01:18:27outside a building

01:18:28I says who the hell

01:18:30is the bishop

01:18:30exactly

01:18:32I'm not a sheep

01:18:33anymore

01:18:34we continue

01:18:36no sir

01:18:38don't touch me

01:18:41I didn't

01:18:42I put my hand

01:18:43up there

01:18:44well he'll explain

01:18:45why we're here

01:18:45he'll be happy to

01:18:47until we come here

01:18:48we're going to film

01:18:49about my family

01:18:51and we're going to

01:18:51tell you

01:18:51this building

01:18:56it was 10 years ago

01:18:57my brother came here

01:18:58and it was a beast

01:18:59so we have a problem

01:19:02with a sheep

01:19:02well sir

01:19:04this private property

01:19:05literally

01:19:06it probably is a Catholic

01:19:07story

01:19:08my family put so much money

01:19:10into this church

01:19:11no it's not

01:19:11that has nothing to do

01:19:13it has nothing to do

01:19:13it's always separate

01:19:15it's always separate

01:19:16take take take take

01:19:18sir if you think

01:19:20that you're going to

01:19:21make me feel bad

01:19:21about this

01:19:22no I know you guys

01:19:24don't feel bad

01:19:25you don't feel anything

01:19:25we didn't know

01:19:27who this priest was

01:19:28until I showed

01:19:28the tape to my mom

01:19:29she identified him

01:19:31Bishop Richard Lennon

01:19:33the man who had

01:19:34approved the closing

01:19:35of my parents church

01:19:36the man who had

01:19:37taken over

01:19:38from Cardinal Lahr

01:19:39the supposed

01:19:40warm and gracious

01:19:41replacement

01:19:42it's all in your head

01:19:43sir

01:19:43you're a sad

01:19:44little man

01:19:45I think Lennon

01:19:47was right

01:19:48he told me

01:19:48it's all in my head

01:19:49it is all in your head

01:19:51and it's

01:19:52and they put it

01:19:52all in our head

01:19:53it's very difficult

01:19:55to break out

01:19:56and just laugh at them

01:19:56and walk away

01:19:57as long as people

01:19:58are willing to kneel down

01:20:00and take the sacraments

01:20:01from these people

01:20:01and give them the power

01:20:02then they probably

01:20:03deserve as much

01:20:04as they get

01:20:04it's up to the people

01:20:06to basically finally say

01:20:07the game's over

01:20:08you guys

01:20:08you guys are not

01:20:09the ones who can

01:20:10preach to us

01:20:11you know the people

01:20:12they've hurt the most

01:20:13are still supporting them

01:20:14I don't fault them

01:20:17for it

01:20:17it's the way

01:20:19they were brought up

01:20:19it still has meaning

01:20:20to them

01:20:21but

01:20:21it feeds the beast

01:20:23it's like

01:20:24you keep feeding

01:20:25this thing

01:20:25and they keep

01:20:27going on

01:20:27there were times

01:20:31when I think

01:20:32that Joe Birmingham

01:20:32was my best friend

01:20:33through all the

01:20:35crap that I went

01:20:36through with him

01:20:36he actually showed

01:20:37me the other side

01:20:38he showed me

01:20:39the dark side

01:20:40and he showed me

01:20:42that these guys

01:20:42are full of crap

01:20:43so

01:20:48all this

01:20:50stuff

01:20:50all of it

01:20:52in some ways

01:20:54this film has been

01:20:55making itself

01:20:55before I ever

01:20:56picked up a camera

01:20:57layer

01:20:58upon layer

01:20:59and I'm still

01:21:00trying to fit the pieces

01:21:01the bread

01:21:03into the blood

01:21:04the wine

01:21:06into the sauce

01:21:07I want the magic

01:21:13to be real

01:21:14I want to believe

01:21:15the impossible

01:21:16but it's all

01:21:18too human

01:21:19I'm flustered

01:21:21by the flutter

01:21:22of Holy Ghost wings

01:21:23Aunt Grace

01:21:27whispers in my ear

01:21:28tales of

01:21:29immaculate conceptions

01:21:30sorrowful

01:21:31and joyful

01:21:32mysteries

01:21:33how can anyone

01:21:37deny Aunt Grace

01:21:38she tells me

01:21:40about Jesus

01:21:40entering the temple

01:21:42overturning the tables

01:21:44of the money changers

01:21:45and I can't help

01:21:48asking myself

01:21:48what would Jesus

01:21:49do today

01:21:50about these men

01:21:51who built their

01:21:52powerful corporate

01:21:53structure

01:21:53atop of his lessons

01:21:55what would he say

01:21:56about their betrayals

01:21:57selfishness

01:21:59the shocking arrogance

01:22:00that the priest

01:22:02Lorano had demonstrated

01:22:03to me

01:22:03those many years ago

01:22:04I'm a man set apart

01:22:06I'm somebody different

01:22:07you know

01:22:08and when you're different

01:22:09you gotta watch out for them

01:22:11Oh did you see

01:22:18my bright son

01:22:20and what did you see

01:22:25my darling young one

01:22:27I saw a newborn baby

01:22:32with wild wolves

01:22:33all around it

01:22:34I saw a highway

01:22:37diamonds

01:22:39with nobody on it

01:22:41I saw a black branch

01:22:45with blood

01:22:46that kept dripping

01:22:47I saw a room full of men

01:22:52with their hammers

01:22:53a bleeding

01:22:54I saw a white ladder

01:22:59all covered with water

01:23:00I saw 10,000 talkers

01:23:05whose tongues

01:23:06were all broken

01:23:07I saw guns

01:23:11and chopped swords

01:23:12in the hands

01:23:13of young children

01:23:14and it's hard

01:23:16it's hard

01:23:18it's hard

01:23:20and it's hard

01:23:22it's hard rain

01:23:24they're gonna fall

01:23:27I trust myself

01:23:30to your prayers

01:23:31and there you have her

01:23:34this report continues

01:23:52on Frontline's website

01:23:53where you can watch

01:23:56the full program again

01:23:57online

01:23:58I hope you'll understand

01:23:59why I do not address

01:24:00John as father

01:24:01my father is here

01:24:02in the audience

01:24:03read Paul Coltrera's

01:24:04full statement

01:24:05to Bishop McCormick

01:24:06explore a timeline

01:24:08background on the making

01:24:10of the film

01:24:11and updates

01:24:12on the clergy abuse scandal

01:24:14and the priests

01:24:15and church officials

01:24:16featured in this story

01:24:17I'm a man set apart

01:24:18I'm somebody different

01:24:19it's all in your head sir

01:24:21you're a sad little man

01:24:23and then join the discussion

01:24:25at pbs.org

01:24:27next time on Frontline

01:24:39meth has destroyed

01:24:41this community

01:24:42methamphetamine

01:24:43is a highly addictive drug

01:24:44she looked 20 years older

01:24:46than she was

01:24:47made from a highly

01:24:48profitable pharmaceutical

01:24:49cold medicine

01:24:51is a $3 billion money maker

01:24:52was this epidemic

01:24:53preventable

01:24:54back home

01:24:55it was tearing lives apart

01:24:56here in congress

01:24:57it was as if

01:24:57there was no problem at all

01:24:59the meth epidemic

01:25:00next time on Frontline

01:25:17to water Frontline's

01:25:20Hand of God

01:25:21on videocassette

01:25:22or DVD

01:25:22call PBS

01:25:24home video

01:25:25at 1-800-PLAY-PBS

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01:25:43funding for Frontline

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01:26:03thank you

01:26:05we are PBS

01:26:21money from Saudi Arabia and ideas from Egypt

01:26:22this is where it all begins and it ends up in our neighborhoods

01:26:35we met in a park and he had a detonator with him

01:26:38Frontline goes undercover to infiltrate the cell next door

01:26:43I'm not gonna do that

01:26:44I'm not gonna do that

01:26:45I'm not gonna do that

01:26:46for a quick app

01:26:46summary of that

01:26:47we have no help

01:26:48to protect the cell

01:26:49but I'm not gonna do that

01:26:50we have no need to be

01:26:51it's my favorite part

01:26:53and if it's my favorite part

01:26:53that causes the cell

01:26:54of my Orleans

01:26:54and I'll be there

01:26:55because I'm not gonna do that

01:26:56but I don't have to do that

01:26:56could not do that

01:26:57by doing that

01:26:57do that

01:26:58I'm not gonna do that

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