Thoughts on "Spotlight"
Last week my husband and I saw the movie "Spotlight".
The basic premise is this: it's a true story about a team of reporters called "Spotlight" within the Boston Globe who research and publish the truth about the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.
Yes, I know, great date night movie.
But it was good. Difficult to watch, but good. Well made, great casting, and overall a good job handling a difficult subject.
If you have not watched "Spotlight", I would recommend it. Not because I liked the content of the movie, but because of the way it portrays that difficult content and leaves us unable to pretend that sexual abuse doesn't happen even in [what we would deem] the safest of places. And hopefully we can react not in fear but in fervor of action and prevention. That hopefully it would raise our awareness and motivate us into action to prevent such things from happening as much as is in our ability to do so.
I've had so many thoughts go through my head in the days and weeks after seeing this film. Many different aspects of those involved in this scandal were brought out in the movie: the abused, the abusers, those who had no clue, those who knew but pretended not to see. As I talked through some things with my hubby, we kept coming back to the fact that we were mostly saddened at the reality that things like this do occur and are continuing to happen in the church! And that's not pointing fingers outward, it's pointing fingers inward because we are part of the church, the body of Christ. It's righteous anger and sadness at what should not be in our midst. The church: a place of truth, healing, safety. Or it should be.
What angers and saddens us even more is the way that sexual abuse (and emotional abuse for that matter) often is mingled with spiritual abuse. That being: using scripture, church authority, and Christian lingo in the grooming and exploitation of kids.
Kids! These are kids!
That means they believe most of what you tell them, they may feel powerless to ask for help, and here's the kicker: they blame everything on themselves. Ever heard of a kid whose parents have gone through a divorce say "I'm sad my parents split up. And it's really too bad that they couldn't work out their own problems and selfishness. I know that I am still loved and there was nothing I could have done differently to prevent the divorce. I know my parent's divorce wasn't my fault."? No! Because children tend to blame themselves for what is happening in their life even if it has nothing to do with their choices and everything to do with another person's sickness and pain. And so that keeps them silent.
My heart is full of sadness and compassion for not only the abused, but the abusers. What events in their lives have influenced them to make these choices? What lies have they bought into? What ways have they themselves been abused in the past?
Recently a friend and I were talking. She had an interesting perspective on those who inflict abuse, physical or emotional. She said something to the effect of, "It's a shame there is little help and not very many resources for abusers. It's true that those who are abused are hurting, but their abusers are hurting also."
As the movie ended and we watched the lists of cities across the US and world flash on the screen, I could not stop my tears. These are not just cities. These are people. These are kids. All around the globe.
And yet my heart is filled with hope, because I know that Jesus in His magnificent way brings light into darkness. Healing into pain. Justice into wrongdoing. And He does that through His Word, the work of the Holy Spirit on this earth, and through ordinary people like you and me who not only confess with our mouth that we believe but who also live and breathe His truth.
The basic premise is this: it's a true story about a team of reporters called "Spotlight" within the Boston Globe who research and publish the truth about the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.
Yes, I know, great date night movie.
But it was good. Difficult to watch, but good. Well made, great casting, and overall a good job handling a difficult subject.
If you have not watched "Spotlight", I would recommend it. Not because I liked the content of the movie, but because of the way it portrays that difficult content and leaves us unable to pretend that sexual abuse doesn't happen even in [what we would deem] the safest of places. And hopefully we can react not in fear but in fervor of action and prevention. That hopefully it would raise our awareness and motivate us into action to prevent such things from happening as much as is in our ability to do so.
I've had so many thoughts go through my head in the days and weeks after seeing this film. Many different aspects of those involved in this scandal were brought out in the movie: the abused, the abusers, those who had no clue, those who knew but pretended not to see. As I talked through some things with my hubby, we kept coming back to the fact that we were mostly saddened at the reality that things like this do occur and are continuing to happen in the church! And that's not pointing fingers outward, it's pointing fingers inward because we are part of the church, the body of Christ. It's righteous anger and sadness at what should not be in our midst. The church: a place of truth, healing, safety. Or it should be.
What angers and saddens us even more is the way that sexual abuse (and emotional abuse for that matter) often is mingled with spiritual abuse. That being: using scripture, church authority, and Christian lingo in the grooming and exploitation of kids.
Kids! These are kids!
That means they believe most of what you tell them, they may feel powerless to ask for help, and here's the kicker: they blame everything on themselves. Ever heard of a kid whose parents have gone through a divorce say "I'm sad my parents split up. And it's really too bad that they couldn't work out their own problems and selfishness. I know that I am still loved and there was nothing I could have done differently to prevent the divorce. I know my parent's divorce wasn't my fault."? No! Because children tend to blame themselves for what is happening in their life even if it has nothing to do with their choices and everything to do with another person's sickness and pain. And so that keeps them silent.
My heart is full of sadness and compassion for not only the abused, but the abusers. What events in their lives have influenced them to make these choices? What lies have they bought into? What ways have they themselves been abused in the past?
Recently a friend and I were talking. She had an interesting perspective on those who inflict abuse, physical or emotional. She said something to the effect of, "It's a shame there is little help and not very many resources for abusers. It's true that those who are abused are hurting, but their abusers are hurting also."
As the movie ended and we watched the lists of cities across the US and world flash on the screen, I could not stop my tears. These are not just cities. These are people. These are kids. All around the globe.
And yet my heart is filled with hope, because I know that Jesus in His magnificent way brings light into darkness. Healing into pain. Justice into wrongdoing. And He does that through His Word, the work of the Holy Spirit on this earth, and through ordinary people like you and me who not only confess with our mouth that we believe but who also live and breathe His truth.
Ephesians 5:8-11 (NLT)
For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.
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