The L'Osservatore Romano, the official newspaper of the Vatican, recently published an editorial piece commending the film "Spotlight," which won the best picture award at the 2016 Oscars. According to the newspaper, the film is not anti-Catholic and depicts the pain caused by the controversial issue on those who are faithful.
"Spotlight," which premiered in September last year and stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams, focuses on the team of investigative journalists working for the Boston Globe. In 2001, this team, known as Spotlight, starting investigating the series of child abuse cases involving several Catholic priests in Boston.
As they delved deeper into the subject, the reporters were able to uncover a conspiracy involving government officials and lawyers who assisted the Archdiocese of Boston in hiding the abusive actions of the priests.
Due to the controversial nature of the film, it received various criticisms. Many of them indicated that "Spotlight" did not portray an accurate description of how the Catholic Church dealt with the issue.
But, in an editorial piece published this week, author Lucetta Scaraffia praised the stars and director of the film as it highlights the plight of the victims of abuse and those involved in the cases, The Guardian reported. He also wrote that even though the film did not go into detail regarding the lengthy procedure of the actual investigation, "Spotlight" was still able to shed light on the important points of the controversy.
"It is not an anti-Catholic movie, as has been written, because it manages to voice the shock and profound pain of the faithful confronting the discovery of these horrendous realities," he wrote in the article.
Aside from the film itself, Scaraffia also commended director Tom McCarthy for what he said at the Oscars after receiving the award. During the event, he said he hopes the message of the film will reach the Vatican. He also called on Pope Francis regarding the protection of children from cases of abuse and exploitation.
"The fact that a call arose from the Oscar ceremony - that Pope Francis fights this scourge - should be seen as a positive sign," Sacarffia wrote.
