Watch the Free Documentary “Holy Watergate”

As the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandal continues to heat up, I’ve seen many articles comparing this mess to Watergate, and rightfully so – Pope Benedict and Richard Nixon share a lot of the same despicable traits and have both resorted to many of the same detestable tactics to cover up their crimes. This article, published in The Atlantic, does a great job showing the scary similarities. Here’s a taste…

On the Watergate tapes, Nixon himself declared, “It’s not the crime that gets you… it’s the cover up.” He understood that he probably could have survived the Watergate scandal if only he had admitted White House involvement early on instead of covering his tracks. The nation might have forgiven Nixon for mismanaging his campaign, but not for obstructing justice.

Similarly, the Pope’s greatest liability is not so much the sexual crimes committed by priests—terrible as those are—but his actions following the crime. In one case, a German priest, Rev. Peter Hullerman was ordered into therapy after repeatedly molesting young boys. Hullerman was then transferred to another parish, where he continued to molest boys. Supporters of the Pope blame the transfer on a close associate, Rev. Gerhard Gruber, but it remains unclear whether the Pope may have played some role in the priest’s re-assignment.

Bearing this in mind, I must recommend that everyone watch this appropriately named short film (56 minutes) called “Holy Watergate”. While it is a few years old now, filmmaker Mary Healey’s personal investigation into the Church’s systematic cover-ups of sexual abuse by clergymen remains strikingly relevant, and her findings just as powerful as ever. Cases of the Church counter-suing victims and requiring those who wish to settle to sign confidentiality agreements are shocking enough, but when you meet the priest who was abused himself as a child, and another man of the cloth who explains how he got away with abusing children in a candid interview, you’ll find yourself picking your jaw up off your computer desk. It’s easy to see why this low budget, but well-made, documentary was an award winner…