High-profile cases of Catholic priests abusing children and early adolescents have made headlines in recent times and resulted in huge financial settlements for the churches involved. The victims are often males between 11 and 18 years (Blasi and Oviedo 1). Many years ago, cases of the abuses were kept secret by the civil authorities, but during that time and some years later, fellow priests and bishops of the offenders also joined in on the cover-up. However, recently when the church lost its credibility in its claims on sexual ethics, most notably regarding contraceptives and homosexuality, these priests and their congregation could no longer keep quiet (Blasi and Oviedo 1). Even when they talked about the abuses, the church still protected them from exposure. The Catholic Church has concealed the perversions of its priests and, in turn, condemned their victims to drug addiction, strained sexual relationships and disturbed sexual behavior, loss of their belief in God, and painful flashbacks.
The ignorance of the church and failure to report pedophile priests to authorities so they can be prosecuted is one of the major reasons that so many children still suffer sexual abuse. The church protects the pedophiles and will even go as far as to buy the silence of the victims to save face. Sexual abuse has tremendous effects on children as it destroys their faith in God and kills their souls and innocence. Pedophile priests should not be called men of God since they do not portray His actions, and the church’s ignorance is unacceptable.
The film, La mala educación, on which this article is based, reminds its viewers of the all too vivid atrocities of the Catholic Church’s sexual offense cases and its long-term consequences. The film is filled with lively, comical scenes with funny dialogue lines that are exceptionally conveyed by its main character, Gael Garcia Bernal (Almodóvar). Bernal plays three characters, and to each one, he brings a level of depth and reality. The theme of child sexual abuse is well documented in the film with various scenes. For instance, Bernal’s transvestite character, Zahara, returns to her former childhood school to confront Father Manolo, the priest who molested her as a boy (Almodóvar). Director Pedro Almodovar, thus, utilizes the film to expose the rot and hypocrisy in the Catholic Church.
The cover-ups of abuses enable perpetrators to escape punishment for their actions, and they are able to return to continue with the abuse. In the end, it is the victims that often pay the price as witnessed in the film. The consequences of abuse for the victims are physical, psychological, and behavioral (Dressing et al. 6). The psychological consequences outweigh the physical and behavioural effects of abuse in the context of Catholic Church. In La mala educación, Zahara is addicted to drugs and steals from people. She is self-medicating as means to cope with her traumatic past. She is yet to recover, which is probably why she decides to confront Father Manolo, her former priest at her childhood Catholic school.
Zahara also displays disturbed risky sexual behavior as she engages in sex with a stranger she has just met. She picks him up from the nightclub and takes him back to the motel. When the stranger could not maintain his erection, she climbs on top of him anyway and forcefully engages in unprotected sex with him (Almodóvar). She could have also robbed him but only stopped after realizing that he was Ignacio, her former crush at the Catholic school. Disturbed sexual behavior and strained relationships are psychological consequences of abuse for victims (Dressing et al. 6). Child sexual abuse often involves unprotected sex in adolescence, and this similar risky sexual behavior has been witnessed in adult victims. It is suggested that engaging in such risky behaviors by victims of child abuse is their way of avoiding the emotional distress that often results from abuse.
The lack of a permanent solution to the sexual abuse cases in the form of prosecuting offenders leaves room for more crime and rot in the church by both the perpetrator and the victim. In the film, Zahara confronts Father Manolo and demands lots of money so that she does not publish her story, The Visit, which was about her abuse and was to be made into a film (Almodóvar). The church is meant for worship, and it is bad enough that children are molested in such a place but adding extortion into the situation completely damages its name as God’s dwelling place. More crime is also witnessed in the form of murder, breaking a holy commandment.
An experience of abuse also makes the victim lose their relationship with God. As Zahara confronts Father Manolo, her friend steals from the church, the same institution that she once believed in and was a part of during her childhood years (Almodóvar). Sexual abuse causes spiritual damage to a believing victim, especially if the perpetrator is a religious leader. After such an experience, an individual should undergo a process of spiritual healing to recover and rebuild their trust in God. The clergy represent God, and when they engage in such despicable acts with children, their young minds might interpret it as God’s actions towards them. Such cruelty breeds mistrust and drives them away from God. The lack of trust, belief, and respect for God is, thus, reason enough to make one steal from His house.
The memory of a trauma can make an individual feel like they are going through the same experience again. When playing Angel Andrade in the Visit, Bernal is overwhelmed by emotion and breaks down in tears (Almodóvar). An interaction with a similar situation that he underwent evoked a flood of emotions and vivid memories. It is, therefore, evident that healing completely from an experience of abuse might take years, and children should be spared from reliving such horrors now and then.
In conclusion, the Catholic Church is at fault for protecting its pedophile priests and covering up their disgusting, abusive actions. When child sexual abuse acts are swept under the rug, the children they are supposed to protect end up getting hurt the most. In the long-term, the victims experience effects in the form of strained sexual relationships, disturbed risky sexual behavior, loss of trust and faith in God and the church, drug addiction, and flashbacks. Some of these effects can be prevented, and victims can be spared a lot of hurt if the Catholic Church can stop its ignorance and cover-ups of child sexual abuse. The pedophile priests belong in prisons and not pulpits, preaching the word of God every week.
Works Cited
Blasi, Anthony J., and Lluis Oviedo, editors. The abuse of minors in the Catholic Church: Dismantling the culture of cover ups. Routledge, 2020.
Dressing, Herald, et al. “Sexual abuse of minors within the Catholic Church and other institutions.” Neuropsychiatrie, vol. 31, no. 2, 2017, Web.
La mala educación. Directed by Pedro Almodóvar, performances by Gael García Bernal, Fele Martínez, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Lluís Homar, Francisco Maestre. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2004.