The exposure of various scandals committed by the Catholic Church in the USA continued. With Gal Gadot keeping an eye on these developments, Murphy felt reassured and could fully devote himself to writing the script for his new project. Creating an outstanding film with such a specific theme and goal was no easy task.
First, Murphy decided on the project's title, "Spotlight," as shown in the press conference.
For him, this film was carefully chosen for its relevance to the current social environment, and the decision to make "Spotlight" was almost confirmed during the Oscars campaign for "Diego Ross."
Movies are greatly influenced by social factors, and there couldn't be a more fitting time for this film than now.
Not only was Hollywood, provoked by the Catholic Church, supportive, but even most media outlets were applauding the project.
"Murphy Stanton's new film 'Spotlight' will become a classic in defining freedom of the press and showcasing the power of media!"
Led by The New York Times, mainstream media began singing Murphy's praises even before the film was officially greenlit.
Mainstream media typically represents mainstream societal voices. Although the Catholic Church had significant influence in the USA, the continuous exposure of scandals had crossed a line that mainstream American society could not tolerate—the protection of children and minors.
Even The Washington Post, which usually didn't favor Murphy, stood against the Catholic Church this time, urging Washington authorities to thoroughly investigate the scandals.
However, bringing these matters to justice wouldn't be easy. Similar to how the Kennedy family, devout Catholics representing Catholic interests, influenced American politics, the Catholic Church still held considerable sway in the country's political landscape.
In the current social climate, saying Murphy's new film was highly anticipated might be an exaggeration, but it was indeed eagerly awaited.
This was positive but also posed a risk. Higher expectations meant lower tolerance for errors during production, especially for a serious film based on real events. Major mistakes were absolutely unacceptable!
Therefore, before writing the script, Murphy had to fully understand the events surrounding the Boston Globe's Spotlight team's investigation into the Catholic Church's abuse scandals.
With plans in place, Murphy had already done some preparations. Bill Rossis had gathered extensive materials and established communication channels with Robbie Robinson and others who had led and participated in the original investigation. This groundwork would help reduce the chances of errors in the script.
Although Murphy had watched the original film several times, he flew to Boston to discuss the matter with Robbie Robinson and others for a few days before starting to sift through the vast amount of data.
Facts were the foundation of this film.
Murphy began by reviewing a statistical investigation of the Catholic Church. Seeing the numbers, he understood why Archbishop Marcus Costello was so eager to expand the Church's influence aggressively.
According to the statistics, over 50% of people who grew up Catholic in the USA would leave the Church as adults.
This was a startling concept. At least half of those raised in Catholic families or surrounded by Catholicism no longer identified as Catholics.
This was an alarming ratio, and it had been increasing in recent years.
The primary reason cited for leaving the Church was significant—many said they grew up feeling deeply uncomfortable with the hypocrisy and dogmatism of the Catholic Church from a young age.
Murphy then delved into the specific details of the Boston Globe's investigative report. This investigation could be summarized as follows: From 2001 to 2002, the Boston Globe's Spotlight team reported on the widespread abuse of children by Catholic priests, exposing the scandal.
At first glance, this might not seem much different from Murphy's work on "Diego Ross," but the context of Boston versus Los Angeles made a huge difference.
The Catholic Church's influence in these two cities was vastly different.
Catholicism was the largest religious group in Boston, exerting substantial influence on local politics and regularly pressuring various institutions. The Kennedy family, Boston's most famous Catholic political dynasty, illustrated how the Church's power could affect law enforcement's leniency and silence regarding these incidents.
Murphy knew he had to get a clear picture of the events before writing the script.
In late July 2001, Marty Baron, who had just moved from The Miami Herald to the Boston Globe under the New York Times Company, noticed a legal column mentioning a priest involved in a sexual abuse scandal. When he sought further investigation, he was told the court records had been sealed, preventing public access to the priest's files. Marty Baron realized he was on to a major story.
He mobilized the Spotlight team, led by Robbie Robinson, to investigate Father John Geoghan.
The findings were shocking: In his six years as a priest, Geoghan had abused over 130 boys! What was more astonishing was that his actions had been exposed before, yet he retained his priestly duties for thirty years after the initial allegations.
The Spotlight team compiled their findings into a report titled "Church Allowed Abuse by Priest for Years," which caused a sensation in Massachusetts. But this was only the tip of the iceberg of Boston's Catholic sex abuse scandal.
Initially, the team thought there might be about 15 to 20 priests involved in similar cases. However, their investigation revealed that nearly 250 priests in Boston had molested children over several decades.
Even more infuriating was the Church's response—shuffling priests between parishes to avoid exposure, allowing them to continue their abuses elsewhere.
Significantly, a priest named Ronald Paquin openly admitted his crimes during the investigation.
This was crucial because, until then, no implicated clergy had publicly acknowledged their wrongdoing. Paquin's admission caused an uproar among the public.
He stated that he had been molesting boys until 1989, when he was moved out of Boston by the diocesan bishop, an act that spanned fifteen years and two different congregations.
However, Paquin claimed, "Yes, I was stupid, but I never raped anyone and never enjoyed it."
He also revealed that he had been raped by a Catholic priest when he was a teenager.
The scandal eventually came to light. From January 6 to December 14, 2002, the Boston Globe published nearly 600 reports on clergy sexual abuse, winning the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. The coverage encouraged more victims to come forward, with over 1,000 survivors in the Boston Archdiocese and 249 priests and church officials publicly accused.
Notably, John Geoghan, the priest at the center of the initial report, continued his crimes for 34 years under the protection of three cardinals and numerous bishops. In 2003, he was beaten to death in prison.
"The well-known yet unspoken truth, advice from religious friends, and even family resistance... Until that groundbreaking report was finally published, 'Spotlight' demonstrated the tenacity of journalistic professionalism."
This was the Pulitzer Prize committee's comment on the news event.
Murphy had worked in a similar profession. In today's society, most journalists, in their pursuit of news and sensational stories, were often as unscrupulous as he once was. However, there was still a portion of journalists who were genuinely committed to justice and social responsibility.
No matter what, these journalists showed commendable courage, especially considering the context of ten years ago.
Back then, at the dawn of the new century, the Church's influence was much stronger than it is today. For a society that prided itself on "freedom," freedom of the press was crucial. You could report government scandals, criticize corruption, and chastise public figures, but challenging the Church was a different matter.
The Spotlight team wasn't just challenging a few rogue priests but an entire Church system that protected these tainted clergy. Murphy understood why the original reports caused such a massive reaction.
Unfortunately, the Church's influence, particularly in the northeastern USA, was strong enough to suppress the scandal after a brief period of public outrage. By now, it had almost been forgotten.
"The destruction of the soul far exceeds that of the body."
Murphy added this line at the beginning of the script outline, intending to use it at the start of the film. "The media should not be a tool for praise but the eyes of justice, seeing and exposing the world's evils!"
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