Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God

It starts with one priest in Wisconsin—and ends with a paper trail to the Pope.

Alex Gibney delivers a devastating reckoning that starts in a Milwaukee school and ends in the heart of the Vatican.

If you like Gibney’s work, here is a list of “The Best Alex Gibney Documentaries” to check out (my colleague Rob Kelly and I rank Mea Maxima Culpa #7 in that list).

Thanks to Roberta Grossman (who made “Blessed Is the Match”) for first recommending this one.

Trailer for “Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God”

You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up

• Father Murphy molested boys during confession—and used the fact that they were deaf to avoid consequences.
• Murphy was never defrocked. Even after Vatican officials acknowledged his crimes, he remained a priest until his death in 1998.
• The Vatican received hundreds of letters from victims and whistleblowers—but many were never answered.
• The priest not only molested students—he sometimes performed “mass baptisms” where the abuse took place in plain sight.

Watch “Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God”

You can watch it on HBO Max or Amazon Video.

For the latest streaming options, check JustWatch.

Ratings:

• My Rating: 93/100
• IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 90/100 (Users); 98/100 (Critics)

Director’s Note: Alex Gibney directed this 106-minute doc. He’s also the filmmaker behind “Going Clear” (my colleague Rob Kelly ranked this 93/100), “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” (Rob ranked this 94/100), and “Taxi to the Dark Side” (which won an Oscar — and Rob ranked 93/100).

Release Date: Premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival; later released on HBO in November 2012.

My Review of “Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God”

The Setup

This doc starts with a single priest—Father Lawrence Murphy—who molested more than 200 boys at St. John’s School for the Deaf in Milwaukee. The deeper the investigation goes, the more it exposes a global cover-up reaching all the way to the Vatican.

The four men at the center of the film—deaf since birth—use sign language to tell their stories. Their testimony is voiced by actors Jamey Sheridan, Chris Cooper, Ethan Hawke and John Slattery.

More Highlights from the Doc

• The film connects the abuse in Milwaukee to Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries, the Marcial Maciel scandal in Mexico, and the Vatican’s long pattern of denial.
• Gibney gets former high-ranking priests and Vatican officials to talk—something few filmmakers have pulled off.
• It shows that Catholic doctrine prioritized “avoiding scandal” over protecting children—even to the point of silencing victims.
• The survivors—now older men—speak with heartbreak and rage. You can see that they’ve spent their entire adult lives trying to be heard.

Cameos – Lesser-Known Details from the Doc

• The film briefly shows confidential Vatican letters signed by Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) that discuss the Murphy case.
• One priest who tried to report abuse to the Vatican had his car firebombed. He now lives in hiding.
• The doc uncovers how bishops moved known abusers from parish to parish—and even between countries—to avoid lawsuits or local scandal.
• One segment details how a secret set of Vatican guidelines—called “Crimen Sollicitationis”—instructed church officials on how to cover up abuse cases.

Wrap Up

This is one of Alex Gibney’s angriest and most relentless documentaries. It’s not easy to watch—but it’s essential.

Thanks for reading!

Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc