225. Pray For Our Sinners; movie review

 

PRAY FOR OUR SINNERS

Cert TBA

81 mins

BBFC advice: TBA

As long as I have been an adult, I have never understood blind loyalty to the church and why it should wield such power.

I could not grasp the rituals, the constant pleading for money and a doctrine based on texts written more than 2,000 years ago.

But much more than all of the above comes the cruelty. The simple fact is that people have been tortured, maimed and murdered in the name of religion.

And, as Pray For Our Sinners proves, let us not be persuaded that any of the above was confined to medieval times.

The warped representatives of the church abuse their power today just as much as they did back then.

Sinead O'Shea's documentary focuses on a period within our lifetimes when the Catholic Church demonised those who acted outside of its preachings.

She alights upon her home town of Navan in Ireland, interviewing those from a protest group she did not know existed when she was growing up.

They give evidence of pregnant teenagers being filtered away to an abbey where babies were born and either taken off them for adoption or died in mysterious circumstances.

Leading a small band of opponents were the local husband and wife doctors who took it on themselves to challenge both state and church.

Sadly, the husband died a few years ago but, fortunately, his spouse has crystal clear recall despite her advancing years.

The shame of church and state is exposed to the full by here and others who bear witness.

Mrs W and shocked that the events, described in harrowing detail, happened so recently but were at least consoled by the notion that they could not be repeated.

Or could they? Pray For Our Sinners leaves us with a warning rather than contrition.

Reasons to watch: Fascinating investigation

Reasons to avoid: Not enough response

Laughs: None

Jumps None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? In August 2018, a list was released revealing that of the over 1,300 Irish clergy who have been accused of abuse, only 82 were convicted.

The final word. Sinead O'Shea: "They can’t be the only people who fought back, and I hope by telling this story, others might come forward and share their stories of resistance. We need to celebrate these stories and recognise them." Movies. ie

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