Secrets of the Vatican director, Anthony Thomas.

On Monday 2 June, the Frontline Club hosted a screening of Secrets of the Vatican, which was followed by a Q&A session with the film’s director and producer, Anthony Thomas. The film focuses on the sexual abuse scandals that emerged from within the Vatican during the time when Pope Benedict led the Roman Catholic Church, and looks to the future with Pope Francis. It hears testimonies from people who have been abused by Roman Catholic priests, as well as members of the clergy and also journalists and experts on the Vatican.

This screening was the only UK screening of the director’s cut of Secrets of the Vatican. Although Channel 4 recently aired a shorter version of the film, Thomas told the audience that too much had been changed.

“I couldn’t identify with that film and, in the end, asked for my name to be removed.”

Many of the audience questions focused on possible difficulties or obstacles he faced when making the film. One audience member noted that the film had four legal advisers, and asked Thomas whether he had encountered many legal barriers?

Thomas admitted that the film did need extensive legal advice due to the nature of its subject and the power that the Vatican holds, but said that the role of the lawyers was mostly to ensure that the film was accurate and that there was nothing in the narration that could be misinterpreted.

Addressing questions about challenges faced, Thomas said that the biggest challenge was in finding witnesses and building their trust. There were many Vatican insiders who didn’t want to be misrepresented, and many victims who needed confidence in coming forward on film. Thomas said, though, that he had been “very well served by the people we interviewed”.

Many people in the audience had had direct experience of the Vatican, or had researched this topic deeply for their own projects, which provided many different angles on this issue to the Q&A.

One audience member had also made a documentary on this topic for the BBC which focused on Pope Benedict’s first year and looked at how the Vatican had responded to the sex abuse scandals. He told Thomas that he felt he had been “too soft” on Pope Benedict in the film, considering the role that he had played as cardinal, investigating the sex abuses, and his knowledge of the corruption and cronyism within the Vatican, and his central role in re-drafting a document prohibiting any bishop from disclosing knowledge of abuse outside the Vatican, before he became the pope. This audience member asked if this was because Pope Benedict had “come good” after he became pope, to which Thomas replied, “No.” He also agreed with several people in the film who had described Pope Benedict as a weak leader with an “inability to administrate”.

Another audience member commented that the Vatican had been behaving like governments or multinational corporations when confronted by accusations of corruption, in their refusal to fully address the scandal and provide justice for the victims. Thomas agreed and said that the words used by the Vatican when addressed the scandals has been “evasive, and the worst kind of corporate speak”.

When discussing Pope Francis, Thomas shared the widely-held optimism in his good intentions and ability to facilitate positive developments in improving the structure of the Vatican. He referred to a statement that Pope Francis had made regarding the place of celibacy in the Catholic priesthood, saying that:

“Pope Francis has said that he favours celibacy, but the door is open for change.”

However, he also discussed the growing opposition to Pope Francis’ approach, which is gradually building up within the Vatican, and pointed out that at 77 years old, he is not sure how much longer Pope Francis can maintain this strength in his determination to change the corrupt systems with the Catholic Church.

Secrets of the Vatican continues to play all over the world; it was screened last week in Germany. It was originally shown on PBS in America and is currently available to watch online. Note: it is not available to watch online from the UK.

Secrets of the Vatican chronicles the events that led to Pope Benedict’s unexpected resignation and looks into the challenges faced by his successor Pope Francis. The film examines the years of scandal over clergy sex abuse, corruption at the Vatican Bank, power struggles, and cronyism within the Holy See.

Director Antony Thomas investigates these complex and sensitive issues through undercover footage and interviews with Vatican insiders, abuse victims and whistleblowers. Secrets of the Vatican not only examines the dark side of the Catholic Church, but also tells the story of those who are determined to set the Church on a new path.

Directed by Antony Thomas
Duration: 80
Year: 2014

By Nicole Hunt

Towards Healing and Renewal, the Catholic Church’s four-day long symposium on sexual abuse within the Church, begins on Monday in Rome. The conference brings together over 200 representatives from bishops’ conferences and other religious orders, as well as doctors, theologians and child abuse specialists.

Anders Behring Breivik is in court in Oslo again, for what will probably be a routine remand hearing ahead of his trial in April. Breivik is scheduled to stand trial on 16 April, pending a psychiatric report due some time before then. An initial assessment declared Breivik insane and unfit to stand trial.

This week also sees two back-to-back big anniversaries in the UK: Queen Elizabeth marks 60 years since her accession to the throne in 1952 on Monday, while the country marks 200 years since the birth of Charles Dickens on Tuesday.

Italy’s Constitutional Court convenes in Rome on Tuesday to hear a motion brought by the Senate requesting that former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s trial for abuse of power and paying for underage sex be moved from Milan to a special minister’s court. The motion was passed by the Senate on 14 September, 2011, when Berlusconi still headed the government.

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg issues its judgement on two cases involving media coverage of celebrities. One of the cases was brought by Princess Caroline of Monaco and her husband Prince Ernst August von Hannover, challenging the publication of photos of their family under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which protects the right to respect for family and private life.

News Corporation announces its second quarter results on Wednesday, covering October to December 2011. During that period, the company faced threats of a revolt against James Murdoch at its AGM in October, allegations that it tried to bribe an Australian Senator, and calls to reform a stock structure that ‘disenfranchises’ the vast majority of News Corporation’s shareholders.

The Pakistani Supreme Court Commission investigating the ‘memogate‘ scandal sits in Islamabad on Thursday, hearing further evidence from Mansoor Ijaz, the man who revealed the existence of the memo, in which President Asif Ali Zardari appears to offer increased cooperation with the US in return for staving off a coup by military figures.

The European Central Bank’s Governing Council meets in Frankfurt to decide whether to raise, lower or maintain the euro zone’s interest rate. At last month’s meeting, the Council decided to maintain the record-low rate of one per cent.

In Frankfurt on Friday, a verdict is expected in the case of Kosovan Arid Uka , who is charged with two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder in connection with the 2 March, 2011, shooting of US soldiers outside Frankfurt airport.

Meanwhile, two men on trial for the November 2010 murder of British honeymooner Anni Dewani are before a Cape Town court. Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Oxlile Mngeni are charged with murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and kidnapping; Zola Tongo has already been tried for his role in the killing, while Dewani’s husband Shrien, who is accused of arranging his new wife’s death, is awaiting an extradition judgement in the UK.

Saturday sees the celebration of two successful revolutions, though the celebrations are expected to be quite different. Iranians celebrate Victory of the Revolution Day, the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution and the overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s monarchy, typically with mass rallies and parades.

Though mass rallies are likely in Cairo to mark the one year anniversary of the resignation of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak after 17 days of protests, celebrations may be muted in the aftermath of the football tragedy. Demonstrations in recent months have been increasingly angry with the speed of the handover from military to civilian rule, a fact likely to be exacerbated by the failure of security services to stop the football violence.

Presidential elections take place in Turkmenistan on Sunday. Incumbent Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow stands for a second term against a number of candidates – all members of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, the only party in town.

Venezuelans also go to the polls to choose which opposition candidate will face off against Hugo Chavez in the country’s 7 October election. Miranda state governor Henrique Capriles is currently the front-runner to lead the Democratic Unity coalition.

Finally, the Africa Cup of Nations tournament wraps up as the final takes place in Libreville, Gabon.