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Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service
The story behind this groundbreaking book--one of the most significant works of investigative journalism since Woodward and Bernstein's reporting on Watergate--has been brought brilliantly to life on the screen in the major new movie Spotlight.
Here are the devastating revelations that triggered a crisis within the Catholic Church. Here is the truth about the scores of abusive priests who preyed upon innocent children and the cabal of senior Church officials who covered up their crimes. Here is the trail of "hush money" that the Catholic Church secretly paid to buy victims' silence--deeds that left millions of the faithful in the U.S. and around the world shocked, angry, and confused. Here as well is a vivid account of the ongoing struggle, as Catholics confront their Church and call for sweeping change.
The story behind this groundbreaking book--one of the most significant works of investigative journalism since Woodward and Bernstein's reporting on Watergate--has been brought brilliantly to life on the screen in the major new movie Spotlight.
Here are the devastating revelations that triggered a crisis within the Catholic Church. Here is the truth about the scores of abusive priests who preyed upon innocent children and the cabal of senior Church officials who covered up their crimes. Here is the trail of "hush money" that the Catholic Church secretly paid to buy victims' silence--deeds that left millions of the faithful in the U.S. and around the world shocked, angry, and confused. Here as well is a vivid account of the ongoing struggle, as Catholics confront their Church and call for sweeping change.
305 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2002
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About the author
The Boston Globe
53 books14 followersThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1872 by Charles H. Taylor, it was privately held until 1973, when it went public as Affiliated Publications. The company was acquired in 1993 by The New York Times Company; two years later Boston.com was established as the newspaper's online edition.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 383 reviews
January 24, 2018
An infuriating read.
The victims are boys, typically needy children of poor, single mothers, who were delighted to have presence of a man in their boys' lives, especially a priest.
The culprits are 'Men of Church', who would systematically wrap themselves in God and enter these families who came to know, love, and trust them for the sole purpose of molesting their children.
Even bigger culprits are the cardinals and bishops, who knew about the abuse for decades and did nothing to stop it.
Betrayal is an ideal example of why the dying art of investigative journalism is vital for preserving a functioning democratic society.
The victims are boys, typically needy children of poor, single mothers, who were delighted to have presence of a man in their boys' lives, especially a priest.
The culprits are 'Men of Church', who would systematically wrap themselves in God and enter these families who came to know, love, and trust them for the sole purpose of molesting their children.
Even bigger culprits are the cardinals and bishops, who knew about the abuse for decades and did nothing to stop it.
Betrayal is an ideal example of why the dying art of investigative journalism is vital for preserving a functioning democratic society.
July 2, 2019
Well, I haven't learned anything new from the read. I might not be aware of every case presented there but as a wholeness I wasn't astonished at all. Yes, shocked at the scale of depravity, cynicism and attempts to cover everything up but sadly not surprised. I was devastated to see victims bullied or abashed, demeaned or pointed as guilty for what had happened to them while perpetrators quietly, without much fuss were moved to another city and parish to complete ignorance of new parishioners thus the vicious circle of abuse and injustice could whirl again and again. What terrifies me the most is the fact how easily everything could be denied or manipulated and brushed under the carpet. And the voices of victims and their families and supporters frequently called unworthy and untrustworthy or simply offensive towards the Church and attacking the Catholics and their religious faith. I assume it was easier that way, just shift the guilt upon others and pretend to be the victim oneself. That level of hypocrisy is hard to swallow. To pretend everything is an attack on Church to dismiss suffering of victims of abuse and violence. Spotlight perhaps is more known from the movie at the same title, surely is easier to follow. We have there group of journalists from Boston Globe and their investigation we can focus on. It feels more like detective story. This one is a reportage and we're literally peppered with places, dates and names, both victims and perpetrators, and mechanisms of hiding crimes.
My reading coincided with releasing the documentary on sexual abuse in Polish church. I don’t hold Polish Catholicism in high repute, I’m afraid. It feels kind of cheap and flashy to me, you know, all these pictures of every saint, peregrinations, pilgrimages, and monuments of pope JPII on every single square in the country. And this handy phrase offence against religious feelings that is simply a catchcall to cover ignorance or discredit every symptom of different views. Believe me, I don’t want to make a generalization on such a delicate matter like faith but, well, to me testimony of faith is something else and something more than just attending Sunday service. I know people who are strong believers and I can see it, their deeds don’t contradict what Church teaches and sometimes I’m a bit jealous of their great belief and unbending confidence. But in general I don’t equate faith in God with faith in Church. As one could expect the film mentioned above, the title could be translated as Don’t tell anyone received very mixed opinions, both from church authorities, politicians and common viewers. The overall repercussion was rather positive and by this I mean many strong and supporting opinions from every community but in the long run I don’t think it will purge church of sexual predators. I don’t have much hope for compensation for wrong for victims, I don’t see guilty priests behind the bars. I don’t sense genuine willingness to remedy the damages neither can I see more reflective attitude towards the Catholic church in Poland. As long as Church is viewed more as institution than house of God nothing really can change.
May 11, 2016
I’ve never been a fan of the Catholic Church. To be fair, I’ve never been a fan of most forms of organized religion but Catholicism has always struck me as particularly weird and off-putting. I don’t really have skin in the game—I am as agnostic as they come—but I always thought Luther made a few good points.
And by “always,” I mean “since I was first exposed to the tenets in college.” I hadn't met an actual practicing Catholic until college, and the only things I knew about the faith before my religion courses at MC was that they have a pope, Jed Bartlett and JFK were Catholic, and they do confession. And I think maybe I only knew about confession because I’d seen it on Days of our Lives? That’s really embarrassing but entirely possible.
Anyway, I was in high school when the sex abuse scandal broke and because I had zero connection to the church and no one around me was really talking about it, I was kind of aware that the story existed without knowing many of the details. I definitely didn’t stop to think about the implications until much, much later.
Last weekend, my husband and I went to see the movie Spotlight, which tells the story of the Boston Globe’s reporting on the scandal. Aside from being an incredibly powerful true story, it’s a very well-made movie and I highly recommend it. But I walked out of the theater positively buzzing with anger. So many of the finer details of this story – the sheer number of victims, Law’s promotion – were new to me and all I could think was, “How the fuck could anyone know all of this and still support this organization?”
Wanting to know more, I did a quick search on BN.com and downloaded this book. Originally published in 2002, it’s been updated with a new introduction that discusses the movie. It examines all of the findings that the Spotlight team uncovered in the course of their investigations: dozens of priests molested hundreds of children – primarily young boys from impoverished, single-mother homes – and the church hierarchy, instead of protecting victims, shuffled these priests around to cover up their crimes.
This book was an even bigger eye-opener than the movie. It's hard to read, but comprehensive and to-the-pint. The details told here of abuse and cover-up, of justification and immoral behavior on behalf of men claiming to be among the country’s highest moral authorities are so disgusting that I don’t think I have adjectives in my vocabulary potent enough to express it. The whole sad story leaves me with nothing but an even stronger negative opinion of the Catholic Church as an organization. I know good people who are Catholic, but the hierarchy seems to be about as morally bankrupt as it gets.
And by “always,” I mean “since I was first exposed to the tenets in college.” I hadn't met an actual practicing Catholic until college, and the only things I knew about the faith before my religion courses at MC was that they have a pope, Jed Bartlett and JFK were Catholic, and they do confession. And I think maybe I only knew about confession because I’d seen it on Days of our Lives? That’s really embarrassing but entirely possible.
Anyway, I was in high school when the sex abuse scandal broke and because I had zero connection to the church and no one around me was really talking about it, I was kind of aware that the story existed without knowing many of the details. I definitely didn’t stop to think about the implications until much, much later.
Last weekend, my husband and I went to see the movie Spotlight, which tells the story of the Boston Globe’s reporting on the scandal. Aside from being an incredibly powerful true story, it’s a very well-made movie and I highly recommend it. But I walked out of the theater positively buzzing with anger. So many of the finer details of this story – the sheer number of victims, Law’s promotion – were new to me and all I could think was, “How the fuck could anyone know all of this and still support this organization?”
Wanting to know more, I did a quick search on BN.com and downloaded this book. Originally published in 2002, it’s been updated with a new introduction that discusses the movie. It examines all of the findings that the Spotlight team uncovered in the course of their investigations: dozens of priests molested hundreds of children – primarily young boys from impoverished, single-mother homes – and the church hierarchy, instead of protecting victims, shuffled these priests around to cover up their crimes.
This book was an even bigger eye-opener than the movie. It's hard to read, but comprehensive and to-the-pint. The details told here of abuse and cover-up, of justification and immoral behavior on behalf of men claiming to be among the country’s highest moral authorities are so disgusting that I don’t think I have adjectives in my vocabulary potent enough to express it. The whole sad story leaves me with nothing but an even stronger negative opinion of the Catholic Church as an organization. I know good people who are Catholic, but the hierarchy seems to be about as morally bankrupt as it gets.
December 27, 2015
I read this book after seeing the movie, Spotlight. As a former Catholic living in Boston at the time most of this was taking place, it is familiar to me. The book is a good review and summary of the scandal and I do remember the arrogance of the leaders of the Catholic Church at that time and the book captures this effectively. A lot of relevant documents are included at the end.
The actual scandal is so outrageous that it is difficult to believe that it was allowed to happen. The book is a well-written and thought-out narrative of the events.
The actual scandal is so outrageous that it is difficult to believe that it was allowed to happen. The book is a well-written and thought-out narrative of the events.
January 2, 2016
I recently saw the movie Spotlight and found myself completely riveted. Thus I decided to read the book version. As a former Bostonian I followed this scandal of pedophile priests and the Catholic church's coverup very closely. Nonetheless, the book and movie revealed details of which I was totally unaware. I spent most of my viewing and reading with my mouth agape. The book includes eye-opening letters written by Cardinal Law (the man responsible for the coverup) and Father Geoghan (one of the most egregious perpetrators). Pleasant reading it is not but very important it is.
November 13, 2015
An excellent book. The only thing that was a bit of a "let down" was that it was not like "All the President's Men" in that it is just The Boston Globe's original reporting shaped into a book and doesn't detail how the Globe Spotlight team approached the story. (I'll have to watch the movie for that :-) That's simply a head's up for anyone expecting something else.
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June 14, 2023Would just like to say a big fuck you to all my CCD teachers that said Africans would go to hell because they didn't know Jesus and that my dog would not go to heaven because dog's don't have souls.
March 21, 2021
I had also been sexually molested. I was only about 18 then, fresh from the province and enrolled in a university. I went to dress’tailoring shop along Roosevelt Avenue in Quezon City which carries the name of its well-known gay owner (who also had a shop in Marikina City if I remember correctly) to have a pair of pants made. It was the owner himself who attended to me. He led me to a fairly secluded fitting room to have my pants measurements. When he was already at my crotch area, he unzipped my fly, inserted two fingers inside and started wiggling my penis this way and that, all the while asking, in a most professional tone possible. where I usually position my thing, whether it be on the right, the left or at the middle. Taken by complete surprise, I could only mumble that it goes anywhere it wants to go. Then he stopped. It lasted for just a few seconds. On my way home I wondered what it was all about. It didn’t register on my mind that there was anything sexual about it, and only wondered if it does matter to a tailor in what direction a man’s penis is tilted towards inside his pants.
Later, when I became a little bit older and wiser, I realised how sexually exciting it must have been to that gay guy, fondling my tweety bird during that fleeting, scandalous moment. Had I been aware of that, I could probably have asked that my pants be done for free, so serious was the wrong done to my innocent self.
In this book, we have Roman Catholic priests as the predators. The investigative work which led to this Pulitzer prize-winner concentrated mainly with priests serving in Boston, Massachusetts where one of the largest archdioceses in the USA is located although it had pointed out briefly that clerical abuses of children seems to be a worldwide phenomenon. In a span of about 15 years, around 1,500 priests have sexually abused thousands of mostly young boys. A priest would insinuate himself into a family and the parents would be thankful for it thinking that this man of God would be a good influence to their children only to discover later, in utter disbelief and horror, that the priest had been sexually abusing their sons for years, including their kids’ young male cousins.
Another priest would put a young boy on his lap and fondle the latter’s genitals while they recite the Lord’s Prayer together. A different one would prefer to masturbate himself while doing the same thing. One time, a priest heard the piercing cry of a child somewhere in the sacristy only to find out that a fellow priest has a young boy on his lap which he moves rhythmically up dow up down as he sodomizes his victim. Some manages to do blowjobs on their young prey. And many of these victimizations were undetected for prolonged periods of time, causing irreversible psychological damage to the victims who are ushered into adulthood as deeply troubled individuals.
Worse, the Catholic Church had ignored and even covered up these abominations. Priests complained of would just get a slap on the wrist, made to attend sex therapy and, against the advice of psychiatrists, would be reassigned elsewhere only to ensnare fresh victims. When sued, the Church would settle and buy the victims’ or their families’ silence, avoiding the adverse publicity that could have alerted future potential targets. Millions of dollars had been spent by the Church as such hush money.
Recently, the Pope declared that the church cannot bless homosexual union, reiterating that such is an offence to the Divine will, which prompted the pop star Elton John (himself in a gay marriage) to point out the hypocrisy: the Catholic Church apparently had invested and earned a lot of money in the production of the singer’s biopic film which portrayed, among others, his life as an openly homosexual artist. But this is just one of the many hypocritical sins of the Church:
“Indeed, Reilly said he was left profoundly shaken by the extent to which (Cardinal Bernard) Law and the archdiocese (of Boston) coddled abusive priests while treating victims as nuisance. ‘What really offended me was knowing how the Church had been harsh on and intolerant of people who had done things which, by comparison, paled in significance. Look at the way the Church treats divorced Catholics, like pariahs, not allowed to remarry in the Church. Look how intolerant and though they were on gay people.’ Reilly remembered reading two years earlier about Sister Jeannette Normandin, a seventy-two-year-old nun who was ousted from the Jesuit Urban Center at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Boston’s South End because she had baptized two boys. Canon law says that only priests or ordained deacons—always and only men—can perform baptisms, and there was no second chance for Sister Normandin. ‘This was a nun who gave her life to the Church,’ Reilly said. ‘And then look how they treated priests who raped children. We throw this word ABUSE around, and it’s a nice, inoffensive word. In many of these cases, it wasn’t abuse. It was rape. They were raping children. Where’s the indignation? Where’s the moral outrage? The intolerance and the hypocrisy of the Church lies at the heart of a lot of this. All of this came to a slow boil for me. To be covering up for those who rape children while being so judgmental of others, the hypocrisy is just so breathtaking.’”
So next time you put your money in a collection basket during mass, or write a check to contribute to your local church, know that it is possible that part of it may be used as settlement money the Catholic Church has to pay to protect their deviant priests,
Later, when I became a little bit older and wiser, I realised how sexually exciting it must have been to that gay guy, fondling my tweety bird during that fleeting, scandalous moment. Had I been aware of that, I could probably have asked that my pants be done for free, so serious was the wrong done to my innocent self.
In this book, we have Roman Catholic priests as the predators. The investigative work which led to this Pulitzer prize-winner concentrated mainly with priests serving in Boston, Massachusetts where one of the largest archdioceses in the USA is located although it had pointed out briefly that clerical abuses of children seems to be a worldwide phenomenon. In a span of about 15 years, around 1,500 priests have sexually abused thousands of mostly young boys. A priest would insinuate himself into a family and the parents would be thankful for it thinking that this man of God would be a good influence to their children only to discover later, in utter disbelief and horror, that the priest had been sexually abusing their sons for years, including their kids’ young male cousins.
Another priest would put a young boy on his lap and fondle the latter’s genitals while they recite the Lord’s Prayer together. A different one would prefer to masturbate himself while doing the same thing. One time, a priest heard the piercing cry of a child somewhere in the sacristy only to find out that a fellow priest has a young boy on his lap which he moves rhythmically up dow up down as he sodomizes his victim. Some manages to do blowjobs on their young prey. And many of these victimizations were undetected for prolonged periods of time, causing irreversible psychological damage to the victims who are ushered into adulthood as deeply troubled individuals.
Worse, the Catholic Church had ignored and even covered up these abominations. Priests complained of would just get a slap on the wrist, made to attend sex therapy and, against the advice of psychiatrists, would be reassigned elsewhere only to ensnare fresh victims. When sued, the Church would settle and buy the victims’ or their families’ silence, avoiding the adverse publicity that could have alerted future potential targets. Millions of dollars had been spent by the Church as such hush money.
Recently, the Pope declared that the church cannot bless homosexual union, reiterating that such is an offence to the Divine will, which prompted the pop star Elton John (himself in a gay marriage) to point out the hypocrisy: the Catholic Church apparently had invested and earned a lot of money in the production of the singer’s biopic film which portrayed, among others, his life as an openly homosexual artist. But this is just one of the many hypocritical sins of the Church:
“Indeed, Reilly said he was left profoundly shaken by the extent to which (Cardinal Bernard) Law and the archdiocese (of Boston) coddled abusive priests while treating victims as nuisance. ‘What really offended me was knowing how the Church had been harsh on and intolerant of people who had done things which, by comparison, paled in significance. Look at the way the Church treats divorced Catholics, like pariahs, not allowed to remarry in the Church. Look how intolerant and though they were on gay people.’ Reilly remembered reading two years earlier about Sister Jeannette Normandin, a seventy-two-year-old nun who was ousted from the Jesuit Urban Center at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Boston’s South End because she had baptized two boys. Canon law says that only priests or ordained deacons—always and only men—can perform baptisms, and there was no second chance for Sister Normandin. ‘This was a nun who gave her life to the Church,’ Reilly said. ‘And then look how they treated priests who raped children. We throw this word ABUSE around, and it’s a nice, inoffensive word. In many of these cases, it wasn’t abuse. It was rape. They were raping children. Where’s the indignation? Where’s the moral outrage? The intolerance and the hypocrisy of the Church lies at the heart of a lot of this. All of this came to a slow boil for me. To be covering up for those who rape children while being so judgmental of others, the hypocrisy is just so breathtaking.’”
So next time you put your money in a collection basket during mass, or write a check to contribute to your local church, know that it is possible that part of it may be used as settlement money the Catholic Church has to pay to protect their deviant priests,
February 16, 2016
I grew up Catholic but not religious type where everyone would take every thing seriously, and when I seen news reports about the abuse that the catholic church was covering up, I felt disgusted but at the same time it not the first time that a religion would try and cover up any kind of abuse by using the bible and what not.
I didn't see the movie Spotlight but when I saw this book in Barnes & Noble I just needed to get it and I read right after another book I got in Target. I immediately felt sick with what I was reading and how it was being handle by the church. Some parents were outraged when they hearing their children were being abuse and some just wiped it under the bridge and pretend to not care at all.
After reading this book, it just broke my heart and angry about what I was reading and how all these priest prefer to be in denial about it. Honestly this is what happen when you decide to use religion to dictate your life decisions. Look at the Duggar family and the caused that the parents chose rather than facing consequences. It disgusting. In my point of view.
I hope that the movie did some justice from what I read.
I didn't see the movie Spotlight but when I saw this book in Barnes & Noble I just needed to get it and I read right after another book I got in Target. I immediately felt sick with what I was reading and how it was being handle by the church. Some parents were outraged when they hearing their children were being abuse and some just wiped it under the bridge and pretend to not care at all.
After reading this book, it just broke my heart and angry about what I was reading and how all these priest prefer to be in denial about it. Honestly this is what happen when you decide to use religion to dictate your life decisions. Look at the Duggar family and the caused that the parents chose rather than facing consequences. It disgusting. In my point of view.
I hope that the movie did some justice from what I read.
March 26, 2016
I watched the movie Spotlight a week ago and really enjoyed it. So much so that I wanted to know more (even though they do a great job telling a full story in the movie). I thought . . .these people are journalists . . there must be a book. This is that book. I was very tempted to give it four stars, because I enjoyed reading it, it's well written and it's such an important topic. I decided not to because this book is not for the feint of heart. It's not that there are graphic descriptions, it's more that it is relentless, which is proper given the subject matter. But I found myself being relieved when the book was over as I could then stop thinking about pedophile priests. I feel a little guilty writing about my relief because it strikes me that is a luxury emotion on my part. I can put the book down and move on with my life in a way these child victims can not. In the end I'm so glad I read this book. I learned two important things. Investigative journalists are important. They keep us safe and they keep our leaders honest. And I learned that skepticism of authority is a healthy thing. And we should always listen to our children!
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November 4, 2020Not rating this because it's not really that kind of book but I did find it very informative.
This is not a book about the process of reporting this story for the Boston Globe but it about the story itself so don't go in expecting a book like All the President's Men. This was written in 2002 and there is some language I would consider a bit outdated. This is a very upsetting story presented in the style of a newspaper piece. This reads as an amalgamation of many articles. This meant at times I found the story a bit repetitive or circular but overall I found this very well done. This story is what spawned the movie Spotlight but the actual stories are quite difference since this, again, is a book about the crisis not the process of reporting. I would recommend this to anyone who is aware of this scandal but maybe wants to understand it better.
This is not a book about the process of reporting this story for the Boston Globe but it about the story itself so don't go in expecting a book like All the President's Men. This was written in 2002 and there is some language I would consider a bit outdated. This is a very upsetting story presented in the style of a newspaper piece. This reads as an amalgamation of many articles. This meant at times I found the story a bit repetitive or circular but overall I found this very well done. This story is what spawned the movie Spotlight but the actual stories are quite difference since this, again, is a book about the crisis not the process of reporting. I would recommend this to anyone who is aware of this scandal but maybe wants to understand it better.
June 22, 2016
Although the information in this book is important, it's presented in a disjointed way.
May 21, 2016
Very disturbing read.
I find it hard to rate, as it's a factual account if what happened. It's not as if I could write 'it's a good story'.
I find it hard to rate, as it's a factual account if what happened. It's not as if I could write 'it's a good story'.
March 6, 2016
I watched the movie ‘Spotlight’ two weeks ago, and I was utterly horrified, and yet hooked, particularly by the sheer scale of the abuse scandal and the process of investigation that took place. Burrowing down the rabbit hole of the internet, I discovered that there was a book written about the saga, containing much of the research that didn’t make it into the film.
It became an international story about how the rights of powerless individuals are brushed away in the interests of a powerful institution, about how mortals can damage an immortal faith.
I mean, I don’t really have much to add here – the sheer hypocrisy of the church leaders is/was utterly staggering, as was the scale of the abuse. The book details cases of other abusive priests within Boston, as well as the US as a whole (the movie only focused on one particular man), in addition to looking at the machinations of the Catholic Church that allowed the crimes to happen, the way in which incidents were ‘dealt’ with, and their reactions when everything came to light. There is also a chapter that tackles potential reasons why this type of abuse is so prevalent within the institution – indeed, at a higher rate than what takes place in average society – this was not just a case of a few bad apples.
They weren’t sorry for what happened to those kids. They were sorry they got caught.
Overall, I highly recommend watching the movie – it’s a must-see, despite the sickening nature of the subject matter. If, like me, you’re interested in more of the background, then Betrayal does a good job in providing supplementary material.
It became an international story about how the rights of powerless individuals are brushed away in the interests of a powerful institution, about how mortals can damage an immortal faith.
I mean, I don’t really have much to add here – the sheer hypocrisy of the church leaders is/was utterly staggering, as was the scale of the abuse. The book details cases of other abusive priests within Boston, as well as the US as a whole (the movie only focused on one particular man), in addition to looking at the machinations of the Catholic Church that allowed the crimes to happen, the way in which incidents were ‘dealt’ with, and their reactions when everything came to light. There is also a chapter that tackles potential reasons why this type of abuse is so prevalent within the institution – indeed, at a higher rate than what takes place in average society – this was not just a case of a few bad apples.
They weren’t sorry for what happened to those kids. They were sorry they got caught.
Overall, I highly recommend watching the movie – it’s a must-see, despite the sickening nature of the subject matter. If, like me, you’re interested in more of the background, then Betrayal does a good job in providing supplementary material.
February 3, 2018
Betrayal is a solid summation of the Catholic child molestation scandal in Boston. The story all but defies belief. I finally got around to reading this book when Cardinal Law died. He was truly a despicable human being and deserved to live his final years in a jail cell rather than in comfortable retirement in the Vatican. The things that happened to these kids was shocking, but the willingness of the church to cover up the abuse and the facilitate the abuse by transferring the molesters to new parishes where they could abuse new kids was outrageous.
July 14, 2018
This book is horrifying. It covers the true stories of people in the Catholic church in Boston who protected pedophile priests over protecting the children they were abusing. Time and time again cardinals, bishops, and people within positions of power in the church would just take an abusive priest out of one parish and end up transferring him to another parish after a short “treatment.” Where inevitably the priest would resume sexually abusing children.
This book is written by the Spotlight team at The Boston Globe newspaper based on their investigation that lead to a series of articles starting in 2002. Originally I thought this book was going to be more like the movie Spotlight where it would show how they investigated the story and uncovered all these details. However this book just the outcome of the research, which is still fascinating even if it wasn’t what I was expecting.
Seriously, I just wanted to scream when I was reading this. All of these men were more concerned with protecting the image of the church and their priests than with protecting children. These “treatment” facilities were jokes and basically just told the church what they wanted to hear so the priests could be put back into parishes. So much abuse could have been avoided if they just turned the priests over to proper authorities instead of letting them back around children over and over again.
This book can be a little confusing at times because there are just so many different names of people. Also, because I pretty much know nothing about Catholicism I would get confused about the hierarchy of the different members of the church.
Seriously, just fuck all the people who covered this up for years.
This book is written by the Spotlight team at The Boston Globe newspaper based on their investigation that lead to a series of articles starting in 2002. Originally I thought this book was going to be more like the movie Spotlight where it would show how they investigated the story and uncovered all these details. However this book just the outcome of the research, which is still fascinating even if it wasn’t what I was expecting.
Seriously, I just wanted to scream when I was reading this. All of these men were more concerned with protecting the image of the church and their priests than with protecting children. These “treatment” facilities were jokes and basically just told the church what they wanted to hear so the priests could be put back into parishes. So much abuse could have been avoided if they just turned the priests over to proper authorities instead of letting them back around children over and over again.
This book can be a little confusing at times because there are just so many different names of people. Also, because I pretty much know nothing about Catholicism I would get confused about the hierarchy of the different members of the church.
Seriously, just fuck all the people who covered this up for years.
March 30, 2018
Gli uomini sono imperfetti, soffrono di devianze, malattie, sono oggetti di turbamenti e tentazioni.
Le istituzioni di qualsivoglia natura mirano al contrario ad essere idealmente perfette.
Molti scandali di varia entità nella storia dell'uomo sono nati da questa contraddizione.
Se in politica un movimento si proclama difensore della legalità e dell'uguaglianza e poi alcuni membri vengono pizzicati a rubare, a prendere tangenti, a non rispettare gli statuti costitutivi, la credibilità di quel movimento ne è fortemente minata.
Se nello sport uno o più campioni pluri decorati vengono scoperti positivi al doping o a comportamenti antisportivi, chi ne paga le conseguenze è, ancora una volta, la credibilità del torneo, delle federzioni, delle manifestazioni.
Se un'istituzione ecclesiastica (di qualsiasi confessione e latitudine) che si proclama emanazione della infallibile volontà divina permette ai suoi membi comportamenti immorali e -di più- li nasconde, evita loro un giusto giudizio e permette loro di reiterare questi atteggiamenti verso coloro che dovrebbe proteggere, il fallimento della missione di tale istituzione è innegabile.
Questo è un libro sconvolgente, devastante e capace -nella fredda ricostruzione dei fatti- di suscitare orrore e indignazione.
Purtroppo (e questa è la nota a margine di un lettore che guarda anche alla forma e non sono al contenuto) non è un libro "bello" da leggere, ma una sequela di nomi, date, fatti, deposizioni, documenti.
Le istituzioni di qualsivoglia natura mirano al contrario ad essere idealmente perfette.
Molti scandali di varia entità nella storia dell'uomo sono nati da questa contraddizione.
Se in politica un movimento si proclama difensore della legalità e dell'uguaglianza e poi alcuni membri vengono pizzicati a rubare, a prendere tangenti, a non rispettare gli statuti costitutivi, la credibilità di quel movimento ne è fortemente minata.
Se nello sport uno o più campioni pluri decorati vengono scoperti positivi al doping o a comportamenti antisportivi, chi ne paga le conseguenze è, ancora una volta, la credibilità del torneo, delle federzioni, delle manifestazioni.
Se un'istituzione ecclesiastica (di qualsiasi confessione e latitudine) che si proclama emanazione della infallibile volontà divina permette ai suoi membi comportamenti immorali e -di più- li nasconde, evita loro un giusto giudizio e permette loro di reiterare questi atteggiamenti verso coloro che dovrebbe proteggere, il fallimento della missione di tale istituzione è innegabile.
Questo è un libro sconvolgente, devastante e capace -nella fredda ricostruzione dei fatti- di suscitare orrore e indignazione.
Purtroppo (e questa è la nota a margine di un lettore che guarda anche alla forma e non sono al contenuto) non è un libro "bello" da leggere, ma una sequela di nomi, date, fatti, deposizioni, documenti.
June 29, 2025
4.5/5
An excellent, hard-hitting work of investigative journalism. I have a strong stomach and am pretty desensitized, but the way they describe the sexual abuse incidents truly made my stomach churn, so be warned. Jumps around in the timeline a bit but mostly pretty easy to follow. I found this to be a gripping and thorough explanation of the clergy sexual abuse issue with some really evocative writing and powerful statements by the victims, especially in the 2015 afterword.
An excellent, hard-hitting work of investigative journalism. I have a strong stomach and am pretty desensitized, but the way they describe the sexual abuse incidents truly made my stomach churn, so be warned. Jumps around in the timeline a bit but mostly pretty easy to follow. I found this to be a gripping and thorough explanation of the clergy sexual abuse issue with some really evocative writing and powerful statements by the victims, especially in the 2015 afterword.
September 14, 2023
Having watch the film I think I had assumed that this would have been about the investigation process from the Globe reporters. It wasn't, instead being almost a supplementary piece to the many articles the Spotlight team had published.
Mainly read in bed whilst ill.
Mainly read in bed whilst ill.
February 13, 2017
When I was in grammar school, we had an hour of religious instruction by the one of the priests every week. During one class, the priest took off his plastic Roman collar, and we were all scandalized. He laughed and said, “This is just part of my uniform. It doesn’t make me special. I’m not different from your mom and dad.”
I don’t remember much from those classes, but I remember that, and it’s colored my perception of the clergy. It was so different from what we were told until that moment. Priests aren’t a higher class of people. Ordination didn’t bestow mystical powers. Priests are just people.
I don’t think anyone can be emotionally prepared to read Betrayal unless they read the original Spotlight reports. I didn’t. I only knew the outlines of the scandal, and that alone shocked and angered me. I expected to be horrified when I read the details, but I didn’t expect the waves of nausea and the profound shame that my Church did this.
Betrayal documents the abuses committed by priests, notably in the archdiocese of Boston, on children. Some of those children were as young as four-years-old when they were sexually assaulted or raped by the men their parents told them they could trust. These priests used the respect that their vocations brought them so that they could insinuate themselves into families. They used the prayers we are taught as children while raping the children.
When these children finally told their parents and their parents confronted the hierarchy, the hierarchy did not punish the abusers. They simply moved the abuser to a different parish with no warning to the new parish. When other priests and religious sisters found out the truth, they covered for the abuser: there are accounts of another priest witnessing the crime and walking away. In fact, the Church blamed the parents and the children for the abuse.
When the Globe's story broke, other Catholics turned against the families who reported the abuse and sought justice for their children. They, too, put the institution before their neighbors.
It was one betrayal after another betrayal after another.
I wondered Law thought when he sought to conceal the crimes. Did he think he was doing God’s work? Did he think children were less important than men who masqueraded as priests? Did he think that this rampant abuse would stay hidden? Did he forget that Christ said, “Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known” (Matthew 10:26)?
And it was revealed.
I have no sympathy for the members of the Church hierarchy who put the crimes of men ahead of children. I believe in divine justice, and I look forward to the day when they own their sins to God and their victims and are punished forever.
Every Roman Catholic needs to read this book so they know the heinous crimes that the Church perpetrated. Law may not have thought about the laity when he hid crimes of the men who worked in his diocese, but we are all one body. The hierarchy’s sins are our own if we allow this to happen. If we allow future crimes to be hidden and if we do not believe (God help us) future victims, then we will be complaisant in the sins of these rapists.
I don’t remember much from those classes, but I remember that, and it’s colored my perception of the clergy. It was so different from what we were told until that moment. Priests aren’t a higher class of people. Ordination didn’t bestow mystical powers. Priests are just people.
”I remember reading the first Spotlight reports and just getting furious,” recalled Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly . . . . “I found myself yelling out loud, My God, this is about children!”
(p. 125)
I don’t think anyone can be emotionally prepared to read Betrayal unless they read the original Spotlight reports. I didn’t. I only knew the outlines of the scandal, and that alone shocked and angered me. I expected to be horrified when I read the details, but I didn’t expect the waves of nausea and the profound shame that my Church did this.
Betrayal documents the abuses committed by priests, notably in the archdiocese of Boston, on children. Some of those children were as young as four-years-old when they were sexually assaulted or raped by the men their parents told them they could trust. These priests used the respect that their vocations brought them so that they could insinuate themselves into families. They used the prayers we are taught as children while raping the children.
When these children finally told their parents and their parents confronted the hierarchy, the hierarchy did not punish the abusers. They simply moved the abuser to a different parish with no warning to the new parish. When other priests and religious sisters found out the truth, they covered for the abuser: there are accounts of another priest witnessing the crime and walking away. In fact, the Church blamed the parents and the children for the abuse.
When the Globe's story broke, other Catholics turned against the families who reported the abuse and sought justice for their children. They, too, put the institution before their neighbors.
It was one betrayal after another betrayal after another.
I wondered Law thought when he sought to conceal the crimes. Did he think he was doing God’s work? Did he think children were less important than men who masqueraded as priests? Did he think that this rampant abuse would stay hidden? Did he forget that Christ said, “Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known” (Matthew 10:26)?
And it was revealed.
I have no sympathy for the members of the Church hierarchy who put the crimes of men ahead of children. I believe in divine justice, and I look forward to the day when they own their sins to God and their victims and are punished forever.
Every Roman Catholic needs to read this book so they know the heinous crimes that the Church perpetrated. Law may not have thought about the laity when he hid crimes of the men who worked in his diocese, but we are all one body. The hierarchy’s sins are our own if we allow this to happen. If we allow future crimes to be hidden and if we do not believe (God help us) future victims, then we will be complaisant in the sins of these rapists.
February 6, 2020
An infuriating book to read, but an incredibly important one. The books gives all the dark, sordid details about the church's relationship with it's priests who they knew were molesting little boys. Some of this book will truly disgust you but that's the point. This whole story is a disgusting tale of an organisation's disgusting actions in order to save face.
December 24, 2017
Yeah, I’m not happy!! This is the kind of book that when reading you feel the desire to throw at the wall in anger, the kind of book that makes you want to go and king hit the first priest you can find. All the people that put this book together should really be commended for their terrific work, it was a very hard book to read - I actually had to put it down a few times because I found it so emotional - so I imagine it would’ve been an extremely hard book to write, I take off my hat to the authors for that. The thing that I found so blood boiling about it was the sheer amount of cases, we’re talking hundreds of sexual abuse cases, potentially even thousands. These priests and nuns are supposed to be the holiest of the holy, the types of people you should be able to trust, but in reality, they’re anything but holy and trustworthy. I know it’s not all priests and nuns, the ones in this book give the decent ones a bad name, but when you read what’s presented in this book it makes it hard to see Catholicism as a good thing.
There are major problems with the Catholic church, their stance on birth control just baffles me, and the fact that this kind of thing goes on to such a big degree, and is covered up, really says something, it makes me feel rather lucky that I was brought up in a strictly non-religious household.
Such a heartbreaking, emotional and infuriating read but essential in my opinion.
There are major problems with the Catholic church, their stance on birth control just baffles me, and the fact that this kind of thing goes on to such a big degree, and is covered up, really says something, it makes me feel rather lucky that I was brought up in a strictly non-religious household.
Such a heartbreaking, emotional and infuriating read but essential in my opinion.
December 13, 2018
The Basis for the film Spotlight
This book details the superb investigative journalism by the Boston Globe staff uncovering the horrific sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests. This was the basis for the Academy Award winning film, Spotlight. The Pulitzer won by the staff was well deserved. This is a hard hitting work that tells the story without sensationalizing the tales. Facts are documented and include interviews with victims, some perpetrators and other concerned parties. It also looks at the possible causes, examinations of church history, as well as American history. It does include some graphic details of the abuse, which is sickening. Even worse is the extraordinary measures the Church took to cover up problem priests and even had the audacity to blame young, innocent victims. Photos are included of many of the major participants and of many documents. Simply an outstanding book I found hard to put down. I read this book using immersion reading, while listening to the audio book.
This book details the superb investigative journalism by the Boston Globe staff uncovering the horrific sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests. This was the basis for the Academy Award winning film, Spotlight. The Pulitzer won by the staff was well deserved. This is a hard hitting work that tells the story without sensationalizing the tales. Facts are documented and include interviews with victims, some perpetrators and other concerned parties. It also looks at the possible causes, examinations of church history, as well as American history. It does include some graphic details of the abuse, which is sickening. Even worse is the extraordinary measures the Church took to cover up problem priests and even had the audacity to blame young, innocent victims. Photos are included of many of the major participants and of many documents. Simply an outstanding book I found hard to put down. I read this book using immersion reading, while listening to the audio book.
September 22, 2025
I get filled with such rage.
Let’s start off by speaking about how this book is written. It benefits greatly from being written by reporters because they are able to lay out a large number of facts without injecting too much of their opinion into it, which allows me to come to the conclusions in my own voice (even if they were probably conclusions they wanted me to reach) so it feels that much more powerful.
As for the content of the book, well let’s just say it’s horrifying stuff and the lack of accountability and care for the victims makes my blood boil over all in service of this man-made political structure that tries to hide their hypocrisy behind the wall of “faith.” Feel like this should be read by everyone, and it feels so connected to where we currently are in the world and how we got here.
Let’s start off by speaking about how this book is written. It benefits greatly from being written by reporters because they are able to lay out a large number of facts without injecting too much of their opinion into it, which allows me to come to the conclusions in my own voice (even if they were probably conclusions they wanted me to reach) so it feels that much more powerful.
As for the content of the book, well let’s just say it’s horrifying stuff and the lack of accountability and care for the victims makes my blood boil over all in service of this man-made political structure that tries to hide their hypocrisy behind the wall of “faith.” Feel like this should be read by everyone, and it feels so connected to where we currently are in the world and how we got here.
December 22, 2023
I was impressed by the film Spotlight and wanted to learn more about how the Catholic Church was held accountable by reporters from the Boston Globe in the early 2000s. I think this is a groundbreaking work of investigative journalism, which is one of my favorite nonfiction styles to read (journalists are just SO cool to me). This got repetitive in places, but perhaps that was because it is so painful to hear case after case of innocent victims and I wanted more focus on retribution and accountability. A great reminder that no institution should be held sacrosanct, especially when it comes to protecting humans in need.
June 23, 2017
This book was disturbing. I knew a good portion of the story growing up Catholic. Learned more when my dad read the book and told me a little bit about it. Pedophilia creeps me the hell out and some of the stories make your stomach turn. The most shocking and disturbing thing, however was the cover up. The Church had no clue how to handle the situation but kept acting as if they knew best and kept everything in house until it was too late and out of their hands. Even their subsequent actions and statements make it seem like they still have not learned. Really wanted to read it so that I could make my own opinion rather than listening to others spout their opinions.
September 20, 2017
I hoped that that book would be more like the movie "Spotlight" and it's investigative reporting. But as the cover says the book is about the findings of the investigation. So the book is all about the predators, the victims and the cover-up, which makes it a bit of an uncomfortable read. The only positive part of the book it the end where reforms to the church have the potential to improve the previous culture of denial.
November 14, 2025
As hard hitting the subject matter is, the book is not well written. It reads more like several news articles joined together.
I have read several books which are expose's by journalists and most of them had plenty of intrigue and suspense. This did feel a bit boring.
My expectations were not met as regards to narrative building. Writing some facts and witness accounts together does not a book make.
I have read several books which are expose's by journalists and most of them had plenty of intrigue and suspense. This did feel a bit boring.
My expectations were not met as regards to narrative building. Writing some facts and witness accounts together does not a book make.
August 30, 2024
My interest in this book was born out of my love and appreciation for the movie Spotlight, and after having read this exhaustive account of the sheer scale of the scandal and how many people in the church just ignored the problems in front of their eyes, I have gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for the movie.
March 8, 2018
A riveting account of the absolutely shameful priest pedophile scandal that rocked the Roman Catholic Church, though it appears the Church still refuses to change. Ever since childhood, I’ve questioned the teachings of the Church, disbelieving stories I was told in catechism. I do not practice organized religion but, instead, embrace a very personal spirituality. As a lapsed Catholic, I had to read this after seeing Spotlight, the movie it's based on. I turned my back on the Catholic Church after Pope Paul II declared that marriage without children was a sin, a choice I made for personal reasons. I still have my faith, but the Catholic Church itself is run by men in power.
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