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Julio Antonio’s Statement:
Repentance is a journey into the mind of a cursed man. It is a study based on the facts surrounding instances of child rape and abuse by members of clergy within the Catholic Church. Several years ago, I remember coming across a newspaper article about a priest who had molested a young boy, only to be transferred to another parish location in the hopes the problem would disappear.
Unlike today, this type of story wasn’t commonplace throughout Catholic communities. I grew up in one such community. By the third grade, I was put into a Catholic school. I served as an altar boy in the neighborhood parish and received all of the sacraments one would associate with the Catholic tradition. Although I am no longer a practicing Catholic, I studied the Bible and its teachings and followed the sanctity of the church's disciplinary structure for a number of years.
Understanding all of this, I remember being both enraged by the fact that the church did nothing to discipline the accused abuser, and fascinated by the ethical implications this situation represented for someone who had, in effect, dedicated his life to God. The question immediately arose. What must be going through the mind of this man right now? Is he sorry for what he has done? Knowing the consequences of his actions better than anyone, how can this man live with the horrors of his actions, while facing the damnation that awaits him in the afterlife?
It was through my own line of questioning that the main character of Repentance was born. Father Brennan (name means “sorrow”), a priest in his later years, wary of his impending death and torn over a dark secret from his past. What was most important to me was that I explore the man and not the monster: a man who would suffer the natural emotions of guilt and regret the same as anyone who had never been held accountable for their sins. Add to this the fact that Father Brennan fears his own death, and you have a portrait of man going through the most torturous and tumultuous nights of his last remaining days.
It is important to me that this film does not pass judgment. It is my hope that instead the film attempts to understand the rationale behind a man who clearly never intended to be seen as less than human, though his actions may have sealed his fate in the afterlife. It seemed only fitting that Father Brennan should be haunted. In this case, his haunting is in the form of a mysterious wanderer who has come for Father Brennan's own confession. A confession that until today has been buried in secrecy for years.
The power of the film comes from the fact that everything takes place in Father Brennan's mind. The characters and the surroundings are all manifestations of his twisted imagination. Proving that, despite what others may deem acceptable or unacceptable, our own conscience is the ultimate judge of right and wrong. In the end, it is all we have.
THE TRAILER
Horrifying Statistics!!! *In 1997 the Diocese of Dallas negotiated a $31 million settlement with victims. *In June of 2003 the Archdiocese of Louisville made a $25.7 million settlement involving 240 victims of sexual abuse. *In September of 2003 the Archdiocese of Boston agreed to pay out $85 million to 552 victims. *On January 3, 2005 Bishop Todd Brown of the Diocese of Orange apologized to 87 alleged victims of sexual abuse and announced a settlement of $100 million following two years of mediation. *In July 2007 the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay a $660 million settlement to hundreds of people who claimed to have been abused by clergy. *US clerics accused of abuse from 1950-2002: 4,392. *Individuals making accusations of abuse by clerics: 10,667. *Victims' ages: 5.8% under 7; 16% ages 8-10; 50.9% ages 11-14; 27.3% ages 15-17. *Victims' gender: 81% male, 19% female *Duration of abuse: Among victims, 38.4% said all incidents occurred within one year; 21.8% said one to two years; 28%, two to four years; 11.8% longer. *Victims per priest: 55.7% with one victim; 26.9% with two or three; 13.9% with four to nine; 3.5% with 10 or more (these 149 priests caused 27% of allegations). *Abuse locations: 40.9% at priest's residence; 16.3% in church; 42.8% elsewhere. *Known cost to dioceses and religious orders: $1,317,507,094 (includes the Boston and Los Angeles settlements plus other expenses after research was concluded). (Hartford Courant, 2/27/04) *It should be noted that 30% of all accusations were not investigated as they were deemed unsubstantiated or because the accused priest is dead. Bankruptcy for some Churches!!! *Citing monetary concerns arising from impending trials on sex abuse claims, the Archdiocese of Portland (Oregon) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 6, 2004, hours before two abuse trials were set to begin, becoming the first Catholic diocese to file for bankruptcy. If granted, bankruptcy would mean pending and future lawsuits would be settled in federal bankruptcy court. The archdiocese had settled more than one hundred previous claims for a sum of over $53 million. The filing seeks to protect parish assets, school money and trust funds from abuse victims: the archdiocese's contention is that parish assets are not the archdiocese's assets. Plaintiffs in the cases against the archdiocese have argued that the Catholic Church is a single entity, and that the Vatican should be liable for any damages awarded in judgment of pending sexual abuse cases. *The Diocese of Spokane in December of 2004. The diocese of Spokane in Washington as part of its bankruptcy has agreed to pay at least 48 million dollars as compensation to people abused by priests. This payout has to be agreed with by the victims and another Judge before it will be made. *The Diocese of Tucson filed for bankruptcy in September of 2004. The Diocese of Tucson reached an agreement with its victims, which the bankruptcy judge approved June 11, 2005, specifying terms that included allowing the diocese reorganization to continue in return for a $22.2 million settlement. *On October 10, 2006, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport also filed for Chapter 11 protection. The decision to file for bankruptcy was being driven by many claims which focus on Bishop Lawrence Soens, who has been accused of fondling as many as 15 students during his tenure as priest and principal at Regina Catholic High School in Iowa City during the 1960s. *On February 27, 2007, the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego also filed for Chapter 11 protection, hours before the first of about 150 lawsuits was due to be heard. San Diego became the largest diocese to postpone its legal problems in this way. |
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