On Monday October 16th, we got the chance to sit down with Amy Berg to talk about her film, Deliver Us From Evil (You can read our review at this link). You can read Part 1 of this interview here.

Peter Sciretta: At one point in the movie, O'Grady sends out invitations to confront all his victims, but decides at the last minute not to go through with it. I felt it was kind of glossed over in the film as to why this happened, or why he decided to send the invites in the first place...

Amy Berg: Yeah, may-be I should have clarified that more. It's something I've talked about in all the Q and A's. His brother is a famous entertainer in Ireland. He's a very public figure. And he's kind of the, he's trying to protect the families image. And he found out that Oliver signed his rights away to me and he flipped out. It was after I left. He said, 'Do not speak to this girl ever again. Your family is more important. We don't want this to explode on us.' Oliver told me this on the phone, and he said we can't talk on the record anymore. He said I'm not going to do anything with them because I can't. My brother doesn't want me to.

 

Peter Sciretta: Even off the record, off the camera, he wouldn't meet with these people?

Amy Berg: Uh-uh.

Peter Sciretta: Interesting...

Amy Berg: And just to clarify, these people were not dying to go over and meet with him. Some of them were considering it. But it wasn't like, 'let's go.' It wasn't this exciting thing for them.

Peter Sciretta: Did you encounter any difficulties getting some of the victims to speak on camera?

Amy Berg: Yeah. There were a few victims that, their families didn't know the extent of what happened, they weren't ready to come public. There were other victims that had already come out and didn't want their current identities, they didn't want to be recognizable. There were a lot of different answers. What I did was, I went to people that didn't participate in the film, and I interviewed them off camera, and just made sure that I knew all the facts. So it helped in that way.

Peter Sciretta: Have you heard any reaction from the church?

Amy Berg:  Oh Yeah. I keep hearing more. They're really speaking out. I'm surprised at the tactics that they're using right now because they're opening up doors that hold a lot of really horrific secrets. They're saying things like... They said that the reason Roger Mahoney didn't take Oliver  out in 1984, and if you remember 1984 was when that police report was filed. And it said at the bottom: this man should be kept away from children. That was clearly the deal that was made between the police and the church. And they are saying that he didn't take him out at that time because their were no victims. He broke the law by promoting him. Two months later, he broke the law. Clearly, he shouldn't be around children. He promoted him to a church where he was in charge of two churches. He had never been in charge of a church before. And scores of children, at least 10 to 12 victims that we know of that were being abused during that period. So I don't know why they're saying that. It seems crazy.

Peter Sciretta: And wasn't the statistic something like 90 percent of victims don't come out about the church abuse?

Amy Berg: 80%

Peter Sciretta: That's incredible. In the 2004 deposition footage, Mahoney states that expressing sexual urges toward a 9-year-old would not be automatic cause for removing a priest from duty. And we learn that only when it is boy to boy that the church considers it abnormal sexual curiosity. Is this something the church publicly has said?

Amy Berg: Yeah, through Monsignor Cain, when Nancy went to him. And Monsignor Cain was there for both bishops, Mahoney and Gillfoil before. Nancy went to him and told him what had been happening and he said to her, and he said to the attorney when being deposed. That he didn't reflect back to the 1976 period because he thought that molesting a young girl was normal sexual curiosity but touching a boy was weird.

Peter Sciretta: And he said this on the record...

Amy Berg: Yeah, he said it in the deposition, it's in the film. He said, this was a girl and I just didn't connect them.

Peter Sciretta: That's shocking...

Amy Berg: It is very surprising, they're so ignorant about humanity and real life.

Peter Sciretta: Has Father O'Grady seen the finished film?

Amy Berg: No, I've been trying to give him the film but her won't give me his address. And I just heard that he fled the country

Peter Sciretta: Fled the country?

Amy Berg: That's what's being reported in the news today, that because of the film that he's taken off.

Peter Sciretta: He didn't want to be seen in public?

Amy Berg: I mean, people are up roar.

Publicist: They think he went to Canada or France.

Amy Berg: Yeah, since the film premiered, and now that it's being released - it's been in the news there, at least weekly. His face was on the newspaper 'pervert in the park.' The coverage is huge, which is a great service to the Irish people because these were people who were panicked weeks ago because their kids were in their film, in the park. You know, walking by him. He's out in the open.  Now at least they are focusing on the right issue which is there is a pedophile on the loose.

Peter Sciretta: Aside from the secrecy, there is definitely a problem with pedophilia in the church, how do you think this could be prevented?

Amy Berg: Well, I think that you first have to let the justice system work for the people that are accountable for moving pedophiles from city to city - for not acting. I think you have to take that authority out of the institution. I mean, it's the same thing with our government, you know? They need to have real updates in the way they do things. They need to have psychologists analyze people before they allow them to take care of children unsupervised.

Peter Sciretta: In the documentary you mentioned how Peter, the first pope and the apostles were married man, for the most part. And celibacy wasn't really made into a rule until like the fifth Century. Do you think that giving Priests the option of a family would prevent pedophile activity?

Amy Berg: See the thing is, this is something a lot of people believe is a joke. That when you look at the fact it was developed in the fourth century because the church was losing their property to the families. That's not why you would think that a priest would be celibate. It's an interesting question. I personally am not catholic, so I don't feel comfortable saying they should get rid of celibacy, but a lot of people in the film think it's a joke. How can you take couple counseling on your marriage from someone who's never been married. And obviously this priest was manipulating woman who were going through difficulties in their marriage and he's having relations with them. Molesting their children... So it's just so much to that. But I think the issue should be answered by the experts.

Peter Sciretta: But do you think not being celibate would lead to women...

Amy Berg: It's an interesting question. I don't know. Because then you'll have women that have something to say. You'll have wives and possibly other women, nuns, that will be more authority position. Most people say the problem with the catholic church is that it's so male dominated. So I don't know, may-be.

Peter Sciretta: My last question: Deliver Us From evil was a great first film, what can we expect from you in the future?

Amy Berg: I'm working on a few things, mostly I'm focused on a fictional, but based on a true story feature film about a girl in Alaska. As soon as I get to that. But first we got more of this (promoting Deliver Us From Evil). But we'll get there.

Peter Sciretta: Well, it's probably going to help.

Amy Berg: Yeah, I know, I know... I do not complain at all, I'm very excited about how the reception is doing and Lionsgate and it's just been great.

Peter Sciretta: Well, thank you very much.

Amy Berg: Thank you.