Twist of Faith

Holy Toledo?
As an adolescent, Tony Comes of Toledo, Ohio, was molested by a Roman Catholic priest. Tony is now a fireman, with a wife and 2 children, one of whom is soon to take First Communion. Through a cruel Twist of Fate, they discover that the Dream Home into which they have recently moved is only 5 doors down from Tony's former abuser - the unrepentant former priest, shown in his video deposition
Q: Why did you decide to go into the seminary?
A: I decided that it would be a good life if I was a priest.
Good for whom?
Church Ladies will not approve of Tony's "firehall" language - but then, they probably won't be watching. The scandal of serial abusive priests should be enough to P off the Pope. But one of the saddest things is, it's not. Too many priests and parishioners are in denial. This unflinching HBO documentary is not about the shameful statistics but the horrific and traumatic toll on actual lives of an abused altar boy and the "ripple effect."...

A Movie That's Tough To Watch
Think you've had problems in your life? Meet Tony Comes. I thought the sex crimes committed by the priest were horrible, but the crime committed by the local diocese was even worse. There is no amount of money that can take away the pain and hurt that was inflicted on Tony, but an honest admission of guilt and willingness to repair the damage would have been a good place to start. The movie was informative and real - too real at times. I think God has reserved a special place in hell for people who use their "ministry" to perpetrate these criminal acts, and for the people who know about it and do nothing but lie and cover it up.
The movie is almost embarrasingly personal at times, showing scenes of human anguish that resonate long after the credits roll. I found myself thinking about it for weeks afterward, almost haunted by the evil that masqueraded as a servant of God. Tough to watch - impossible to forget.

A revealing story of religion gone bad
Tony Comes is a firefighter in Toledo, Ohio. As a teenager attending Central Catholic High School in the 1980's, he and others were repeatedly molested by priest and religion teacher Dennis Gray. Later in life when Tony, his wife, and 2 children move to a nice suburban neighborhood in Toledo, they're shocked to find that the serial child molester Dennis Gray now lives only 5 houses away from them on the same street.

In June of 2002, Tony met with Toledo diocese bishop James Hoffman to relate his story of sexual abuse. The bishop lied to Tony and stated that Dennis Gray had molested only him. Subsequent news reports attested to 6 additional men who reported they were molested by Dennis Gray at the same high school in the same time frame. Several of these victims are interviewed in this program. In September, Tony filed a lawsuit against the Catholic Church and in December he contacted the media.

The Catholic Church is shown to be very uncooperative with the...

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