In 1976, the first child molestation by Catholic priest was noticed.
In 2001, The Boston Globe united the “Spotlight” team, which was made up of a small group of investigative journalists, to investigate priest John Keoghan’s crime. At the beginning, the “Spotlight” team” just wanted to bring priest John to justice. However, as the investigation moved on, the Spotlight team found out that there was a pattern of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests in Massachusetts, following by the ongoing cover-up by the Boston Archdiocese. Finally, they revealed a list of 87 abusive priests in Boston, which counted as six percent of priests.
It’s a true story. It’s the movie “Spotlight”.
For the “Spotlight” team, the meaning of “the king without a crown” is seeking the truth and reporting it. Journalists are like the beacons in the sea, lighting up and giving direction to the people in darkness.
At the end of the movie, the team was inundated with phone calls from victims telling their stories after the investigation was published. That’s the power of media. As the voice of people, it gives strength to the weak, encouraging people to speak up. Maybe, this is the greatest value and meaning for a journalist.
“Sometimes it’s easy to forget that we spend most of our time stumbling around the dark. Suddenly, a light gets turned on and there’s a fair share of blame to go around.”
Having wisdom is easy, but speaking up is hard.