Spotlight Quotes

Marty Baron: 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. I can't speak to what happened before I arrived, but all of you have done some very good reporting here. Reporting that I believe is going to have an immediate and considerable impact on our readers.

For me, this kind of story is why we do this.

Mike Rezendes: We got Law. This is it.
Walter 'Robby' Robinson: No, this is Law covering for one priest, there's another ninety out there.
Mike Rezendes: Yeah, and we'll print that story when we get it, but we got to go with this now.
Walter 'Robby' Robinson: No, I'm not going to rush this story, Mike.

Mike Rezendes: We don't have a choice, Robby. If we don't rush to print, somebody else is going to find these letters and butcher this story. Joe Quimby from the Herald was at the freaking courthouse!
Walter 'Robby' Robinson: Mike.
Mike Rezendes: What? Why are we hesitating? Baron told us to get Law. This is Law.

Walter 'Robby' Robinson: Baron told us to get the system. We need the full scope. That's the only thing that will put an end to this.
Mike Rezendes: Then let's take it up to Ben and let him decide.
Walter 'Robby' Robinson: We'll take it to Ben when I say it's time.
Mike Rezendes: It's time, Robby! It's time!

They knew and they let it happen! To KIDS! Okay? It could have been you, it could have been me, it could have been any of us. We gotta nail these scumbags! We gotta show people that nobody can get away with this; Not a priest, or a cardinal or a freaking pope!

Marty Baron: We need to focus on the institution, not the individual priests. Practice and policy; show me the church manipulated the system so that these guys wouldn't have to face charges, show me they put those same priests back into parishes time and time again. Show me this was systemic, that it came from the top, down.
Ben Bradlee Jr.: Sounds like

we're going after Law.
Marty Baron: We're going after the system.

Marty Baron: Did everyone read Eileen McNamara's column this weekend?
Boston Globe Worker: That's the Geoghan case?
Marty Baron: Yeah, what's the follow on that?
Ben Bradlee Jr.: It-It's a column, what kind of follow are you thinking?
Marty Baron: Uh... well apparently this priest molested kids in 6

different parishes over the last 30 years and the attorney for the victims, a Mr...
Eileen McNamara: Garabedian
Marty Baron: Thanks Eileen, Mr Garabedian says Cardinal Law found out about it 15 years ago and did nothing.
Paul Burke: Yeah, I think that attorney is a bit of a crank, and The Church dismissed the claim.

Eileen McNamara: He-said she-said.
Marty Baron: Whether Mr Garabedian is a 'crank' or not, he says he has documents that prove that Cardinal knew.
Ben Bradlee Jr.: As I understand that those documents are under seal.
Marty Baron: Okay, but the fact remains a Boston priest abused 80 kids, we have a lawyer who

says he can prove Law knew about it and we've written all of... uh... 2 stories in the last 6 months. This strikes me as an essential story to a local paper, I think the very least we have to go through those documents.
Paul Burke: How would you like to do that?
Marty Baron: Oh uh, I don't know what the laws are here, but in Florida we would go to

court.
Ben Bradlee Jr.: You wanna sue the Church?
Marty Baron: Technically we wouldn't sue the Church, we'd file a motion to lift the seal on the documents.
Ben Bradlee Jr.: The Church will read that as us suing them. So will everybody else.
Marty Baron: Good to know.

[last lines]
Title Card: Over the course of 2002, the Spotlight team published close to 600 stories about the scandal.
Title Card: 249 priests and brothers were publicly accused of sexual abuse within the Boston Archdiocese. The number of survivors in Boston is estimated to be well over 1,000.
Title Card: In December 2002, Cardinal Law resigned from the Boston Archdiocese. He

was reassigned to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, one of the highest ranking Roman Catholic churches in the world.
Title Card: Major abuse scandals have been uncovered in the following places: Albany, NY, Altoona, PA, Anchorage, AK, Anchorage, KY, Baker, OR, Baltimore, MD, Billings, MT, Bridgeport, CT, Briscoe Memorial, WA, Brooklyn, NY, Burlington, VT, Camden, NJ, Cape

Girardeau, MO, Charleston, SC, Chicago, IL, Cincinnati, OH, Cleveland, OH, Collegeville, MN, Conway Springs, KS, Covington, KY, Dallas, TX, Davenport, IA, Denver, CO, Detroit, MI, Dubuque, IA, East Greenwich, RI, El Paso, TX, Fairbanks, AK, Fall River, MA, Fargo, ND, Farmington, IA, Fort Worth, TX, Gallup, NM, Goshen, NY, Grand Mound, IA, Grand Rapids, MI, Greenbush, MN, Hannibal, CT, Helena, MT,

Honolulu, HI, Indianapolis, IN, Jackson, MS, Joliet, IL, Kansas, City, KS, Kansas, City, MO, Lincoln, NE, Los Angeles, CA, Los Gatos, CA, Louisville, KY, Manchester, NH, Marietta, GA, Marty Indian School, SD, Memphis, TN, Mendham, NJ, Miami, FL, Milwaukee, WI, Mobile, AL, Monterey, CA, Nashville, TN, New Orleans, LA, New York, NY, Oakland, CA, Omaha, NE, Onamia, MN, Orange, CA, Palm Beach, FL,

Peoria, IL, Philadelphia, PA, Phoenix, AZ, Pittsburgh, PA, Portland, OR, Providence, RI, Raleigh, NC, Richmond, VA, Rochester, NY, Rockville Centre, NY, Rosebud Reservation, SD, Sacramento, CA, San Antonio, TX, San Bernardino, CA, San Diego, CA, Santa Barbara, CA, Santa Fe, NM, Santa Rosa, CA, Savannah, GA, Scranton, PA, Seattle, WA, Spokane, WA, Springfield, MA, St. Francis, WI, St. Ignatius, MT,

St. Louis, MO, St. Michael, AK, St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN, Stebbins, AK, Stockton, CA, Tucson, AZ, Wellesley, MA, Wilmington, DE, Worcester, MA, Yakima, WA, Yuma, AZ, Adelaide, Australia, Akute, Nigeria, Antigonish, Canada, Arapiraca, Brazil, Auckland, New Zealand, Ayacucho, Peru, Ballarat, Australia, Bass Hill, Australia, Bathurst, Australia, Berazategui, Argentina, Berlin, Germany, Bindoon,

Australia, Bo, Sierra Leone, Bontoc, Philippines, Brits, South Africa, Bruges, Belgium, Buenos Aires, Argentia, Caen, France, Canberra, Australia, Cape Town, South Africa, Cebu City, Philippines, Chatham, Canada, Chimbote, Peru, Christchurch, New Zealand, Ciudad de México, México, Comillas, Spain, Cottolengo, Chile, Cuacnopalan, Mexico, Curracloe, Ireland, Dandenong, Australia, Dublin, Ireland,

Edinburgh, Scotland, Feilding, New Zealand, Flawinne, Belgium, Franca, Brazil, Gortahork, Ireland, Goulbara, Australia, Grenada, Spain, Hamilton, New Zealand, Hobart, Australia, Hollabrunn, Austria, Igloolik, Canada, Kilnacrott, Ireland, Kircubbin, Northern Ireland, Latticefield, Australia, Letterfrack, Ireland, London, England, Lota, Ireland, Maipú, Chile, Manchester, England, Manila,

Philippines, Mariana, Brazil, Masterton, New Zealand, Medellín, Colombia, Melbourne, Australia, Melipilla, Chile, Mérida, Venezuela, Middlesbrough, England, Mildura, Australia, Mittagong, Australia, Monageer, Ireland, Morisset, Australia, Morón, Argentina, Mount Isa, Australia, Munich, Germany, Nairobi, Kenya, Naval, Philippines, Neerkol, Australia, Newcastle, Australia, Ngong, Kenya, Ollur,

India, Ottre, Belgium, Paraná, Argentina, Perth, Australia, Pilar, Argentina, Poznan, Poland, Preston, England, Quilicura, Chile, Quilmes, Argentina, Rab, Croatia, Reading, England, Frickhofen, Germany, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Rufisque, Senegal, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, France, Salta, Argentina, San Luis Potosí, Mexico, Santiago, Chile, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Sherbrooke, Canada,

Silverstream, New Zealand, Soni, Tanzania, St. John's, Canada, Sydney, Australia, Toowoomba, Australia, Trondheim, Norway, Tubay, Philippines, Wagga Wagga, Australia, Wexford, Ireland, Wilno, Canada, Wollongong, Australia