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Spotlight · written by Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy · 2015
Scene 64 of 143 · ≈ 2 min on screen · Act two
The Boston Globe's Spotlight team pries open the Catholic Church's decades-long cover-up of child abuse — one sealed record, one silenced victim at a time.
Robby's Spotlight team operates comfortably inside its own routine, prospecting a modest police-corruption story under a departing editor's cover.
Baron's outsider question exposes what the paper has never done: investigate whether Cardinal Law knowingly protected an abusive priest.
The team sets aside its own project and enters unfamiliar territory: survivor networks, a hostile plaintiff's lawyer, and a legal fight to unseal church records.
Phil Saviano tells the team abuse this systemic isn't just physical, it's spiritual: 'if it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse one.'
Sacha reports to Ben and the team that MacLeish's settlements left no paper trail, arguing his practice effectively kept the abuse buried under confidentiality deals; Ben agrees to keep going on the thirteen priests.
At a black-tie charity gala, Marty is coldly vetted by Pete Conley of Catholic Charities, then Robby finds him alone and recounts how Cardinal Law once 'called down the power of God' on the Globe during the Porter investigation.
Over dinner, Garabedian tells Mike that friends of the Church sealed a criminal case's records, and needles him about being Portuguese in an Irish Catholic town where outsiders finally see what insiders ignore.
This scene
Robby crosses the room, joins Jim Sullivan at the bar.
JIM
There he is.
They two men shake.
JIM (CONT’D)
Wanna beer?
ROBBY
Love one.
Jim nods to the bartender.
JIM
You here with Barbara?
ROBBY
No. She hates these things.
JIM
Karen too. Smart ladies.
The bartender sets down two beers. Robby hands one to Jim.
ROBBY
Sláinte.
JIM
I just met your new editor, seems
like a decent fella.
ROBBY
I think he is.
(then)
I had an interesting conversation
with Eric MacLeish yesterday. Turns
out he’s been settling abuse cases
with the archdiocese for years.
JIM
You really wanna talk about this
here?
ROBBY
You said you helped out on Father
Barrett as a favor, that was a one-
off?
Jim doesn’t say anything. Robby DARKENS.
ROBBY (CONT’D)
How many of these cases have you
been involved with, Jim?
JIM
You know I can’t answer that, Robby.
It’s unethical.
ROBBY
Is that all it is?
Jim stares Robby down. He drinks.
JIM
So this is the Robby Robinson I’ve
always heard about but never met.
ROBBY
Listen to me, Jimmy. You want to be
on the right side of this.
JIM
You’re talking about the Church,
Robby. Look around. These are good
this city.
(then)
Enjoy the party.
Jim smiles, heads into the party, leaving Robby alone at the bar. Robby glances over at Marty, still on the edge of the party. So this is what it feels like to be on the outside...