Twist of Faith

Tony Comes, a firefighter in Toledo, says years afterwards that he was sexually abused as a boy by a Catholic priest; the decision to speak shakes his family, his neighbourhood and his own faith. What sets the whole thing off is his realising that the same priest lives on his street. In 2004 Comes entered settlement talks with the diocese together with other survivors; the accused priest denied the allegations, and the suits were closed by settlement rather than by any court ruling. The documentary is not about the detail of the abuse but about what saying it out loud does to a man’s life. Kirby Dick’s eighty seven minute American documentary was made for HBO, was shown at Sundance in 2005 and was nominated for the documentary feature Oscar. It was completed in 2004.