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'Mea Maxima Culpa' Director Alex Gibney Praises Pope Benedict's Resignation

(FILE PHOTO) FILE - February 11, 2013: Pope Benedict XVI has announced that he is to resign on February 28, 2013. VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - DECEMBER 24: Pope Benedict XVI waves to the faithfuls as he leaves St. Peter's Basilica at the end of the Christmas night mass on December 24, 2012 in Vatican City, Vatican.  (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)

When I learned of the news that Pope Benedict XVI was going to become the first pope in six centuries to resign from office,  I immediately thought, I wonder what Alex Gibney makes of this?   His documentary, Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God  details the integral role that Benedict, when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, played in investigating the sex-abuse scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church, and, given the ample space that the New York Times devoted to that subject in its report on the resignation, I was left with impression that, behind the scenes, the continuing controversy may have played a part in the Pope's decision to step down. more »

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Forgive Me Father, But You F-ed Me Up − A Last Look Back At The Toronto International Film Festival

Forgive Me Father, But You F-ed Me Up − A Last Look Back At The Toronto International Film Festival

I keep coming back to The Place Beyond the Pines, but it was the movie that defined the Toronto International Film Festival for me. More than once, I heard the director Derek Cianfrance describe his ambitious and moving film as a movie about "legacy" and how "sometimes you're born into a world with all of these repercussions that people have made before you" and "have to fight and claw to get out of that."  Judging from the features and documentaries I saw during my short stay in Toronto, these ideas of legacy and the sins of our fathers — whether they're our literal or institutional fathers — are weighing heavily on America's collective psyche. more »