''Revelation'' is a 2020 Australian

documentary series Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. * Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

directed by

Nial Fulton Nial William Fulton is an Australian film and television director, producer and writer. Focused on social justice issues, his works include investigative documentaries ''Revelation'' ( Walkley Documentary Award), '' Hitting Home'' (AACTA and ...

and

Sarah Ferguson Sarah, Duchess of York (born Sarah Margaret Ferguson; 15 October 1959), also known by the nickname Fergie, is a British author, philanthropist, television personality, and member of the extended British royal family. She is the former wife of P ...

. The series follows the criminal trials of three

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priests accused of

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...

. The series was produced by

In Films In Films is an Australian independent television production company. It specialises in social justice documentaries and is known for '' Hitting Home'' and ''Revelation''; the US series '' Borderland''; and '' Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra' ...

for

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

and premiered on 17 March 2020, where it received critical acclaim and won the

Walkley Documentary Award The Walkley Documentary Award is an Australian award presented annually since 2011 as part of the Walkley Awards The annual Walkley Awards are presented in Australia to recognise and reward excellence in journalism. They cover all media includ ...

and Best Documentary Series Award at the

Asian Academy Creative Awards The annual Asian Academy Creative Awards are presented every December as part of the Singapore Media Festival. They recognise excellence in the film and television industry across 16 nations in the Asia-Pacific region. History The inaugural ...

. The series screened on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

in March 2023 and spent two weeks in the Top Ten Most Watched TV Shows across Australia and New Zealand.

Synopsis

The series examines the forces behind the child sexual abuse scandal in the

Catholic Church in Australia The Catholic Church in Australia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual and administrative leadership of the Holy See. From origins as a suppressed, mainly Irish minority in early colonial times, the church has grow ...

and follows the criminal trials of Father Vincent Ryan and Brother

Bernard McGrath Bernard Kevin McGrath (born 22 May 1947) is a New Zealand convicted child sex abuser and former member of the Catholic religious order the Brothers Hospitallers of St John of God. He is considered to be the most notorious offender in the most n ...

. The third episode looks at the systemic cover-up of child sexual abuse in the Diocese of Ballarat and features allegations of child sexual abuse against Cardinal

George Pell George Pell (8 June 1941 – 10 January 2023) was an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church. From 2002, he faced recurring accusations of sexual abuse, although his subsequent sexual abuse conviction was quashed on appeal to the High Cour ...

Production

The series was shot on location in the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

, Ireland,

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and multiple locations around Australia, including the Catholic

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

s of

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

and Maitland-Newcastle. Following lengthy negotiations, the producers were granted permission to bring cameras into the New South Wales District Court to film the 2019 criminal trials of Father Vincent Ryan and Brother

. Ryan's trial was filmed over six weeks and McGrath's over seven months. It was the first time anywhere in the world that filming of a

clerical Clerical may refer to: * Pertaining to the clergy * Pertaining to a clerical worker * Clerical script, a style of Chinese calligraphy * Clerical People's Party See also

* Cleric (disambiguation) * Clerk (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

child abuse trial had been permitted. NSW Corrective Services granted Fulton and Ferguson permission to interview McGrath, a member of the

Hospitaller Order of St. John of God The Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, officially the Hospitaller Order of the Brothers of Saint John of God (abbreviated as OH), are a Catholic religious order founded in 1572. In Italian they are also known commonly as the Fatebenefra ...

religious order, who was convicted on multiple sex offences against young boys under his care in Kendall Grange,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. His interview took place inside a maximum-security prison where he is currently serving a 39-year sentence.

Release

The series premiered on

on 17 March 2020. Episode 1 achieved a combined (broadcast and online) audience of 885K and an iView audience of 979,000. Episode 2 was postponed due to live coverage of the prime minister's televised address to the nation regarding the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and went to air on 31 March. It achieved a combined audience of 904,000. Episode 3 screened on 2 April and achieved a combined audience of 714,000. The series streamed on

from 22 March 2023 and spent two weeks in the Top Ten most watched TV shows across Australia and New Zealand.

Key people

* Father Vincent Ryan -

Roman Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle The Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle is a suffragan Latin Church diocese of the Archdiocese of Sydney, established in 1847 initially as the Diocese of Maitland and changed to the current name in 1995. The diocese covers the Hunter and Mid North Co ...

* Brother

* Cardinal

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Ballarat The Diocese of Ballarat, based in Ballarat, Australia, is a diocese in the ecclesiastical province of Melbourne. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Melbourne and was established in 1874. Its geography covers the west, Wimmera and M ...

* Father Bill Burston -

Troy Grant Troy Wayne Grant (born 11 February 1970) is an Australian politician and former police officer. Grant has been the Inspector-General of Water Compliance (IGWC) since August 2021, the first to hold the position. Previously, he was the Minister ...

- former police officer * Bishop William Wright -

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...

- former

President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

* Audrey Nash - former friend of Vincent Ryan, mother of Andrew Nash * Bishop Leo Clarke -

* Monsignor Patrick Cotter -

* Father

Brian Lucas Brian Humphrey Lucas (born 20 January 1940) is a British Anglican priest and retired military chaplain. From 1991 to 1995, he served as Chaplain-in-Chief, and thereby head of the Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch, and Archdeacon for the Royal ...

- Anglican priest * Father Maurice Cahill -

* Archbishop

Diarmuid Martin Diarmuid Martin (born 8 April 1945) is an Irish prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland from 2004 to 2020. From 1976 to 2003 he held a variety of positions in the Roman Curia and in the diplomatic ser ...

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

* Joanne McCarthy - journalist * William Melican -

* Father Eric Bryant -

* Archbishop

Charles Scicluna Charles Jude Scicluna (born 15 May 1959) is a Canadian-Maltese prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as Archbishop of Malta since 2015. Both as a curial official and since becoming a bishop, he has conducted investigations into sexual a ...

- Archbishop of Malta * Archbishop

Mark Coleridge Mark Benedict Coleridge (born 25 September 1948) is an Australian Catholic prelate who has served as Metropolitan Archbishop of Brisbane since 2012. He previously served as Archbishop of Canberra–Goulburn (2006–2012) and as an auxiliary ...

- Archbishop of Brisbane, Australia * David Marr - journalist *

Steve Bannon Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist for the first seven months of president Donald Trump's first ...

- political strategist

Episodes

Reception

Initial reception

The series met with positive reviews. Holly Byrnes of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' (Sydney) wrote "Walkley award-winning journalist Sarah Ferguson has delivered some of the best TV journalism this country has ever witnessed, but Revelation might just be the pinnacle." Bridget McManus from ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' (Melbourne) gave it four stars, calling it a "searing documentary series". Brigid Delaney, a senior writer for ''

Guardian Australia ''Guardian Australia'' is the Australian website of the British global online and print newspaper, ''The Guardian''. Available solely in an Online newspaper, online format, the newspaper's launch was led by Katharine Viner in time for the 201 ...

'', wrote: "You'll need a strong stomach to digest Revelation's insights into child sexual abuse in the Catholic church." In ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'',

Graeme Blundell Graeme Blundell (born 7 August 1945) is an Australian actor, director, producer, writer, playwright, lyricist and biographer. Early life Blundell was born on 7 April 1945 in Melbourne; he grew up in the suburb of Clifton Hill. He was educated ...

wrote that "although it is often difficult to watch, Ferguson and her exemplary production team, including executive producer Nial Fulton, principal cinematographer Aaron Smith and researchers Sophie Randerson, Kate Wild, and Alison McClymont, have been able to shed light not only on their heinous atrocities but how the Catholic Church repeatedly chose secrecy over transparency and accountability. It is a confronting, awful study of a church that not only fell to decay but seems beyond renewal, achingly absent of integrity and grace." Blundell also praised Sarah Ferguson for her restraint, saying that "the interviews she conducts, initially with Ryan and later with Bernard McGrath, a former St John of God brother, teacher and headmaster in residential schools in Australia and New Zealand, serving 39 years for crimes against children, are harrowing and disturbing as she provokes and exposes a web of conspiracy and perversion. She tries to display no explicit emotion as she questions Ryan but can only just conceal her ethical disgust behind that journalistic veneer of taut self-control." The series won the

on 20 November 2020. The judges' citation read: "This haunting documentary broke new ground on an issue already well covered by the media and investigated by police and the Royal Commission alike. The extraordinary access to some of the Catholic Church's most notorious perpetrators of sexual abuse against children, as well as the insight it gave viewers into court proceedings, showed just how powerful journalistic documentary-making can be."

Controversy

On 7 April 2020, Cardinal

was released from prison and had his convictions for child sexual abuse overturned. In response, the producers took the decision to include footage of Pell's release. No material from the original broadcast was removed or altered. In a statement, Cardinal Pell rejected the allegations made by Bernie and Peter Clarke in ''Revelation'' but, following his acquittal, did not sue the producers or

. Pell's release paved the way for the

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to inquire into and repo ...

to release their previously redacted findings into what Pell knew about child sexual abuse in Victoria.

Andrew Bolt Andrew Bolt (born 26 September 1959) is an Australian conservative social and political commentator. He has worked at the News Corp-owned newspaper company The Herald and Weekly Times (HWT) for many years, for both '' The Herald'' and its succ ...

, a

News Corp The second and current incarnation of News Corporation, doing business as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company was formed on ...

columnist and outspoken supporter of Pell, attacked the ABC and the filmmakers, saying that the series was part of a "witch-hunt" against Pell. Following his acquittal, other vocal supporters of Pell including

Miranda Devine Miranda Devine is an Australian-American columnist and writer, now based in New York City. She hosted ''The Miranda Devine Show'' on Sydney radio station 2GB until it ended in 2015. She has written columns for Fairfax Media newspapers ''The Sy ...

and

Gerard Henderson Gerard Henderson (born 1945) is an Australian author, columnist and political commentator noted for his right-wing Catholic and conservative views. He founded and is the executive director of The Sydney Institute, a privately funded Australian ...

, condemned those who had reported on the story. Other News Corp journalists also called the ABC's reporting on the Pell case one-sided and biased. Greg Craven, vice-chancellor of the

Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamation ...

and long-time friend of Pell, accused the ABC and police of "polluting" the legal atmosphere around the cardinal's Victorian trial. The ABC rejected Craven's allegations they had intentionally brought forward Episode 3 of ''Revelation'' in an attempt to influence the High Court. In response to News Corp, the ABC stated it had "always acted in the public interest" and rejected allegations of "a 'witch hunt' against Cardinal Pell" or "that it engaged in 'vigilante' journalism or that its coverage was one-sided or unfair". One journalist

Margaret Simons Margaret Simons (born 1960) is an Australian academic, freelance journalist and author. She has written numerous articles and essays as well as many books, including a biography of Senate leader of the Australian Labor Party, Penny Wong and Aust ...

said the ABC's reporting on Pell did not "step over the line".

Accolades

Response from the Catholic Church

Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle

Father Vincent Ryan

The Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle responded to the imminent release of the series by issuing an open letter to their parishioners attempting to justify their failure to have convicted paedophile priest Father Vincent Ryan laicised. This was followed by a more detailed press release, including a timeline of Ryan's offending and Bishop Leo Clarke's failure to respond to Ryan's abuse, The letter also stated that the

Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

would recommend to Pope Francis that Ryan be laicised. Ryan died on 30 May 2022. Despite widespread knowledge of Ryan's prolific offending, the Catholic Church did not laicise him.

Bishop Leo Clarke

During his interview for ''Revelation'', Sarah Ferguson asked Bishop Wright why the church continued to celebrate the life of Bishop Leo Clarke, a man the church acknowledged had protected Vincent Ryan and concealed his sexual abuse of children. Following the broadcast, a plaque celebrating the life of Clarke was removed from Maitland cathedral.

Father Bill Burston

Wright's report also dealt with the treatment of the Nash family and the remarks made by Father William Burston. The report concluded that Andrew Nash "tragically committed suicide" after he was "abused by the criminal William Cable 'Br Romuald'". An internal Catholic investigation was launched by Bishop William Wright regarding Burston's interview, where he told Sarah Ferguson that he thought the suicide of 13-year-old Andrew Nash in 1974 was a "prank gone wrong". Wright confirmed the internal investigation had concluded "some time ago" and that Burston had voluntarily agreed to no longer celebrate Mass or other church rituals. Audrey Nash had not been notified about the outcome of the investigation. The Royal Commission Case Study 43 was released in October 2020 and found Burston knew there had been a complaint of "sexually inappropriate behaviour" against Ryan in 1976. The family of Andrew Nash told ''

The Newcastle Herald The ''Newcastle Herald'' (formerly branded as ''The Herald'') is a local tabloid newspaper published daily, Monday to Saturday, in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It is the only local newspaper that serves the greater Hunter Region and ...

'' that they wanted Burston laicised for his callous remarks.

Diocese of Ballarat

The Bishop of Ballarat, Paul Bird, issued a press release on 17 March 2020 warning parishioners they might find some of the material in ''Revelation'' confronting and painful. Following the release of the series, Bird removed Father Bryant from his parish and forced him into early retirement.

Brothers of St John of God

On 7 April 2020, the Hospitaller Order of the Brothers of St John of God posted a statement about the series on their website. The order did not deny the allegations that they had prior knowledge of Bernard McGrath's sexual offending against children under his care and moved him from Australia to New Zealand and later to the Jemez Springs treatment facility run by

the Congregation of the Servants of the Paraclete ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, United States. New Zealand's

Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions was established by the New Zealand Government in 2018 to inquire into and report upon allegations of historical abuse to children, y ...

examined the crimes of the St John of God order in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

and used some material from ''Revelation'' during their public hearings. Judge Coral Shaw, chair of the commission, publicly thanked Nial Fulton and Sarah Ferguson for their work.

Archdiocese of Sydney

On 2 April 2020, the

Archdiocese of Sydney The Archdiocese of Sydney () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church. Its episcopal see is Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Erected in 1842, the archdiocese is the metropolitan see for the suffragan ...

responded to the allegations raised against Cardinal George Pell in episode 3 of the series by issuing a short press release.

References

External links

*
''Revelation'' series website

''Revelation'' on ABC website

In Films (production company) website
{{Catholic Church in Australia 2020s Australian documentary television series Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in Ireland Media coverage of Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in Australia True crime television series Films about Catholic priests Australian non-fiction television series Documentary films about child abuse Australian English-language television shows