The Inappropriate Hug in the Hall Way

OP. If there was a sexual relationship going on between the two....da ya think they are gonna go about hugging each other in public??? It was purely a fatherly, platonic hug of affection, hardly inappropriate at all..

BTW... love that Meryl Streep quote

Review AE http://www.reviewae.blogspot.com & http://ireview-ae.blogspot.com

Yaeh, That's what Father Flynn said, do you remember?

gabby_bm:

"So how can you know whether he's genuinely kind or if he's feeling-up the students? Do you destroy his reputation and status by calling him in on it, or do you risk further inappropriate behaviors by not saying anything?
If you save a child it's worth it. but what if there's no child that needs saving? Is it worth destroying a person?
Right now you smell smoke, but there's no fire. Do you call the fire department and start going crazy with a fire extinguisher and a hose?"


Therein lays the rub (no pun intended).

Remember that Sister A. did not call him out and accuse him publicly, at least at first. She initially wanted others' observations without really tipping her hand, and then when she got one (from Sister James, whom I believe is intentionally portrayed as very sincere and loving so that her initial 'suspicions' would be taken more seriously), she attempted to get some kind of valid explanation from Father Flynn (and also Sister A. knew that she would be observing Father Flynn while he would explain -- in the presence of a witness, Sister James -- and being a self-proclaimed expert at observation of human behavior, Sister A. thought she would be able to gain just as much information, if not more, from his actions as from his actual spoken explanation). Sister A. brought Father Flynn into the meeting under the guise of another issue because she wanted to observe his spontaneous behavior as opposed to something he could prepare for.

Aside from her speaking with Sister James, Sister A. expresses her true concerns then to Donald's mother to try to enlist her help. At that point, yes, she is risking the man's reputation, but I think she felt the need to take this further step because Father Flynn did not appear truthful in her estimation, and given the state of the religion's hierarchy, especially in those times, she felt limited in how she would be able to further investigate her suspicions. She also felt time was of the essence because she did not want any more child abuse to happen if it were indeed occurring.

I believe Father Flynn's arrogance and going on the attack during their first meeting further strengthened her resolve. He decided to be 'offended' and then pull rank on her, instead of thinking (IMO): 'She has suspicions. I should do everything I can to belay those suspicions because an act against a child from someone like me WOULD and should be of grave concern if it were truly happening. I can see how it might be possible for her to think this given the circumstances, and just because I am a beloved Priest, I need to make sure that everyone can be assured that I am not a criminal or a predator -- that assurance trumps my feeling 'offended' because public trust that comes from my community stature and position entails responsibility on my part that I act in a way that 'avoids the appearance of evil.' But he doesn't do this, even knowing that 'something' is in his past -- therefore, he reeks of 'cover-up' and someone in Sister A.'s position of responsibility for the children in her care cannot allow her to simply put her head in the sand because he is a man of the cloth.

Sister A. then gives Father Flynn another 'chance', and this is when he approaches her this time -- she was not the one who initiated this second meeting. She states more than once in the movie that he will tell her the 'truth'. When he doesn't or doesn't explain himself convincingly, she bluffs him with the 'call' to the previous parish, and then she ups the ante further by stating that she will leave and find a parent, at which point he stops her and, while he doesn't fully explain whatever transgressions he has in his past, he does allude to 'something' that happened. Even at that point she does not press him further (after all she is not his 'confessor'), but instead tells him to give his notice, which is essentially letting him off the hook in a way. Because we as viewers don't get to hear a full story from his lips, we continue to be cast into ambiguity -- even if we believe one way or another, we cannot be 100% certain in our beliefs.


"These are genuine questions of mine. At what point is it acceptable to start destroying a person's reputation and life in the interest of saving a possible victim?"

These are good questions. And, as is typical in our society, we swing the pendulum from one extreme to another: either we don't do as much about child abuse as we should OR we overreact, sometimes some in our society do so from very base motives, and we have witch hunts that end up with prosecuting innocent folks. On this point, I believe that Sister A. does not have corrupt motives fueling her suspicions. In the witch hunts for example in the 80's when daycare providers, etc., who were truly innocent were falsely accused and jailed for some of the most fantastic and unbelievable crimes possible, there was much corruption and, frankly, public ignorance about child psychology and potential false memory implantation, that in turn led to the wrongful prosecution of a select group of innocent people (this is not to say that there are NOT guilty folks who are honestly prosecuted for crimes against children, as they should be, but there were a lot of people who were swept up in witch hunts who frankly did not have a chance then again all the wheels that were turning against them and were instead persecuted as opposed to justly prosecuted).


"In the movies we can all applaud the crusader who follows their gut instinct when there's an actual transgression. But out here in the real world, it's not always a happy ending with Bruce Willis riding off into the sunset."

So true!

In this movie, Father Flynn gave in and left. If he hadn't, we would have a different story. One wonders why he chose to leave and not to fight the good fight, if he were indeed innocent.









"I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than..a rude remark or a vulgar action" Blanche DuBois

rickoshea^

Why hug the boy in this situation?

Why not, instead, call out the 'bully' and make him admit what he had just done in front of Donald and everyone else, make him apologize, and maybe even levy further consequences? -- And, consequences that would matter to a student like William; not suspension because that is not a true consequence for a boy like him because he doesn't like being at school in the first place.

Or, why not call Sister James over to intervene with Donald while he (Father Flynn) intervenes with William -- in the office? He would not be alone with him in the office as there was at least one other priest in there. Or, send him to Sister A. as Sister James did with students who misbehave and let her take care of William?

Or, why not make William come back and clean up the mess he had just made, pull him into the office, call his parents, etc. while Sister James takes Donald back to class? If Donald needed 'counseling', then THAT is what he needed -- a priest hugging him in front of other students and staff is NOT counseling.

There are many other things that Father Flynn *could* have done, other than publicly hug Donald and speak softly into his ear -- especially when he knows that his behaviors are now under scrutiny and that he has 'something' in his past.

Given other facets of the story, I believe that Father Flynn was just too accustomed to getting 'close and personal' in this manner that he himself did not realize how it could potentially appear (and, how it *does* appear to Sister J. who had earlier exclaimed that she thought he was innocent), its potential effects on Donald, OR that maybe he could have handled the situation differently.

Father Flynn could have made it clear to the other students that he would be keeping an eye on them and their behavior toward Donald in many other, less 'personal' ways. He could have more effectively and less suspiciously utilized the 'William' situation in such a way as to make it clear to other male students that William's behavior is not going to be abided and that others better not replicate that behavior. He could have joined forces with Sister A. and Sister James, and if they would have provided a united front, believe me -- other students for the most part would have fallen into line. If William persisted in bullying Donald, then that would be a matter for the administration to more intensively intervene with William, his parents, and the behavior problem that William was becoming -- whether he was acting this way toward Donald or toward other students.

And, hugging Donald this way -- do you think that that behavior by the good Father is going to protect Donald OR instead make him a further object for bullying and scorn by fellow male students??

denise1234


"I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than..a rude remark or a vulgar action" Blanche DuBois