I love movies that make me uncomfortable. As a Christian, as well as a college student studying to work in youth ministry full-time, "Spotlight" made me really, really uncomfortable.

The film, nominated for six awards including Best Picture, highlights the Boston Globe's uncovering of a child molestation scandal within the Catholic diocese of Boston in 2002. Strictly in terms of filmmaking, my not-at-all expert opinion is that this movie is masterful. It boasts an absolutely brilliant cast, including Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams and John Slattery, to name just a few. Its dialogue is engaging; its characters are vibrant; it is honest and gripping... However, in terms of my reaction as I watched the movie, I could not believe what I was seeing and hearing. As the film progressed I could feel my anger and sadness building steadily as detail after detail was revealed, until by the time the credits rolled, I was seething.

It is tempting, seeing that I am not Catholic, to say, "this is the Vatican's problem. It has nothing to do with me." It is also tempting to just brush it off as incident that happened 13 years ago being used as bait for the Academy during Oscar season. However, these ways of thinking are exactly what "Spotlight" is urging us to avoid. It is exactly this kind of attitude that causes us to become lax in our judgment, too quick to look the other way even when something does not seem right. The child molestation scandal broke 13 years ago; it has been almost a decade and a half. However, we cannot claim that it is no longer an issue just because there has not been a major scandal in "x" amount of years. As the film will attest, the Boston Globe found only the tip of the iceberg. They revealed only a small part of a systemic problem; a problem that extends beyond the Catholic church. It can and does happen anywhere. Throw the exegetical and doctrinal differences aside: the Catholic Church is the Church. For those of us who claim to be part of the Church, it is not a matter of "us" and "them." Having a "that could never happen to us" mentality causes us to look the other way. As the film reminds us, looking the other way causes an already pervasive evil to spiral out of control.

I am so thankful that this film was made. My hope is that it will reinvigorate the conversation that this story started 13 years ago. I hope it will remind us that the issue has not gone away despite what many would like to believe. I hope we, as the Christian Church, will get angry. I hope we will take action, not allowing ourselves to be lulled into a sense of self-righteousness. This is a problem that cannot be swept under the rug, and I hope we are able to take advantage of the fact that Hollywood has brought it to the public attention once again.

I am going to see this movie again. I want everybody to see this movie. I want the Church to engage this movie, not push it aside, and realize that ignoring problems such as this will not make them go away. I want this movie to be a reminder to Church that there is work to do.