You said one of the victims filed a criminal complaint?Spotlight · 2015 — Chapter 9 of 21 · 1'52" · B2
Rezendes Meets the Informant, Explained: it takes a village
A reporter and a source talk in a car about the Church's grip on Boston: an abuse case was sealed, and "the Church has a lot of friends." The source won't name names - he only says the man "is not part of the solution" - then ends with the proverb twisted into an indictment.
What happens
In a parked car, a reporter questions a source about the Church and the Geoghan case. The source says victims filed a criminal complaint but the judge sealed the records because the Church has friends in high places. He refuses to name the man he distrusts, and warns that taming this city will take outsiders.
Listen for
it takes a villagelet's just saya criminal complaintmark my words
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Now
Phrase of the scene
it takes a village
it takes a whole community to do something
线人在车里对记者说出这句，把「养大一个孩子要整座村」翻成「伤害一个孩子也要整座村」，一语点破共犯结构。
Everyone pitched in to rebuild the playground, because it takes a village.
Also in this scene
- let's just say
used to hint at something without stating it directly
- a criminal complaint
a formal accusation that starts a criminal case
- mark my words
used to stress that a prediction will come true
- the rest of us
all the other people in our group
Everything marked in this scene
28 notes across 35 lines
liaison
You said one of the victims filed a criminal complaint?Yeah, there were a few of them.But the judge had the case records sealed after friends of the Church complained.causative have something done
But the judge had the case records sealed after friends of the Church complained.And the Church has a lot of friends.Let's just say he's not part of the solution.You follow what I'm saying? Sure.Your wife doesn't mind you working all the time?mind + gerund
Your wife doesn't mind you working all the time?weak form
Your wife doesn't mind you working all the time?he comes in and suddenly everybody's interested in the Church.Because it takes an outsider, like me.Steve Kurkjian, works at the Globe.Oh, that's two. You should get a prize or something.Oh, that's two. You should get a prize or something.You don't sound like it.liaison
You don't sound like it.all the other people in our group
making the rest of us feel like we don't belong.making the rest of us feel like we don't belong.present participle as result
making the rest of us feel like we don't belong.But they're no better than us.no better than comparison
But they're no better than us.Look at how they treat their children.used to stress that a prediction will come true
Mark my words, Mr. Rezendes,if it takes a village to raise a child,it takes a village to abuse one.liaison
it takes a village to abuse one.Rezendes Meets the Informant, explained
What's really going on
The scene is a lesson in how power looks from the outside. The source's complaint is not about one priest but about a network: records get sealed, and "the Church has a lot of friends." He talks in code - "Let's just say he's not part of the solution" - because naming names would cost him, and the reporter lets him. What builds through the small talk about Armenians, Italians, and East Boston is a theory of belonging: the insiders protect each other, and "they're no better than us." The final proverb lands because he borrows a warm saying about raising a child and turns it into an accusation: if a whole village raises a child, then a whole village must be complicit in abusing one.
Theme
CorruptionSealed records and a Church with "a lot of friends" show how an institution protects itself.
PowerThe source describes a city where insiders decide who belongs and who gets shut out.
Listen for
- filed a criminal — liaison
- all the time — weak form
- sound like it — liaison
- takes a village — liaison
And the Church has a lot of friends.The line that explains the sealed records: the Church's influence reaches into the courts and the city.
Let's just say he's not part of the solution.A coded way of saying the man is part of the problem, without naming him.
it takes a village to abuse one.A proverb twisted into an accusation: harming a child takes a whole complicit community.
But they're no better than us.His claim that the city's insiders are not superior, only better protected.
What I do is too important.His self-justifying line, presenting his work as worth the sacrifice of a marriage.
Questions about this scene
Why were the case records sealed?
The source says a judge sealed them after friends of the Church complained, which is his way of showing how much influence the Church has.
Why won't the source name names?
He hints that the man is not part of the solution but refuses to identify him, because speaking plainly could cost him.
What does the proverb mean here?
He takes the saying that it takes a village to raise a child and twists it, arguing that abusing a child also takes a whole complicit community.
What does the reporter learn from the conversation?
That the case is bigger than one priest, that the Church protects its own, and that outsiders may be needed to break the story.
Spotlight · 21 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 10Good GermansSipe's Six Percent Estimate
Chapter 1take a hard look atBaron Meets Robinson for a Drink
Chapter 2file a motionMarty Baron's First News Meeting
Chapter 3have something on someoneLawyers Break Down the Geoghan Case
Chapter 4think in centuriesRezendes Meets Garabedian
Chapter 5stand aloneMarty Baron Meets Cardinal Law
Chapter 6preyed uponPhil Saviano Tells His Story
Chapter 7the beginning of it allReporters Interview Abuse Survivors
Chapter 8out of circulationPressuring Macleish on Settlements
Watching · Chapter 9it takes a villageRezendes Meets the Informant
Chapter 10Good GermansSipe's Six Percent Estimate
Chapter 11off the estimateThe Team Counts 87 Priests
Chapter 12cottage industryRobby Confronts Macleish
Chapter 13from the top downThe Team Goes After the System
Chapter 14sledding uphillSpringfield Hearing on Sealed Records
Chapter 15off the recordGarabedian Reveals the Sealed Documents
Chapter 16get on the same pageReporters Confront Boston College
Chapter 17broke ranksRobby Refuses to Rush the Story
Chapter 18a few bad applesPete Pressures Robby Over Drinks
Chapter 19on a clockRobby Gets Six Weeks to Publish
Chapter 20lay something on someoneRobby Confronts His Old Friend
Chapter 21stumbling around in the darkThe Newsroom Finalizes the StoryChapter 9 of 21 · about 33 min to go