Best movies like Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God Starring Jamey Sheridan, Chris Cooper, Ethan Hawke, John Slattery, and more. If you liked Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God then you may also like: Una, The Vatican Tapes, No Child of Mine, An Open Secret, Our Fathers and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

Academy Award®–winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.

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Una

When a young woman unexpectedly arrives at an older man's workplace, looking for answers, the secrets of the past threaten to unravel his new life.

The Vatican Tapes

In a highly secured vault deep within the walls of Vatican City, the Catholic Church holds thousands of old films and video footage documenting exorcisms/supposed exorcisms and other unexplained religious phenomena they feel the world is not ready to see. This is the first tape - Case 83-G - stolen from these archives and exposed to the public by an anonymous source.

No Child of Mine

Thirteen-year-old Kerry is repeatedly sexually abused by several adults, including at one point her mother. Her father sets her up as a prostitute. Kerry finally calls Childline and is put in a safe house, where she tries to come to terms with what has been done to her. Based on a true story, with the names changed to protect the real Kerry's identity.

An Open Secret

An investigation into accusations of teenagers being sexually abused within the film industry.

Our Fathers

In the '80s, priests and especially the Father Geoghan arrested for sexual abuse of minors. Cardinal Law, also indicted, and the diocese was aware of the actions of these men of the church and was kept secret for years, until the victims decide to seek redress.

Rebel Hearts

A group of pioneering nuns bravely stand up to the Catholic Church patriarchy, fighting for their livelihoods, convictions and equality against an all-powerful Cardinal. From marching in Selma in 1965 to the Women’s March in 2018, these women have reshaped our society with their bold acts of defiance.

Judgment

Fact-based story of a Louisiana priest accused of molesting young parishioners, and of the family of one of his victims, caught between their loyalty to their son and to their Church.

The Abdication

Queen Christina of Sweden abdicates and travels to Rome to embrace the Catholic church.

Bad Education

Two children, Ignacio and Enrique, know love, the movies and fear in a religious school at the beginning of the 1960s. Father Manolo, director of the school and its professor of literature, is witness to and part of these discoveries. The three are followed through the next few decades, their reunion marking life and death.

Becket

King Henry II of England has trouble with the Church. When the Archbishop of Canterbury dies, he has a brilliant idea. Rather than appoint another pious cleric loyal to Rome and the Church, he will appoint his old drinking and wenching buddy, Thomas Becket, technically a deacon of the church, to the post. Unfortunately, Becket takes the job seriously and provides abler opposition to Henry.

The Cardinal

A young Catholic priest from Boston confronts bigotry, Nazism, and his own personal conflicts as he rises to the office of cardinal.

Outlaw Prophet: Warren Jeffs

Cult leader Warren Jeffs rises to power in the polygamist Mormon sect once headed by his late father, but some of his wives fight back to bring him to justice. Based on a true story.

Doubt

In 1964, a Catholic school nun questions a priest's ambiguous relationship with a troubled young student, suspecting him of abuse.

Deliver Us from Evil

Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Victims' stories and a disturbing interview with O'Grady offer a view into the troubled mind of the spiritual leader who moved from parish to parish gaining trust ... all the while betraying so many.

Dolores Claiborne

Dolores Claiborne was accused of killing her abusive husband twenty years ago, but the court's findings were inconclusive and she was allowed to walk free. Now she has been accused of killing her employer, Vera Donovan, and this time there is a witness who can place her at the scene of the crime. Things look bad for Dolores when her daughter Selena, a successful Manhattan magazine writer, returns to cover the story.

Luther

During the early 16th Century idealistic German monk Martin Luther, disgusted by the materialism in the church, begins the dialogue that will lead to the Protestant Reformation.

Desecration

Sixteen year-old Bobby is emotionally damaged by his mother's early death. He accidentally causes a nun's death, unleashing a chain of supernatural events that lead him into the pits of Hell.

Dreamcatcher

Longinotto's documentary is about Brenda Myers-Powell, who fights against sexual exploitation and supports prostitutes in Chicago. Brenda knows what she is talking about: her own story, involving teenage prostitution and a life of violence and abuse, is in stark contrast to her dauntless energy and optimism.

God's Outlaw

A dramatized biography of William Tyndale, the 16th Century reformer determined to translate the Bible into English, which illegal act set him at odds with the Catholic Church, Sir Thomas More and King Henry VIII.

Spotlight

The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.

Pope Joan

A 9th century woman of English extraction born in the German city of Ingelheim disguises herself as a man and rises through the Vatican ranks.

The Magdalene Sisters

Four women are given into the custody of the Magdalene sisterhood asylum to correct their sinful behavior: Crispina and Rose have given birth to a premarital child, Margaret got raped by her cousin and the orphan Bernadette had been repeatedly caught flirting with the boys. All have to work in a laundry under the strict supervision of the nuns, who break their wills through sadistic punishment.

Romero

Romero is a compelling and deeply moving look at the life of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, who made the ultimate sacrifice in a passionate stand against social injustice and oppression in his county. This film chronicles the transformation of Romero from an apolitical, complacent priest to a committed leader of the Salvadoran people.

My Scientology Movie

Following a long fascination with the religion and with much experience in dealing with eccentric, unpalatable and unexpected human behavior, the beguilingly unassuming Theroux won't take no for an answer when his request to enter the Church's headquarters is turned down. Inspired by the Church's use of filming techniques, and aided by ex-members of the organization, Theroux uses actors to replay some incidents people claim they experienced as members in an attempt to better understand the way it operates. In a bizarre twist, it becomes clear that the Church is also making a film about Louis Theroux.

The Pope Must Die

A less-than-qualified and far-from-perfect priest is mistakenly named the new pope. As the pontiff, he must deal with Vatican corruption, the Mob and the reappearance of his old lover.

Possessed

An 11 year old boy starts throwing temper tantrums, vomiting on and attacking people, and swearing uncontrollably. Furniture begins to move on its own when he is around, and he doesn't remember any of it. After giving up on the protestants, the boy's parents turn to the catholic church for help. Father Bowden is a WWII veteran who is experiencing nightmares, flashbacks and other personal problems, including alcoholism. He is recruited by the archbishop to perform a series of exorcisms. This is the apparent true account of the last exorcism known to have been done by the catholic church.

Prey

An examination of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, the film centres on Rod McLeod, a man who is suing the church for restitution after having been abused in childhood by priest William Hodgson “Hod” Marshall, and includes testimonial interviews from some of Marshall's other victims.

Saving Grace

A newly-elected Pope Leo XIV finds himself accidentally locked out of the Vatican. Unknown to the outside world, he winds up in an impoverished Italian village, where his adventures ultimately teach the Pope and his new friends some important lessons about friendship and self-esteem. Written by Chris DeSantis

The Shoes of the Fisherman

All eyes focus on the Vatican, watching for the traditional puffs of white smoke that signal the election of the next Pope. This time much more is at stake. The new pontiff may be the only person who can bring peace to a world on the brink of nuclear nightmare.

Taxi to the Dark Side

An in-depth look at the torture practices of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, focusing on an innocent taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed in 2002.

Tell Me Who I Am

In this documentary, Alex trusts his twin, Marcus, to tell him about his past after he loses his memory. But Marcus is hiding a dark family secret.

Leave No Trace

In February 2022, The Boy Scouts Of America reached a $2.7 billion agreement over sex abuse claims, the largest such settlement in history. Leave No Trace explores how this all-American institution went so horrifyingly wrong.

From a Far Country

This heroic story follows the life of Karol Wojtyla, a Polish Roman catholic who ascends the throne of St. Peter as Pope John Paul II. As a young boy, Karol is a bright and talented student. Archbishop Sapieha recognizes the very special, moving qualities Karol possesses and encourages him to consider the priesthood. Although determined to study Polish literature, Karol turns to the church; he is ordained and studies in Italy, France, and Belgium. Torn by fear and repression in post-Stalin Eastern Europe, Karol becomes a poisonous thorn in the communists' side. His deer reverence and commitment return him to Poland as Pope John Paul II.

The Two Popes

Frustrated with the direction of the church, Cardinal Bergoglio requests permission to retire in 2012 from Pope Benedict. Instead, facing scandal and self-doubt, the introspective Pope Benedict summons his harshest critic and future successor to Rome to reveal a secret that would shake the foundations of the Catholic Church.

Romans

Malky is a demolition worker whose life receives a seismic shock when, out drinking with friends at a local pub, he sees a disturbing figure from his past: the man he holds responsible for a traumatic childhood incident. Fueled by anger, Malky sets out on a path of vengeance—and discovers that no one can escape the consequences of their sins.

The Boys of St. Vincent

The true story of boys being sexually abused at their orphanage, run by a religious community in Newfoundland.

Conspiracy of Silence

When a priest commits suicide and two trainees are expelled from a seminary, a journalist starts to investigate the Vatican’s silence on broken vows of celibacy. A thriller examining the internal conflicts in the modern Catholic church.

Twist of Faith

A man confronts the trauma of past sexual abuse as a boy by a Catholic priest only to find his decision shatters his relationships with his family, community and faith.

The Boys of St. Vincent: 15 Years Later

Fifteen years after the events of The Boys of St. Vincent took place, the various boys involved are brought in to testify against the brothers, now finally standing trial, who assaulted them when they were children.

The Third Miracle

The Vatican sends a priest to verify some miracles, performed by a woman who has been nominated for sainthood...

Galileo

Challenged by a new student, tutor and theorist Galileo co-opts emerging telescope technology and discovers irrefutable proof of the heretical notion that the earth is not the center of the universe. But in a rigid society ruled by an uneasy alliance of aristocracy and clergy already undermined by the Plague and the Reformation, science is a threat and enlightenment is a luxury. Faced with either death at the hands of the Inquisition or recantation to a hypocritical but all-powerful Papacy, Galileo must choose between his own life and the restless scientific curiosity that he has spurned family, friends, and wealth to pursue.

Sands of Silence

Inspired by the transformation of the sex-trafficking survivors whose lives she follows, the filmmaker finds the courage to break the silence about sexual abuse in her own life.

Monsignor

The vows of an ambitious young American priest are tested during World War II. Not only does Father John Flaherty get involved with the black market to raise money for the Vatican, he also falls in love with a young French nun.

Martin Luther

Learn how one man reluctantly took on the most powerful institution of his day and won. Martin Luther is credited with expounding a new vision of man's relationship with God and, by extension, a redefinition of man's relationship with authority. Filmed across Europe -- from the rustic rural Germany to the opulence of the Vatican City -- you'll witness the collapse of the medieval world and the birth of the modern age.

Pope Joan

Based on the medieval legend of Pope Joan, who was made Pope for a brief period around 855 A.D. The movie presents her existence as fact, though it is questionable that Pope Joan really did exist, and portrays her relationships with other notables of the time.

Karol: The Pope, The Man

This highly acclaimed feature film on Pope John Paul II was filmed on location in Italy and Poland. Focusing on the papacy of John Paul and the tremendous impact he had on the Church and the world, Karol: The Pope, The Man stars actor Piotr Adamczyk in a deeply moving portrayal of the beloved pontiff. It is the powerful true story of a charismatic spiritual leader who helped bring down Communism, renewed the life of the Church, greatly impacted youth worldwide with love for Christ, and a Pope who reached out to other religions and world leaders with a message of peace and love. Also stars Raoul Bova (Saint Francis), Michele Placido (Padre Pio: Between Heaven and Earth) and Adriana Asti as Mother Teresa. The beautiful film score is by legendary film composer Ennio Morricone.

Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II

The eventful life of a humble Polish priest who once decried the pomp of the Catholic Church "a circus" and labeled the Pope a "prisoner of the Vatican" before ascending to the papal throne to usher Catholicism into the 21st century. Born in Poland and forced to carry on following the untimely death of his family, Karol Wojtyla endured both personal hardships and the rape of his homeland by the Third Reich to spread the word of God through the Catholic Church. Later, as Pope John Paul II, Wojtyla was beloved by millions of Catholics worldwide. From the sexual-abuse scandal that shook the American Catholic Church in the later-20th century to the murder of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero and the near-fatal assassination attempt made on his own life, Pope John Paul II endured to bridge the gap between various faiths until his death resulting from Parkinson's disease in April of 2005.

Celibacy

The argument basically is that in the mix of sex education that now goes on in schools throughout the western world, about how to have safe sex, one crucially important issue has clearly been overlooked, namely what about those people who don't want to engage in sexual relations yet? This programme brings real knowledge and understanding to this hotly debated issue.

The Good Shepherd

When a clergyman is accused for the murder of a social worker, the parish priest recruits a reporter (and his ex-girlfriend) to clear his name.

Scout's Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts of America

Survivors, whistleblowers and experts recount the Boy Scouts of America's decades long cover-up of sexual abuse cases and its heartbreaking impact.

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