By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Lorena Luciano
Year: 2026
Running time: 88
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30012647
Peter says: “Last year, I traveled internationally for the first time, and part of my European excursion involved visiting the Vatican. It was easily a highlight of the trip due to the sheer magnitude of the art and architecture, but the juxtaposition of that beauty against the darkness of the atrocious acts swept under the rug for decades by the Catholic Church is an irony very present in the documentary Nuns vs. The Vatican.
“The film primarily focuses on Gloria, a nun who was abused by a prominent priest famous for his mosaics. He groomed her from a young, impressionable age, weaponizing her faith to keep her silent and compliant.
“I am so glad Gloria was able to speak her truth and hold this man accountable after all these years. However, as a documentary, Nuns vs. The Vatican doesn’t quite illuminate the issue beyond what has already been explored in films like Spotlight or the devastating docuseries The Keepers. There aren’t many new insights into this systemic corruption, aside from the unsettling scenes showing churches that refuse to remove the priest’s mosaics even after the allegations became public.