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The disastrous effect of the tolerance of clerical pedophiles by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church is made abundantly clear in this accusatory documentary by Amy Berg, which studies a single case as a horrifying example of the problem–that of Father Oliver O’Grady, a priest in the diocese of Stockton, California, who abused scores of youngsters of both sexes over the years when he was moved from parish to parish by Bishop Roger Mahony, who’s now cardinal of Los Angeles. O’Grady was eventually accused, tried and convicted, serving seven years in prison before being released and returning to his native Ireland. But the scars to his victims and their families remain, and the legal battles to secure some measure of justice for them has been one of the most embarrassing facts of life for the American church for the past two decades.

The story isn’t an unfamiliar one, and some of the material in “Deliver Us From Evil”–drawn from journalistic accounts and filmed court depositions–is fairly rote. It also doesn’t pretend to be objective, though a note at the end indicates that Berg did attempt–unsuccessfully–to interview church spokesmen as part of her coverage.

But two things make “Deliver Us From Evil” exceptional. One is the degree of personalization that’s achieved by concentrating on three victims–Ann Jyono, Nancy Sloan and Adam M.–and their guilt-ridden parents. The effect is shattering, especially when the camera settles on Ann’s father Bob, who’s faith in the clergy and in himself has obviously been destroyed by what happened.

The other, even more remarkable, is the extensive interview segments with O’Grady, a strange fellow, calm and reflective, who’s willing to acknowledge what he did, but in an oddly remote way that suggests he’s not even conscious of the horrors he’s confessing, and who remains so distant from reality that he actually hopes that sending handwritten letters to his victims, inviting them to a sort of reunion, will actually bring about reconciliation and closure. The footage of his depositions is unsettling enough, but seeing him talk one-on-one so casually about his actions is truly grotesque–but undeniably compelling.

Unfortunately, the film spends almost as much time on Father Tom Doyle, an American priest who’s long warned the church leadership of the extent of the problem and is shown aiding the California families in their efforts to get an apology from the Vatican (whose current leader, Benedict XVI, is portrayed none too flatteringly). Doyle’s an admirable fellow, but his interventions have a conventionality the rest of the film transcends.

Generally, however, though “Deliver Us From Deliver” is quite ordinary technically, it’s extraordinary in terms of content. And it provides insight into a subject that remains important not only to Catholics, who would be well advised not to ignore the story it tells even if they find it uncomfortable, but to society at large.