catholic integrity amidst dismal reality?

This film has a very dramatic opening line, shared in a confessional with the larger than life Father James. It quickly became clear that one of the locals had been repeatedly raped as a young boy and had threatened his own version of justice. We aren't sure whether to take him seriously and who he actually is. But what becomes clear, is that Father James is a priest with moral integrity and real life experience. While he may have been an absent father to his daughter, after her mother's death, he does try to reconnect and offer her hope. But what is truly mesmirising is the mix of tragic and flawed people who live in the small Irish seaside village of Sligo, and the way Father James continues to connect with and help each one, in his idiosyncratic and down-to earth manner. But as time counts down, he senses the sinister and troubling forces closing in, and he chooses to face his own personal Calvary.