Created Equal Page #8

---

- Ally! Oh, Jesus!

- [Silk] Tommy!

[Tommy] Wake up. Hey!

[Silk] Tommy!

Oh God! Ally!

[Tommy] Jesus!

[Silk] Ally.

[Silk] Ally!

[melancholic music]

[clears his throat]

Everything's gonna be all right.

[Alejandra] No.

It's not ever gonna be

alright.

We shouldn't be doing this.

Maybe this is my punishment

for going against the church.

Maybe this is God's will.

No, Ally,

this is not God's will.

This is the work

of a crazed lunatic.

You're the bravest person

I ever met.

Don't doubt yourself.

[delicate music]

[Tommy] You weren't wrong.

We were wrong.

[Tommy whispers]

It's okay. It's okay.

I have to get ready for court.

I'm going to assume

that you've heard

that the plaintiff,

Alejandra Batista,

had a horrific night.

Luckily, she is now in recovery.

The man who abducted her

is a psychotic individual

who had no affiliation

whatsoever

with the defendants

in this case.

Do you understand this?

If so, please say yes.

- Yes, Your Honor.

- [Judge] Good.

We will now continue

with this trial.

Monsignor, are you ready

with your first witness?

[Enrico] Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge] He's already been sworn?

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge] All right.

You may proceed.

The defense calls

Bishop Cardinal Jose Sierra.

Bishop Sierra,

why are unmarried women,

baptized

in the Roman Catholic Church,

not qualified

to become a priest?

It has been the teaching

of the Roman Catholic Church

since the time of Christ,

that all priests are male.

Is there a direct

scriptural reference

- for this teaching?

- [Bishop] No.

[Enrico] What is the foundation

for this doctrine?

Jesus chose only men

to be his disciples.

We follow the example

he set 2,000 years ago.

[Enrico] What were

the social conditions

for a woman in Palestine

and Jerusalem

during the time of Jesus?

It was a male dominated society.

Women were little more

than slaves.

[Enrico] So, he was following

the social norms of the times,

- correct?

- No.

[Enrico] Why not?

[Bishop] The priest

is the representative

of Jesus on earth.

Jesus was a man.

Therefore, priests are men.

Thank you, Bishop Sierra.

No further questions.

Your witness, Mr. Reilly.

[Tommy] Bishop Sierra.

You said there's no direct

scriptural revelation

to bar women

from the priesthood forever.

Is that correct?

In the context

in which I just stated it.

Yes, that's correct.

So, your testimony

is that the church relies upon

what Jesus didn't do

in appointing males only

as apostles.

- [Tommy] Is that correct?

- Yes.

[Tommy] If Jesus

was following the tradition

of the tribes of Israel,

which had an all-male hierarchy,

wouldn't it have made sense

to continue

this all-male hierarchy

in the appointing

of his apostles?

Maybe.

[Tommy] Let's talk about

some other social norms

at the time that maybe

Jesus might have followed.

All the apostles

probably wore beards, right?

Yes?

[Tommy] But because Jesus didn't

appoint any clean shaven men

as apostles, that doesn't mean

the church now excludes them

from becoming priests.

- Does it?

- No.

Beards were

an incidental characteristic

- the apostles shared.

- Of course.

It would be ridiculous

to exclude men without beards

from the priesthood.

[Tommy] All the first apostles

were also Jews, weren't they?

Yes.

Does the fact that he didn't

appoint any gentiles

to be among the first apostles,

mean that gentiles are barred

forever from the priesthood?

[Bishop] No.

When gentiles became

a larger part of the church,

gentile men

were ordained as priests.

I believe you also said...

that it was a social custom

at the time to not appoint women

to positions of leadership

since they were treated

"merely better than slaves".

Is that correct?

In a male dominated society,

yes, that's correct.

[Tommy] Now, the custom

of treating women

just a little better than slaves

has changed over time.

- Correct?

- It most certainly has.

[Tommy] Bishop Sierra,

I would like

to summarize your testimony

so that the jury and I

can make sure

that we understood you.

[Tommy] Jesus had 12 apostles.

All wore beards, all were Jews

and all were men.

[Tommy]

As social customs changed,

the church decided that

all of those characteristics,

except one, were merely

incidental to the priesthood.

The male gender

being fundamental.

[Tommy] Why was the gender

of the original apostles

the only

fundamental characteristic?

Weren't they all the result

of the social customs

with the time which Jesus lived?

No.

Monsignor Renzulli

objected to a question

that I asked Ms. Batista

about whether she knew

if God wanted her

to be a priest.

He said that there was

no possible way

to know what was in God's mind.

Yes, that's correct.

[Tommy] So, I ask you,

how can you and the men

of the Catholic Church

possibly know

what's in the mind of God

concerning the gender

of his priests?

[Bishop] The Pope has declared

that the priesthood

shall be limited

to the male gender

on the clear example of Jesus.

And that, Mr. Reilly,

is the will of God.

So say you

and the men of the church.

- But Jesus never said that.

- Objection.

- Mr. Reilly is making a speech.

- [Judge] Sustained.

Uh, Bishop Sierra,

you have ordained married males,

have you not?

I'm not sure what you mean.

Have you ordained

a married Episcopal priest

into the priesthood

of the Catholic Church?

- Yes.

- Well, don't the qualifications

for the priesthood require

the candidates to be unmarried?

The Pope has offered

a special dispensation

to ordain

married Episcopal priests

when circumstances warrant it.

[Tommy]

The Episcopalian religion

also ordains female priests,

does it not?

[Bishop] Yes, I think they do.

[Tommy] Will the Catholic Church

ordain a female priest

of the Episcopalian religion?

Married or unmarried?

No.

So, it is your testimony

that you and the Pope

and the other cardinals

will bend the rules to ordain

a married male Episcopal priest,

but you will not bend

those same rules for a woman

under the same circumstances

just because she is a woman?

- [Enrico] Your Honor, please.

- Never mind.

I withdraw my question.

We already know your answer.

[scoffs]

[Tommy] No further questions,

Your Honor.

[Judge] This court will adjourn

until tomorrow morning at 9 a.m.

when we will hear

closing arguments.

[tranquil music]

I have God's mercy on my side.

[tranquil music crescendo]

[Judge] Mr. Reilly,

your closing argument.

It is with sadness

and outrage for me,

that my client,

Alejandra Batista,

would be abducted,

tortured and persecuted,

simply because she had a call

to do good in the world.

But you,

the members of the jury,

have an opportunity

to right those terrible wrongs.

And to pave way for something

that is right and natural.

[Tommy] You've heard testimony

that church dogma is infallible.

One dogma, is that men and women

are created equal.

[Tommy] Another,

is that only men can be priests.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes