Doubt Page #4

When he returned from

his meeting with you.

Alcohol.

I did smell it on his breath.

Well?

- Let this alone.

- No.

Take your time, Father.

Would you like some more tea?

You should've let it alone.

Not possible.

Mr. McGuinn caught Donald drinking

altar wine.

When I found out, I sent for him.

There were tears.

And he begged not to be removed

from the altar boys. I took pity on him.

I told him if no one else found out,

I would let him stay on.

Oh, what a relief!

That explains everything!

Thanks be to God!

Look, Sister, it was all a mistake!

And if I talk to Mr. McGuinn?

Oh, talk to him by all means.

But now that the boy's secret's out,

I'm going to have to remove him

from the altar boys.

That's what I was trying to avoid.

- You were trying to protect the boy!

- That's right.

I might have done the same thing!

Is there a way Donald could stay

on the altar boys?

If the boy drank altar wine,

he can't continue as an altar boy.

Of course.

- Are you satisfied?

- Yes.

Well, I'll be going.

I have some writing to do.

- Intolerance.

- That's right.

I'm not pleased with

how you handled this, Sister.

Sister.

Well.

What a relief! He cleared it all up.

- You believe him?

- Of course.

Isn't it that it's easier to believe him?

But we can corroborate

his story with Mr. McGuinn.

Yes.

These types of people are clever.

- Well, I'm convinced!

- You're not.

You just want things to be resolved

so you can have simplicity back.

I want no further part of this.

I'll bring him down.

How can you be so sure that he is lying?

Experience.

You just don't like him!

You don't like it that he uses

a ballpoint pen.

You don't like it that he takes

three lumps of sugar in his tea.

You don't like it that he likes

FROSTY THE SNOWMAN.

And you're letting that convince you

of something terrible, just terrible!

Well, I like FROSTY THE SNOWMAN!

And I think it would be nice

if this school weren't run like a jail!

And I think it's a good thing

that I love to teach History

and that I might inspire

my students to love it, too!

And if you judge that to mean that I'm

not fit to be a teacher, then so be it!

Sit down.

Look at that. You blew out my light.

In ancient Sparta, important matters

were decided by who shouted loudest.

Fortunately, we are not

in ancient Sparta.

You honestly find the students in this school

to be treated like inmates in a prison?

No.

Actually, they all seem fairly happy.

But they're all uniformly terrified of you!

Yes. That's how it works.

Sit there.

Hello, this is Sister Aloysius Beauvier,

principal at St. Nicholas School.

Is this Mrs. Miller?

I'm calling about your son, Donald.

A woman was gossiping with a friend

about a man she hardly knew--

I know none of you have ever done this---

--that night she had a dream.

A great hand appeared over her

and pointed down at her.

She was immediately seized with

an overwhelming sense of guilt.

The next day she went to confession.

She got the old parish priest,

Father O'Rourke,

and she told him the whole thing.

"Is gossiping a sin?"

she asked the old man.

"Was that the hand of God Almighty

pointing a finger at me?"

"Should I be asking your absolution?

Father, tell me,

have I done something wrong?"

"Yes!" Father O'Rourke answered her.

"Yes, you ignorant,

badly brought-up female!

You have borne false witness

against your neighbor,

you have played fast and loose

with his reputation,

and you should be heartily ashamed!"

So the woman said she was sorry

and asked for forgiveness.

"Not so fast!" says O'Rourke.

"I want you to go home,

take a pillow up on your roof,

cut it open with a knife,

and return here to me!"

So the woman went home, took a pillow

off her bed, a knife from the drawer,

went up the fire escape to the roof,

and stabbed the pillow.

Then she went back to the old

parish priest as instructed.

"Did you gut the pillow with the knife?"

he says.

"Yes, Father."

"And what was the result?"

"Feathers," she said.

"Feathers?" he repeated.

"Feathers everywhere, Father!"

"Now I want you to go back

and gather up every last feather

that flew out on the wind!"

"Well," she said, "it can't be done."

"I don't know where they went.

The wind took them all over."

"And that,"said Father O'Rourke,

"is gossip!"

In the name of the Father, the Son,

and the Holy Ghost, Amen.

Please rise.

What's that bird complaining about?

What kind of bird is that?

That a starling? A grackle?

A crow.

'Course it is.

Are you praying?

I didn't mean to interrupt.

I'm not praying, no.

You seem subdued.

Oh. I can't sleep.

- Why not?

- Bad dreams.

Yeah, I can't sleep on occasion.

Why? Do you see that big hand

pointing a finger at you?

Yes. Sometimes.

Was your sermon directed

at anyone in particular?

What do you think?

I received a letter from my brother

in Maryland. He's very sick.

- Then maybe you should go and see him.

- I can't leave my class.

Is it true?

What?

You know what I'm asking.

No.

I saw you put an undershirt

in Donald Miller's locker.

- He left it in the sacristy.

- Why didn't you hand it to him?

I'm trying to spare him

further embarrassment.

It's me that cares about that child,

not her.

Has she ever reached out a hand?

That black boy needs help

or he's not going to make it!

If she has her way, he'll be

left to his own undoing.

Why do you think he drank the wine?

He's in trouble!

And she sees me talk in a human way

to these kids and she immediately assumes

that there must be

something wrong with it.

Well, I'm not going to let her

keep this parish in the dark ages!

And I'm not going to let her

destroy my spirit of compassion!

I'm sure that's not her intent.

- That I care about this congregation!

- I know you do.

Like you care about your class!

You love them, don't you?

- Yes.

- And that's natural.

How else would you relate to children?

That I can look at your face and

know your philosophy. It's kindness.

I don't know. I mean, of course.

There are people who go

after your humanity, Sister,

that tell you the light in your heart

is a weakness. Don't believe it.

It's an old tactic of cruel people

to kill kindness in the name of virtue.

There's nothing wrong with love.

Love?

Have you forgotten the message

of our Savior? It's love of people.

I just feel as if everything

is upside down.

There are just times in life

when we feel lost. It happens.

And it's a bond.

- Flowers.

- To remind me of Spring.

I should be going.

- I'm sorry your brother's ill.

- Thank you, Father.

I don't believe it!

You don't?

No.

Thank you, Sister. Thank you very much.

Father, I think I've just

got to tell somebody.

- Hello, Noreen.

- I'm in love.

- That's wonderful. Who's the lucky boy?

- Jimmy Hurley.

Have you told him?

- Maybe you should.

- Maybe I will, Father.

Jimmy! Jimmy Hurley!

Over here.

Father Sherman...

You drop something.

It's all right.

Okay. Be quiet.

I said be quiet!

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