The Shoes of the Fisherman Page #4

When a king dies, long live the king.

When a pope dies, everything stops.

David, the reason I called you is...

...I'm told I will need a

secretary for the conclave.

I...

I wondered if you would

accept the position.

It's a great honor, Eminence.

But I'm afraid I'm the wrong man.

- Why?

- I'm under suspicion.

Well, there's been no verdict, no judgment.

The commission is suspended

till the new pope is elected.

And who will that be?

Whoever stands on that balcony. I

hope he will publish my books.

Would Rinaldi make a good pope?

He's a lovely man.

But I think we need a man of our time.

Then Cardinal Leone.

I'm afraid I'm the wrong one

to ask about Cardinal Leone.

Let us go to lunch.

Who, then?

In any case, it has to be an Italian.

Yes, I suppose so.

I'm an old man, Valerio.

- I have buried three popes.

- We are all too old.

There are not more than half a dozen

of us who can give the church...

...what it needs at this moment.

- Forgive me, Father. I mean, Eminence.

- Forgive me.

- Do you think you are one of them?

- One what?

One of the half dozen.

I know I'm not.

Do you think I have a chance of election?

- I hope not.

- Don't worry. I know I haven't.

Hold the lamp.

You know, Valerio, I should

have been a country priest...

...with just enough theology

to hear confession...

...and just enough Latin

to get through Mass.

I would sit in front of my

church on summer evenings...

...and talk about the crops.

Hey, give me the lamp, Franko.

Eminence.

Thank you, Eminence.

Franko!

Franko!

And what am I now?

A walking Encyclopdia of dogma.

A theological dictionary on two legs.

Each of us has his own cross.

That looks very comfortable.

Do you know what mine is? My cross, I mean.

To be rich and content and fulfilled...

...and to know that I

have deserved none of it.

And that when I'm called to judgment...

...I must depend entirely

on the mercy of God.

We are what we are.

And God must take up the

responsibility even for theologians.

Now, tell me...

where do we go for our pope?

The Cardinals of the Sacred College

have assumed trusteeship...

...over the church until

a new pope is elected.

From all over the world

cardinals will come...

...weighed down with

years and authority...

...to put on the scarlet of princes

and sit in the conclave...

...for the election of the

successor of St. Peter.

As soon as he's elected...

...the new pope will choose the

date for his coronation...

...a spectacle that will bring people

from every corner of the earth.

Outside this small enclave

of the Vatican...

...the world is in a

climate of crisis...

...and we may soon be

involved in an atomic war.

But for the men in the Vatican,

there is only one question:

Who will stand in the

shoes of the fisherman?

Who will preserve and proclaim

the message of Christ...

...to the men who live in this

troubled and dubious 20th century?

Behind the locked doors of the Vatican...

...there will be two ballots daily.

One in the morning and

one in the afternoon.

If the vote is unsuccessful...

...then the papers are

burned with wet straw.

...and the smoke from the

chapel will be black.

If the vote is successful,

the ballots are burned dry.

...and white smoke will rise.

And the vice regent of the Almighty

will be acclaimed by the people.

This is George Faber in Rome.

Good night.

We've got some footage on the cardinals.

You can see that in B.

Not much on the favorites, I'm

afraid Leone and the Romans.

You know, you did cut it a

bit fine tonight, George.

So you mean your life

would be a lot easier...

if I could be found at one

number, namely my home number.

Yes, it would. A lot easier.

So would yours.

You're the protocol expert. How did

the British do in the old heydays...

...when they wanted to break off relations?

Don't they teach you things

like that at Cambridge?

Not at Cambridge. We learned

it later in the club.

It's advisable, old lad,

to choose neutral ground.

Neutral ground?

- What about a cathedral?

- Oh, boy.

Maybe a zoo?

For His Eminence, Cardinal Leone, 29.

For His Eminence, Cardinal Columbi, 15.

For His Eminence, Cardinal Fracci, 12.

Insufficient for election.

For His Eminence, Cardinal Leone, 23.

For His Eminence, Cardinal Peumens, 19.

For His Eminence, Cardinal Rinaldi, 14.

Insufficient for election.

Insufficient for election.

After the sixth ballot,

still only black smoke...

...from the window of the Sistine Chapel.

All we know for certain is that none of

the favorites is likely to be elected.

Now it could be any

one of the Cardinals.

And new it could take an

indefinite time to elect him.

Meanwhile, the delay begins to cause

waves of crisis around the world...

...as the concern deepens.

Who will be the next pope?

That's a question for us too, tovarich.

Important question.

There are bigger ones.

Much more immediate too.

What difference does it make who rules

one square mile in the center of Rome?

Whoever he may be, speaks

with the voice of God...

for a quarter of the world.

Will that change stones into

bread for millions of Chinese?

Unless they're fed, we go to war.

That is my point, tovarich.

If we get a violent enemy in Rome, he can

do us more harm than you can realize.

If we get a man who is reasonable,

he can be of enormous advantage.

Especially in the mess we face now.

So...

...you turn to magic.

Roman magic like that.

What's happened to you, Piotr Ilych?

I will tell you.

I suppose it happens to every man

who sits in the center chair.

I've come to the end of the book of rules.

There will be universal

massacre in a matter of months.

And I have run out of mathematics.

Revolution is in the air and

we are not prepared for it.

Our young priests are prepared.

They're finding ways to live

with change and make changes.

Yes. Sometimes they frighten me.

But, why? They see injustice

and want to correct it.

And they may make more, through

ignorance and inexperience.

Our friend Lakota, here, should

be an expert on revolution.

Oh, no. I am no expert.

But you have lived under

a revolutionary regime.

Well, that is not quite right. Marxism

in Russia is very conservative.

Their revolution is for export now.

Our problem is to match

them with our own product.

- Which is?

- Oh, no, please.

- Please. I would rather listen.

- No, we would like to hear you.

Yes. Yes, indeed.

We should manufacture the

authentic Christian revolution.

Work for all, bread for

all, dignity for all men.

But without violence.

Well...

...excuse me, but violence...

...is a reaction against the

situation that has become...

intolerable. Isn't it?

Well...

...in the camps in Siberia, we

were starved and brutalized.

I stole.

I stole some bread.

I fed it, crumb by crumb, to a man

whose jaw had been broken by a guard.

I...

I fought the guard to save my friend.

I could have killed him.

That was a terrifying experience.

I, a bishop...

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote