The Song of Bernadette Page #8

Father Pomian taught you that,

didn't he?

Now, think hard.

Didn't he also speak

of the Immaculate Conception?

No, Father,

I never mentioned that dogma.

It doesn't belong to the pedagogic

material of the elementary class.

Perhaps Sister Vauzous discussed it.

I'm sure she didn't.

Well, you must have heard

the expression somewhere.

Now, try to remember.

Maybe I've heard about it...

...but I don't remember.

Very well. I'll try to explain it.

The Most Blessed Virgin Mary

was preserved free...

...from all stain of original sin...

...even from the first instant

of her presence in her mother's womb.

God did this for her...

...because she was to be

the mother of Jesus Christ...

...a most singular privilege of grace.

Do you understand that, Bernadette?

No, Your Reverence.

Why should you?

Great scholars have racked their brains

about it for centuries.

But perhaps you can grasp

this one thing.

If the Most Blessed Virgin

were to speak...

...she could not say of herself,

"I am the Immaculate Conception".

All she could say would be:

"I am the fruit

of the Immaculate Conception".

Birth and conception are events,

but a person is not an event.

You can't say,

"I am conception. I am birth".

Consequently, your lady is guilty

of an inexcusable blunder.

You must admit that.

The next time I see her,

I will tell her, Your Reverence.

Excuse me, Father.

I promised to look in on Madame Cenac.

- Certainly.

POMIAN:
Goodbye, Bernadette.

Goodbye, Father Pomian.

What am I to do with you, Bernadette?

Your eyes seem honest,

your words sincere...

...yet I cannot believe you.

Today, less than ever.

As your confessor, I beseech you,

renounce this falsehood...

...confess that your mother

or your father or your aunt...

...or someone suggested that phrase

that you...

...might become important

in men's eyes.

But I can't confess that. It isn't true.

No one suggested anything to me.

Have you ever thought about your life,

what your future would be like?

Like the future of all the girls

hereabout.

After First Communion,

girls may indulge in proper pleasures.

They go to dances at the festivals,

meet young men...

...and after a time, please God,

they marry and have children.

Wouldn't you like to be such a girl?

Oh, yes. I'd like to go to dances,

have a husband someday.

Then wake up!

Now!

Otherwise, life is at an end for you.

You are playing with fire, Bernadette.

- Commissioner?

JACOMET:
Yes?

That spring at the grotto...

...the people are drinking quite a bit

of that water, aren't they?

By the bucketful.

What they don't drink, they carry away

in pots and pans and bottles.

DUTOUR:

That's good.

JACOMET:

Well, they're still at it.

You thought it was bad before,

you ought to take a look at it now.

The sick, lame, canes, crutches,

some of them even look like lepers.

DUTOUR:
Listen to this, commissioner.

December 22, 1789.

"All waters contained in springs,

wells, streams, rivers...

...or any other source whatsoever...

...shall not be consumed

by anyone whosoever...

...until the aforementioned waters

have been thoroughly analyzed...

...by a registered chemist".

That's perfect.

You know, I had a feeling

that somewhere in all these books...

...I'd find one old law

that'd suit our purpose.

JACOMET:
Now, shall I send my men out

to close the grotto now?

Not so fast.

First, we'll take this to the mayor.

And he will issue a proclamation.

[KNOCKING]

Come in.

Come in, gentlemen.

DUTOUR:
Thank you.

I have good news, monsieur.

The holocaust will spread no more.

I have a way to stop it.

JACOMET:

Our troubles are over.

And, ironically enough, it's the waters

of Massabielle that will quench this fire.

It's an old law, 1789.

Look there. Read it.

"In the interest of public health"...

Of course,

with such an important analysis...

...we'll need the opinions

of many chemists...

...and that might take

months and months and months.

I wonder...

I wonder if we're not being

a little too hasty in this.

Perhaps we are shortsighted...

...in dismissing the possibility

of divine power...

...in regard to Massabielle.

For, after all, I'm sure

that you gentlemen as well as I...

...do not want to oppose the will of God.

Your sudden religious fervor

is most touching, Your Honor.

Could it be prompted by the fact

that the devout masses...

...have brought with them

a wave of prosperity to Lourdes?

Monsieur.

But, now that you mention it,

we shouldn't overlook that either.

Our hotels are filled,

our cafs are crowded.

Our shopkeepers have never known

such business.

The railroad will surely take advantage

of this influx of visitors...

...and extend its line here.

Yes, yes, and in that case,

we shall need more hotels.

But, aside from all that...

...I'm thinking mainly

of the thousands of pilgrims...

...who come here daily

with hope in their hearts.

If they derive any benefit

from the water at Massabielle...

...who are we to deprive them of it?

Then, too, think of the vast number

who cannot come to Lourdes.

For them, we could...

...bottle the miraculous water...

...and it could be sold at a nominal fee

all over the world.

DUTOUR:

Your Honor...

...will you dictate the proclamation

to close the grotto...

...or would you rather

that I contact Baron Massey...

...and ask for permission

to do it myself?

Very well, I'll do it.

But I think you gentlemen

are making a big mistake.

Now, why not think it over for a time?

[DOOR CLOSES]

Courreges, take a proclamation.

[DOOR OPENS]

Come in, commissioner.

- Any trouble?

- Oh, no.

We finally wiped out this epidemic.

No. To wipe out an epidemic,

you must eliminate the cause.

I'll have the grotto patrolled

night and day. Nothing can happen now.

Perhaps nothing can happen

at the grotto.

Since the lady is a figment

of Bernadette's imagination...

...she can see her anyplace.

Beside the river,

in the hovel where she lives...

...or, if she wishes,

on the very steps of the city hall.

The next fence we build must be

around her imagination.

Have you ever heard of Dr. Deboe?

Yes.

I've just written him, asking him

to come to Lourdes for a few days.

Just a moment.

Come along. The imperial prosecutor

wants to see you.

- You can't take her. She's done nothing.

- Come on.

I'll go, Maman.

Don't worry. It won't be long.

Why must you keep plaguing her?

She's tired and ill.

Leave her alone!

CALLET:

Please...

I never felt that Dr. Dozous' examination

of the girl was extensive enough.

Well, after all,

Dr. Dozous is a general practitioner.

Advances in psychiatry

have been so rapid...

...that only a specialist

could hope to keep up with them.

Do you think the girl is insane,

monsieur?

My dear doctor, I am a great respecter

of medical science...

...therefore, I think that as a layman

I am not qualified to have an opinion.

However, I do think

that the bare facts...

...should be permitted

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