Shoes of the Fisherman, The (1968)

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Lakota, political prisoner 1 03592R.

Report to commandant's office.

Political prisoner 1 03592R.

Report to commandant's office.

Theodor.

Prisoner 1 03592R. Report!

Mr. George Faber, Eminence.

It was good of you to come, Mr. Faber.

A summons from the Vatican
is a very important event.

-PIease, sit down.
-Thank you.

Mr. Faber, we wouId Iike
to offer you a story.

An excIusive story.

-With the usuaI strings, Eminence?
-And a few more this time.

WeII, I'd Iike to know
what they are first.

The story's poIiticaI. Very poIiticaI.

We need a certain reserve,
a certain discretion in its presentation.

We've known each other a Iong whiIe.
I stand on my reputation.

Oh, it's a good reputation, Mr. Faber.

But you have to take the story
as I give it to you, or Ieave it.

If you Ieave it,
I'II hand it to the French.

I'd Iike it to break
from an American source...

...preferabIy on teIevision.

-It's an interview, then?
-That's right.

You can't
bind me too cIoseIy, Eminence.

I can't aIways controI
what a person might say.

Yes or no?

If that's the best
you can do, Eminence.

The very best.

KiriI PavIovich.

Piotr IIych Kamenev.

Good evening, premier.

It's a Iong way from the Lubianka prison,
isn't it, KiriI?

Sit down, pIease.

Thank you.

WiII you drink with me?

If you wish.

Why have you brought me here?

I was curious to know
how the years had treated you.

-Is that aII?
-No.

You have haunted me, KiriI,
for 20 years.

Think back to the Lubianka.

It was a kind of mutuaI heII,
wasn't it?

I, the tormentor. You, the tormented.

The man in the mirror...

...the man who Iooked into the mirror.

At the end, neither of us knew
which was which, correct?

Correct.

I took you to pieces Iike a watch...

...and put you together again.

It was a very intimate experience.

I have never been abIe to forget it.

May I ask you a question?

You never hesitated before.

That's true.

This is you.

PoIiticaI prisoner 1 03592R,
KiriI PavIovich Lakota.

AII of you is here,
from the day you were born untiI now.

Except the answer to one question.

What you have Iearned
in 20 years of confinement.

That is a big question, Piotr IIych.

The answer is important to me,
you now.

What I have Iearned?

I have Iearned that without
some kind of Ioving...

...a man withers Iike a grape
on a dying vine.

Is that aII?

I'm trying to Iearn more.

Have you Iearned enough
to face freedom?

I have been free for a Iong time.

Not entireIy, perhaps.

But you stiII haven't answered
my question.

Why have you brought me here?

I want to show you a worId gone mad.

Come.

Chinese mobilization
is now 80 percent complete.

The map indicates three new divisions
moving to the border of the Soviet Union.

lncreased crop failures
in large areas of China...

...now make famine
an absolute certainty.

As a result, reports show that
the Chinese are preparing for thrusts...

...into the rice bowl areas of Burma,
Thailand, North Vietnam...

...and a simultaneous takeover
of Hong Kong.

The United States 7th Fleet
is deployed in battle position...

...in the China Sea.

And four m*ssile-carrying submarines
of advanced design...

...have been added to the fleet.

Every day we ask ourseIves
what we can do about it...

...before the nightmare turns itseIf into
a mushroom cIoud bIotting out the sun.

You see this feIIow here.

He may not Iook Iike much,
but do not be deceived.

He's the Ieader of the Chinese peopIe.

And sure though he undoubtedIy is...

...in three months' time,
he may not be abIe to feed them.

It's a mad worId in which we starve
a great country into an atomic w*r.

I'm sending you back into this worId,
KiriI PavIovich.

What do you mean?

We're going to reIease you.

ReIease me?

-I don't under--
-We've made a deaI for your freedom.

DeaI?

I am party to no deaI.

You are, you know.

You're a man under authority.
You have aIways been.

The authority makes the deaI.
You wiII accept it, see?

Why have you brought me here
to teII me this?

Because you are a simpIe man
who has haunted--

No, that is not enough!

Because wherever you are...

...I wiII know there is one man
who knows me as weII as I know him...

...and who can teII the truth
about Piotr IIych Kamenev...

...and his Russia.

You must not hope to use me.

I don't.

Tovarich premier...

...this is Father TeIemond
of the Vatican Secretariat of State.

-Your ExceIIency.
-Here is your man.

KiriI PavIovich Lakota,
former archbishop of Lvov.

-My Iord, archbishop.
-Oh, pIease.

Your passport, my Iord.

As from this moment...

...it is understood that His Lordship
is a citizen of the Vatican City State.

And enjoys dipIomatic immunity
untiI his exit from the Soviet Union.

First, KiriI PavIovich is to be informed
of the other conditions of his reIease.

Which are?

That the Vatican wiII pubIish
onIy the simpIe fact...

...of Archbishop Lakota's reIease.

That Archbishop Lakota
wiII make no pubIic statement...

...regarding conditions or persons
in the Soviet Union.

I cannot accept these conditions.

But they have been accepted for you.

To your Iiberty, Your ExceIIency.

To my exiIe.

How soon do we get to Rome, Father?

About an hour and a haIf.

And then?

You'II be Iodged at a Ukrainian coIIege.

You're supposed to be received
immediateIy by the HoIy Father.

You are feeIing unweII, Father?

No, I've an enemy in my bIood.
One day it wiII kiII me, so they say.

-I'm sorry to hear that.
-WouId you care for a drink?

One has to Iearn
to get used to the idea.

You are-- You are writing a book?

Oh, I wish I were. No, no.

My works are under examination
by a speciaI pontificaI commission.

Why?

For years, I've been forbidden
to teach or to pubIish anything.

I was suspected of hoIding opinions
dangerous to the faith.

How did you get this job?

I was kicked into a sacred congregation
to keep me out of mischief.

No, in fact, I'm an anthropoIogist.

I spent a Iong time in Asia.

I saw the worId there expIoding
into miIIions of hungry mouths.

I had to ask myseIf...

...what kind of wisdom the Church
had to cope with this expIosion.

So I start writing,
and I became a phiIosopher.

And you--

You have written many books?

-Ten.
-Oh, 1 0?

-How many pubIished?
-None.

Scandinavian Airlines...

...announced the arrival of their flight
SK68 1 from Moscow and Copenhagen.

-Passengers will be arriving at gate 1 0.
-Hi.

The power of the human eye.

-What are you doing here?
-I've never watched you work. I'd Iike to--

I toId you this was serious.
No one shouId know.

-Can't I just watch?
-No, honey.

HaIf the Vatican's up there
waiting for me.

Oh, and am I not presentabIe?

George... .

Yeah.

Wait at the coffee bar for me.

I won't wait.

-We'II have dinner tonight.
-I don't know, George.

Now, I have to go. I... .

Look, I'II caII you.

Eminence.

How do you do?

Now, just--
Just a few questions, ExceIIency.

When were your first informed
of your reIease?

Last night, in Moscow.

Were you surprised?

WeII, I was shocked.

Were you iII-treated
during your confinement?

Not for a Iong time now.

More recentIy, I've been working
in heavy industry.

To that extent, then, you did
submit yourseIf to the system?

Insofar, Mr. Faber,
as any system provides...

...bread, work and dignity,
I am prepared to cooperate with it.

These things are good in themseIves,
whether they exist in Rome or in Siberia.

And bread, work and dignity
do exist in Siberia.

Were you permitted to practice
your ministry as a priest?

No, I-- I practiced it without permission,
among my feIIow prisoners.

Do you see any hope for the day
when Christian faith...

...specificaIIy, the Roman CathoIic faith
may be practiced in Marxist countries?

I have no inside information...

...as to how the kingdom of God
is going to be estabIished.

WeII, that's enough.
Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

I think, Eminence, you may
have caught yourseIf a Tartar.

I think we may have caught a Christian.

Oh, thank you.

The most Reverend KiriI Lakota,
MetropoIitan Archbishop of Lvov.

Our brother KiriI.

Twenty years,
and God has given him back to us.

-Sit down, sit down.
-Thank you, HoIiness.

-You are weII, strong?
-I am very weII, HoIiness.

-You had a good journey?
-Very good.

You were properIy received here?
Your rooms are comfortabIe?

Oh, I'm treated Iike a prince.

As, indeed, you are.

Now we announce it.

Our brother KiriI
is created cardinaI priest...

...in the titIe of St. Athanasius.

Your HoIiness...

...I beg you to dispense me
from this honor.

You do not know me.

You cannot know
what the years have done to me.

But why?
It is the highest honor we can bestow.

You have served the faith. Defended it.

I do not wish to dispute authority.

But I can be of no use to you here.

That is for us to decide.

In any future deaIings with the KremIin,
you may be invaIuabIe.

We have arranged for you to work here
in our Secretariat of State.

ExceIIency, you must take
your pIace with us now.

I beg Your HoIiness...

...to give me a simpIe mission
where I can be with simpIe men.

I think we need to be private a whiIe
with Brother KiriI.

There is a Iegend about you that once
you were asked to deny the faith.

And they tied up seven priests
and sh*t them.

sh*t them before your eyes.

And stiII you wouId not deny the faith.

Is that story true?

I try not to Iook back on that
or other days, HoIiness.

God is with you, my brother.

I beIieve that God has sent you.

Trust us to make the best use of you.

But first, you must stiII be honored.

KneeI.

You are created cardinaI priest
in the titIe of St. Athanasius.

-Lydia. Lydia.
-Excuse me, madame.

Oh, there you are.

-Marchesa.
-HeIIo, Mr. Faber.

Do you have a cigarette?

I was teIIing this young woman
she shouId settIe down and get married.

Don't you agree, Mr. Faber?

I don't presume to give advice
to young women.

They very seIdom take it, anyway.

You are very discreet.

A necessary virtue.
Rome's a very smaII town.

And it's fuII of gossip.

Lydia worries about me, George.

You're very Iucky to have
such a soIicitous friend.

I am an oId-fashioned woman,
Mr. Faber.

I beIieve in Iife, Iove
and the pursuit of happiness.

But you have to know
the ruIes of the game.

You mustn't underrate
my husband, Marchesa.

He knows aII the ruIes.

Dr. Faber.

Mario, get some drinks or something.

I'm sorry to be Iate, but haIf Rome
seems to have scarIet fever.

Oh, don't worry.
I'm weII-washed and disinfected.

How are you?

Oh, I'm fine.

-I came with Mario.
-Yes, I saw.

He's very handsome.
Don't you think so, George?

Yes, he's very handsome.

How oId is he?

WeII, I think you ought
to ask him yourseIf, Ruth.

I'm sure that Marchesa wouId be gIad
to give you an introduction.

Oh, no.

Whatever eIse I may be,
I'm a reaIist about my age.

Excuse me, Marchesa.

George.

Marchesa.

Chiara.

You see, she's reaIIy
awfuIIy mean to him.

-You're very witty tonight.
-Thank you.

I didn't mean it as a compIiment.

You mean, you don't approve of me?

I don't, Ruth, when you're
unreasonabIy jeaIous.

I'm unreasonabIy jeaIous because
jeaIousy makes me unreasonabIe.

-Your Eminence.
-May I come in?

PIease do.

-Am I interrupting something?
-Not at aII.

My congratuIations.

Thank you.

-May I have your coat?
-PIease.

What a surprise.

This caIIs for a ceIebration.
May I offer you a drink?

Oh, that wouId be nice.

Frascati.

What--? What is that?

I found it in the Vatican Museum.
This is a vegetabIe.

-OnIy a thousand years young.
-Oh, reaIIy?

But this is IoveIy here, this fish.

-More than 200 miIIion years oId.
-No?

Father, are you sure you are getting
the best medicaI care?

The doctors, they don't know anything.
They're Iike auto mechanics.

-Why don't you sit down.
-Oh, no, don't be siIIy.

-Sorry for the mess.
-Thank you.

So your hearing is set for tomorrow, huh?

Ten-thirty. Did you have a chance
to read my book?

Yes, I did.

WeII, I'm not going to die
from the truth.

I found very IittIe of the Christian faith,
as I know it, in your book.

For 20 years, that faith aIone
kept me aIive.

Go on.

I found it...

...specuIative, dangerous...

...and fuII of... .

-Heresy.
-It--

It chaIIenges the faith.

For instance, Jesus Christ speaks
of the redemption of the souI.

I find not one mention
of the word ''souI'' in your writings.

But it's there, onIy under another name!

Why change a name
if you're not afraid of it?

To express in modern terms...

...reaIity and truth more cIearIy.

WeII, Father, if you truIy beIieve that...

...why did you remain a priest?

-Are you accusing me of dishonesty?
-I'm not accusing you of anything.

That is for you to answer.

But are you sure
you are honest with yourseIf?

I'm under a death sentence.
I cannot afford to be otherwise.

-May I offer you another drink?
-No. No, thank you.

You know, David, for many men,
beIief is a pIace to crawI for safety.

Of course, they wiII fear and accuse you.

Your writings are a danger
to their safety.

I'm not afraid of being accused.

I'm onIy afraid of being siIenced.

You know, even God has not spoken
his Iast word about his own creation.

WouId you Iike to hear
some Shostakovich?

That wouId be fine.

Eminence, you are destroying me
before the commission does.

Oh, David, that was not my intention.

No, as a matter of fact,
after I read your book Iast night...

...I couIdn't sIeep.

I saw a briIIiant mind reaching out
to the Iast frontiers of thought.

A pIace where I wouIdn't venture.

I came to wish you weII tomorrow.

I wiII say my mass for you.

Thank you.

This...

...is Father TeIemond.

So this is a commission,
and not a tribunaI.

Its object is to examine
the content of your works...

...to see if they conform
to fundamentaI Christian doctrine.

You, yourseIf, are not on triaI.

And I beg you to beIieve your presence
here is no refIection on your reputation.

I'm gIad to hear it, Eminence.

Here's the first probIem, Father.

It runs right through aII your work.

What are you? PhiIosopher?
TheoIogian, poet, scientist?

How are we to judge you?

Judge me as one man, trying to answer
the questions of every man.

Which are?

Who am I? Why am I here?
Where am I going?

Is there any sense in beauty?
In ugIiness?

In terror? In suffering?
In the daiIy deaths...

...which make up the pattern
of existence.

-There speaks the poet.
-Why onIy the poet?

Why not the theoIogian
and the scientist?

They breathe too. They die too.

Then you start us, Father.

I've dug down through
the crust of God's earth.

There's a Iong record
of Iife written there.

A record fuII of wonders.

Dinosaur or fIying reptiIes, giant moIes.
AII gone.

But the Iine is cIear...

...traced by the creative finger of God.

And it aIways points
in the same direction, to us:

The knowing man, the thinking man.

And it points beyond us.

To what?
Either this worId is a tragic trap...

...in which man Iives without hope
and dies without dignity...

...or it is Iike TeiIhard de Chardin wrote
many years ago...

...a great becoming...

...in which mankind is thrust towards
a gIorious compIetion in Christ.

I beIieve in the pIan of compIetion.

I beIieve in the future union of the worId
with the Cosmic Christ.

Let me waIk in your country
for a whiIe, Father.

The dinosaur disappeared
from history. Why?

We are not sure.

The evidence points to the fact
that he was a creature...

...adapted to a speciaI environment.

When the environment changed,
he d*ed out.

How?

Sometimes by disease.
Sometimes by vioIence.

When creatures stronger
than himseIf devoured him.

So the finger of God
writes vioIence and destruction too?

Yes. They are part
of the pattern of growth.

Of evoIution.

The deer is a very proIific creature.

It wouId eat the Iands bare.
The Iion tears the deer down.

-So the baIance of nature is preserved.
-Right.

Now we come to this.
TaIking about man...

...you caIIed him a very speciaI animaI.

The animaI who knows,
and knows that he knows.

ExactIy. Now, down in our museum
is the skuII of a prehistoric man.

His skuII is broken by a stone a*.

He was obviousIy kiIIed
by one of his feIIows.

Yes, I've seen it.

-An act of vioIence, yes?
-Yes.

An act of destruction, yes?

Committed by a thinking
and knowing creature?

Yes.

Is it the same act as the sh**ting
of a man in a back aIIey in Paris?

EssentiaIIy, yes.

And that act, too,
is a part of the design of God?

The design incIudes it.

You did not answer ''yes''
to that question. Why?

Because I see where you are Ieading me.

ExactIy. We are Ieading you
to the probIem of good or eviI.

Right or wrong in the Christian sense.

The kiIIing of that Stone Age man
by another man:

-Was it right or wrong?
-I don't know.

I beg your pardon, Father.

-You don't know?
-No, I don't.

It might have been an act
imposed upon him...

...by the necessities of a time and pIace
of which we know very IittIe.

Imposed by the evoIutionary pIan?

Yes.

-In other words, by God's pIan?
-Yes.

So God is the author of sin and eviI.

That's heresy, Father.

No, it is not heresy.

The reaIity is this:

For certain primitive tribes...

...m*rder was a reIigious act.
For us, it is a crime.

The growth from one attitude to another
is evidence of a divine pIan.

Even today, too many Christians justify
mass m*rder under the name of w*r.

Tomorrow, pIease God,
they wiII outIaw w*r too, as a crime.

-What is it?
-Forgive me, Eminence.

His HoIiness, the pope, has coIIapsed.

PauIo, you and Lou get the van
and go to St. Peter's.

In the square! Get there, wouId you?

-Did George Ieave a number?
-No. ShaII I ring his home?

No. No. WouId you ring the Press CIub?

And if you faiI there,
just try this other number, wiII you?

I may be Iate again tonight, Ruth.

WiII you see her for supper
or at her apartment?

We shouId at Ieast share the chores.

I mean, you couId dump
every second dirty shirt on her.

-AII right, Ruth. Stop it.
-Stop what?

Stop being vuIgar.
I guess that's what I mean.

Pardon me.

When you go to her, does she Iet you in
or do you use your key?

Wanna count my keys, Ruth?

Here's the key to the fiIIing cabinet,
to the front door--

Stop seeing her.
Just don't see her anymore.

-Sign the check--
-I don't have to sign anything.

Don't teII me if she's a paid IittIe tart
or an unpaid IittIe tart. Just fix it. Now.

You pick a heII of a time
to go into things.

I'm on the air in 47 minutes.

Brian, this is George. About the--

George, you are the Iast journaIist
in Europe...

...to know that the pope is dying.

Why didn't you caII me?

Where are you, George?

We tried the other number.

I'II be right over.

-Brian, I--
-Just give us a IeveI, wouId you, George?

-One, two, three, four, five.
-AII right.

Ten seconds, Mr. Faber.

Three, two, one.

You're on, George.

This is George Faber, overIooking
St. Peter's Square in Rome.

The HoIy Father has coIIapsed.

Dr. CarIo AntoneIIi, one of the top
heart speciaIists in Rome...

...arrived at the Vatican this afternoon.

And there has been a report...

...that an oxygen cyIinder
has been caIIed for.

An inexhaustibIe, anxious worker...

...possibIy one of the most seIf-criticaI
pontiffs of this century.

The beII toIIs.

The pope is dead.

Listen to the beII.

This is the death kneII...

...that rings from the Arco deIIe Campane
onIy for the pontiff.

Listen. There is a second beII.

Soon these beIIs wiII be joined
by beIIs over the city.

AII over every city. AII over the worId.

The pope is dead.

The CarmerIengo wiII announce it.

The master of ceremonies,
the notaries, the doctors...

...wiII consign him under signature
into eternity.

His ring wiII be defaced.

The seaIs wiII be broken.

The papaI apartments
wiII be Iocked and seaIed.

WhiIe the beIIs are stiII ringing...

...the pontificaI body wiII be handed over
to the embaImers...

...so that it may be a seemIy object
for the veneration of the faithfuI.

They wiII pIace his body...

...between white candIes
in the Sistine ChapeI...

...whiIe the nobIe guard
maintains the death watch...

...under MicheIangeIo's frescoes
of the Iast judgment.

On the third day...

...they wiII bury him,
cIothed in fuII pontificaIs...

...with a miter on his head...

...a purpIe veiI covering his face.

And a red ermine bIanket
to warm him in the crypt.

They wiII seaI him in three coffins.

One of cypress...

...one of Iead, to keep him
from the damp...

...and to carry his certificate of death.

The Iast one, of eIm...

...so that he may seem at Ieast
Iike other men...

...who go to the grave in a wooden box.

The pope is dead.

They will mourn him
with nine days of masses...

...and give him nine absolutions...

...of which, having been greater
than other men in his life...

...he may have greater need
after his death.

It is strange.

When a president dies,
he's repIaced within an hour.

When a king dies, Iong Iive the king.

When a pope dies, everything stops.

David, the reason I caIIed you...

...is I'm toId I wiII need a secretary
for the concIave.

I... .

I wondered if you wouId accept
the position.

It's a great honor, Eminence.

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

-Why?
-I'm under suspicion.

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

The commission is suspended
tiII the new pope is eIected.

And who wiII that be?

Whoever stands on that baIcony,
I hope he wiII pubIish my books.

WouId RinaIdi make a good pope?

He's a IoveIy man.

But I think we need a man of our time.

Then CardinaI Leone.

I'm afraid I'm the wrong one
to ask about CardinaI Leone.

Let us go to Iunch.

Who, then?

In any case, it has to be an ItaIian.

Yes, I suppose so.

I'm an oId man, VaIerio.

-I have buried three popes.
-We are aII too oId.

There are not more than haIf 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 haIf dozen.

I know I'm not.

Do you think I have a chance of eIection?

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

HoId the Iamp.

You know, VaIerio, I shouId have been
a country priest...

...with just enough theoIogy
to hear confession...

...and just enough Latin
to get through Mass.

I wouId sit in front of my church
on summer evenings...

...and taIk about the crops.

Hey, give me the Iamp. Franko.

Eminence.

Thank you, Eminence.

Franko!

Franko!

And what am I now?

A waIking encycIopedia of dogma.

A theoIogicaI dictionary on two Iegs.

Each of us has his own cross.

That Iooks very comfortabIe.

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

To be rich and content and fuIfiIIed...

...and to know
that I have deserved none of it.

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

...I must depend utterIy
on the mercy of God.

We are what we are.

And God must take up the responsibiIity,
even for theoIogians.

Now, teII me...

...where do we go for our pope?

The CardinaIs of the Sacred CoIIege
have assumed trusteeship...

...over the Church untiI
a new pope is eIected.

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 w*r.

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 Iocked doors
of the Vatican...

...there wiII be two baIIots daiIy.

One in the morning
and one in the afternoon.

If the vote is unsuccessfuI...

...then the papers are b*rned
with wet straw...

...and the smoke from the chapeI
wiII be bIack.

If the vote is successfuI,
the baIIots are b*rned dry...

...and white smoke wiII rise.

And the vice regent of the AImighty
wiII be accIaimed by the peopIe.

This is George Faber in Rome.

Good night.

We've got some footage on the cardinaIs.
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 Iife wouId be
a Iot easier...

...if I couId be found at one number,
nameIy my home number.

Yes, it wouId. A Iot easier.
So wouId yours.

You're the protocoI expert. How did
the British do in the oId heydays...

...when they wanted
to break off reIations?

Don't they teach you things Iike that
at Cambridge?

Not at Cambridge.
We Iearned it Iater in the cIub.

It's advisabIe, oId Iad,
to choose neutraI ground.

NeutraI ground?

-What about a cathedraI?
-Oh, boy.

Maybe a zoo?

For His Eminence, CardinaI Leone, 29.

For His Eminence, CardinaI CoIumbi, 1 5.

For His Eminence, CardinaI Fracci, 1 2.

Insufficient for eIection.

For His Eminence, CardinaI Leone, 23.

For His Eminence, CardinaI Peumens, 1 9.

For His Eminence, CardinaI RinaIdi, 1 4.

Insufficient for eIection.

Insufficient for eIection.

After the sixth baIIot,
stiII onIy bIack smoke...

...from the window of the Sistine ChapeI.

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 now 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 ruIes
one square miIe in the center of Rome?

Whoever he may be,
speaks with the voice of God...

...for a quarter of the worId.

WiII that change stones into bread
for miIIions of Chinese?

UnIess they're fed, we go to w*r.

That is my point, tovarich.

If we get a vioIent enemy in Rome, he can
do us more harm than you can reaIize.

If we get a man who is reasonabIe,
he can be of enormous advantage.

EspeciaIIy in the mess we face now.

So...

...you turn to magic.
Roman magic Iike that.

What's happened to you, Piotr IIych?

I wiII teII you.

I suppose it happens to every man
who sits in the center chair.

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

There wiII be universaI m*ssacre
in a matter of months.

And I have run out of mathematics.

RevoIution is in the air
and we are not prepared for it.

Our young priests are prepared.

They're finding ways to Iive
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,
shouId be an expert on revoIution.

Oh, no. I am no expert.

But you have Iived under
a revoIutionary regime.

WeII, that is not quite right.
Marxism in Russia is very conservative.

Their revoIution is for export now.

Our probIem is to match them
with our own product.

-Which is?
-Oh, no, pIease.

-PIease, I wouId rather Iisten.
-No, we wouId Iike to hear you.

Yes. Yes, indeed.

We shouId manufacture
the authentic Christian revoIution.

Work for aII, bread for aII,
dignity for aII men.

But without vioIence.

WeII...

...excuse me, but vioIence...

...is a reaction against the situation
that has become...

...intoIerabIe. Isn't it?

WeII...

...in the camps in Siberia,
we were starved and brutaIized.

I stoIe.

I stoIe 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 couId have kiIIed him.

That was a terrifying experience.
I, a bishop...

...couId have kiIIed a man.

So as a bishop, you wouId give
your approvaI to sociaI disorder?

I might be forced to accept it
as a price for sociaI change. Yes.

You are waIking a moraI tightrope.

We aII have to waIk it.
That is what we pay for being men.

But what if you had kiIIed the guard?

I don't know.

I-- I don't know, Eminence.

I do know we are in action
in a brutaI worId.

The chiIdren of God are ours to protect
and if we have to fight...

...we fight.

I--

I think I've taIked too much.

-Good night, Eminence.
-Good night, Your Eminence.

Rest weII.

KiriI.

KiriI.

My brothers.

My brothers.

We have aIready faiIed seven times
to reach an eIection.

I stand now to cIaim a right
under Canon Law.

In aII humiIity...

...I procIaim to you my beIief
that there is among us a man...

...aIready marked by God
to sit in the chair of St. Peter.

Like the first of the ApostIes...

...this man has suffered prison
and stripes for the faith.

The hand of God has Ied him out
of bondage to join us in this concIave.

I announce him...

...as my candidate
and dedicate to him my vote...

...and my obedience.

KiriI, CardinaI Lakota.

Thank you, Eminence, but I--

I cannot consent to it.

I, too, procIaim him.

I aIso procIaim him.

-No, pIease. PIease, pIease wait.
-I aIso procIaim him.

I procIaim him.

PIease, time has passed me by.

-I, too, procIaim him.
-And I procIaim him.

-I, too, procIaim him.
-I beg you!

-And I procIaim him.
-I, too, procIaim him.

-For the Iove of God!
-I, too, procIaim him.

I procIaim him.

PIease, reconsider what you are doing.

Do you accept eIection?

You must answer now.

Do you accept eIection?

I--

I accept.

And may God have mercy on me.

How do you chose to be caIIed?

We chose to be caIIed by our name.

KiriI.

It was the name of the saint who first...

...carried the GospeI into our country.

Your HoIiness.

How do you do? What are we--?

CongratuIations, Your HoIiness.

What...?

Undress, pIease, HoIiness.

-The cross.
-Thank you.

Excuse me.

-What is your name?
-GeIasio, HoIiness.

I'm KiriI Lakota.

PIease pray for me.

Thank you.

Eminence, I hope you reaIize
what you have done.

Gaudium magnum.
And joyous tidings. We have a pope.

It's the Russian.

KiriI Lakota.

They've eIected a Russian pope.

The CoIIege of CardinaIs
have eIected the first non-ItaIian pope...

...since Adrian VI...

...400 years ago.

With the worId in a state of crisis,
it is impossibIe at this time to assess...

...what the ramifications might be.

-HoIiness?
-Oh, Eminence.

-Today's appointments.
-Oh, yes.

Excuse me, my gIasses.

Everybody wants to see the pope.

Bishops, businessmen.

Cinema actors?

I suggest you take it up with
the maestro di camera, HoIiness.

Oh, I wiII, I wiII. Today.

No, we have to make
some changes, Leone.

Otherwise I-- I wiII never get
any work done.

I'm gIad it's your HoIiness
and not myseIf.

But I need time to think. And to pray.

I hate the sensation of being managed.

The management of princes.

-It used to be a very speciaI game.
-Yes.

You eIected a man to absoIute power
and then you had to Iimit his use of it.

Sometimes it's not a bad idea.

On the matter of Father TeIemond...

...he has a briIIiant mind
and deep spirituaIity.

I wouId Iike to keep him cIose to me...

...as a personaI adviser.

With respect, HoIiness,
I shouId counseI against it.

-Why?
-His opinions are suspect.

-They have been under examination.
-His opinions may be suspect...

...but the person, we beIieve,
is a godIy man.

If Your HoIiness chooses
Father TeIemond...

...you wiII be Iending patronage
and authority to an unsuitabIe person.

Has there been any imputation against
his character or his Iife as a priest?

It is opinions which are suspect,
not the man.

That makes the situation
very dangerous.

We recognize the risk,
but we are disposed to take it.

You wiII convey to the commissioners
our desire for a quick verdict...

...on the works of Father TeIemond.

I wiII do that, HoIiness.

But once again,
I must emphasize the very reaI danger--

As Your HoIiness decides.

Thank you.

Starvation has again increased in China.

And m*llitary action appears imminent.

There is a postscript
I want you aII to hear.

A personaI Ietter from Chairman Peng.

''I'm prepared to go
to extraordinary Iengths...

...with the Soviet Union and the U.S.A.
to avert a horribIe disaster.

But I have to warn you
that if the terms are too strenuous...

...or if they do vioIence to the dignity
of the Chinese peopIe...

...the situation wiII pass
out of my controI...

...into the controI of the army.

I urge you to convince the Western worId
of the magnitude of our need...

...and of the risk of w*r,
which confronts us aII. ''

We are at a minute to midnight, tovarich.

If the ants march out of the ant heap...

...there wiII be ruin and misery
too horribIe to contempIate.

Next picture, pIease.

Why do you Iaugh?

They Iaugh because this man
was a poIiticaI prisoner for 20 years.

So today he has been eIected head
of the Vatican City State.

He is spiritual leader
of 800 million people.

He can talk with every leader in the West
with the strongest voice of all.

The Catholic vote at the ballot box.

You must think of that,
you know, tovarich.

Think what it might mean
if he spoke the right word...

...at the right time.

His HoIiness is ready.

Your HoIiness?

-Yes?
-Mr. Igor Bounin.

Send him in.

Mr. Bounin?

I send you a gift.

Earth from the Ukraine.
SunfIower seeds.

Piotr IIych Kamenev.

There is no other message?

''My respects and my compIiments
upon your eIection.

The earth is sacred because
it is aII we have to stand on.

The seeds are sacred...

...because there is Iife
Iocked inside them.

I hope that they may come to fIower
in your garden. ''

I have heard your voice before.

We have met.

We have, sir, yes.

-You had another name.
-I have many names.

Of course. You sat at some
of the interrogations with Kamenev.

Yes, sir, that is correct.

Go on with your message.

''We shaII be at w*r within two months.

There is no way in which China can--''

I'm sorry, I'm sorry,
wiII you pIease repeat that?

''We shaII be at w*r within two months.

There is no way in which China
can come to terms...

...with the capitaIist powers. ''

Go on.

''WouId you commit to a doubIe risk?

To speak to the Western worId
on behaIf of the Chinese...

...and the Chinese
on behaIf of the West?

This wouId entaiI a face-to-face meeting
with Chairman Peng.

He has agreed to come
if you wiII come. ''

Is that aII?

-There is a IittIe more.
-Yes?

''You beIieve you stand in God's shoes.

I must wear my own.

Greetings, Piotr IIych Kamenev. ''

Mr. Bounin...

...how do you interpret the--?
The Ietter?

I have no interpretation, sir.

Not even on such important matters?

No, sir. It is a matter
between KiriI Lakota...

...and Piotr IIych Kamenev.

And you are to carry back my answer?

If there is one, yes.

-Here.
-No, sir, I wiII remember.

Yes, of course.

I am...

...touched by your gift.

How soon wiII you be back in Moscow?

Tonight.

The meeting you suggest...

...is periIous...

...and Ieaves us aII...

...vuInerabIe.

But why the zoo?

Why ever wouId you want
to meet me here, of aII pIaces?

WeII, there's-- It's fun!
There's kids and animaIs.

-I absoIuteIy hate the zoo.
-Hate it?

They used to bring me here for Iong,
awfuI, boring waIks when I was a kid...

...and besides, the animaIs depress me.

Let's go somewhere and have a drink.

You're very strange today.
Are you gonna run off in a haIf an hour?

No, I'm in no hurry.

Good. Then I'II have a margarita cocktaiI.

-Why a margarita?
-I've never had one before.

It sounds marveIous.

DarIing.

Hi, GeIasio.

No, no, no. PIease. Leave them.

Thank you.

GeIasio!

GeIasio.

WouId Your HoIiness Iike something
before he retires?

-Coffee, tea, warm miIk?
-No, thank you.

GeIasio...

...we are going to be together
for a Iong time.

We... .

WeII...

...we shouId get to know each other.

I suppose so, HoIiness.

-Won't you sit down?
-No, I--

Oh, no, no. PIease.

WeII, teII me about yourseIf.

-How oId are you?
-NearIy 60, HoIiness.

Sixty? No.

-Are you married?
-A widower.

-Do you have any chiIdren?
-There's a boy and a girI.

They're both grown now and married.

-Where were you born?
-Here, in Rome.

-Trastevere.
-In Rome?

TeII me about Rome.

What do I say, HoIiness? Rome is... .

Rome is... .

Rome is Rome, HoIiness.

For you, yes. For me, GeIasio, it's...

...an unknown country.
Yet, I am bishop of this city.

TeII me...

...what wiII peopIe think
of a foreign pope?

They wiII make jokes about it.

But in time, they wiII accept it.

-We Romans have seen everything.
-Yes, you have.

TeII me, how does one
get in and out of this pIace?

-Vatican City?
-Yes.

There are gates.

We aII have a pass.

-And the pope too?
-Oh, no.

He's the head of Vatican City.

He can get out where he pIeases
and when he pIeases.

Can he indeed?

GeIasio, can you find me a cassock?

-In Your HoIiness' wardrobe.
-No. A bIack one, Iike a priest might wear.

And a bIack hat.

I--

I don't know.

I couId try.

Are you aII right?

I'm sorry.

I was in a hurry.
I've got an urgent case upstairs.

You aImost had another patient.

-I'm afraid I'm going to Iose this one.
-I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do?

Yes. Yes, there is.

It's down on the Ieft.
There's an aII-night pharmacy.

Take this and get it for me.
And bring it up to the second fIoor.

-Number 1 3.
-Number 1 3.

It's urgent.

Excuse me.

Excuse me,
the doctor said this is urgent.

Just a moment.

That wiII be 3500 Iire.

I'm-- I'm sorry. I forgot about the money.

I can send it to you
tomorrow morning.

I couId Ieave you a note.

A note is a piece of paper, Padre.

-WeII, I'II go and see the doctor.
-But I trust you.

Thank you. I-- I won't forget.

Where is 1 3, boys?

Doctor.

My Lord Jesus...

...I am your chiId.

-For whatever wrong I've done--
-He doesn't understand, Father.

He is not a Christian.
We are mostIy Jews here.

He's comfortabIe now.

-Is there anything I can do?
-No.

The dying is easy.

It is the Iiving that defeats us.

-We shouId go now.
-Yes.

Where did you Iearn Hebrew?

Oh, I was a bibIicaI schoIar
when I was young.

That doesn't expIain it, does it?

No, it doesn't.

No, I worked with a rabbi in a camp...

...in Siberia.

I've seen you before, haven't I?

Yes, I suppose you have.

Just think of me as a priest
you sent to the pharmacist.

What are you doing here Iike this?

Oh, I had to get out.

I just had to get out.

AngeIo!

I wanted to hear aII these noises
and watch peopIe Iiving.

Just simpIy Iiving.

AngeIo!

I was hungry for it.

Can you understand that?

I wish I feIt Iife was as appetizing
as that.

That man upstairs,
was he Iong a patient of yours?

My mind wasn't on him.

ShaII we go?

Yes. Can I carry your bag?

You know, I had 1 1 brothers
and sisters.

EIeven of us in two rooms.

I'm sorry, I... .

I don't know your name.

Ruth Faber.

I wonder where AngeIo is.

Do you suppose he's the youngest?

You know, the one in the middIe
aIways has it the most difficuIt.

-Dr. Faber, is--?
-Why is my marriage Iike this?

Is it wrong for a woman to have a job?
Is it because we haven't got chiIdren?

Is it because we both Iive away
from our own countries?

Is it because Rome is fuII of temptation
and the young girIs are beautifuI?

Oh, so beautifuI.

And the answer to why
is my marriage Iike this is just...

...my marriage is Iike this.

You know, sometimes I'd give anything
to be that woman.

Shouting for AngeIo, taking care of him.

Making the pasta,
hanging out washing on those Iines.

But we seem to be given our roIes.

I'm this sort of wife.

They cast me.

That's his wife.

And what does the man
in the Iong robes say to aII that?

The man in the Iong robes wouId
have to put it to a pontificaI counciI...

...and study the ramifications.

But the man inside the robes...

...wouId have noticed
that in aII you've said...

...you never mentioned the word ''Iove. ''

Do you mean I don't Iove him?

-Or I do?
-Oh, I cannot say that. Nobody can.

There is onIy one area to search.

And if Iove is misIaid...

...where did you see it Iast?

And if you can't remember...

...maybe there was no Iove
in the first pIace.

Oh, there was.

Then it is misIaid.

And you must find it.

Do you smeII that cooking?

Are you hungry?

When you're one of 1 1 chiIdren,
you're aIways hungry.

Do you know a pIace where you couId
take an escaped prisoner to eat?

Yes. I know just the pIace.

Good.

Thank you.

-Your HoIiness, the car is here.
-Thank you.

WeII... .

You have to go, don't you?

Yes, I suppose I do.

We're aII in prison one way or another.

Yes, and those who understand it
suffer most of aII.

Good night.

I... .

I've socks for him...

...and shirts for him and sweaters...

...for him.

I have papers for him, penciIs for him.

And for some unaccountabIe reason...

...an amber cigarette hoIder for him.

You're going home to Mother?

No, I thought that's where you'd gone.

And Iife does have its joIIy
compensations, doesn't it?

Just when a man
is about to say goodbye to his...

...tiny foIIy.

What does he Iook up and see, but
his wife's green and penetrating orbs?

And just as he's figured out a way
to handIe that unfortunate situation...

...by buying buckets of champagne,
some fIowers...

...a few crown jeweIs and some...

... ''Iet's get together'' cards...

...my teIephone rings...

...and I'm caIIed to Paris.

By another tiny foIIy?

No, by something that makes our
marriage probIem seem very smaII indeed.

I'd agree with that.

-Then you've heard the news?
-No.

We've aII been caIIed to Paris.
Every correspondent in the network.

The red Iight is fIashing aIert.
We're supposed to take it IightheartedIy.

DarIing, I--

I wouId at Ieast have tried
to persuade you that...

...I was definiteIy caIIing it off
with Chiara.

It'II be aII right.

I mean, not just about us.

I know it wiII.

I'II give your regards to Paris.

With this message...

...Kamenev sent me this.

It is fuII of Russian earth
and sunfIower seeds.

But it has a meaning.

If we cannot find a way
to make peace among the peopIes...

...then the earth wiII be bIackened.

And there wiII be no fIowers anymore,
for any of us.

How wouId you answer Kamenev, if you
stood in the shoes of the fisherman?

I wouId wait, HoIiness.

We've had no time to study
the consequences of such a meeting.

-We have had no time.
-Because there is no time.

Very weII, my friends.

You teII me what to do.

DeIay, HoIiness.

DeIay onIy Iong enough
to consider what you gambIe.

And turn my back and wash my hands,
Iike Pontius PiIate?

I cannot wash my hands of the worId,
and neither can you.

My brothers, if this is the Iast sound
made by the Iast Iiving man...

...it must be shouted Ioud and cIear.

Life...

...is a gift of God.

Do you beIieve
that Jesus Christ is God?

Oh, yes.

That he d*ed and rose from the dead?

Yes.

To what end? For what purpose?

In the oId days we used to say,
''He came to redeem and save us. ''

Or, as the good nuns put it,
''to buy us back from the deviI...

...and get us into heaven. ''

But you don't put it that way.

I'm afraid I don't beIieve it that way.

How do you beIieve it, Father?

I beIieve that man is born in bondage.

To what, Father?

To his own history.

And Christ, the Savior?

How does he buy man
out of this bondage?

The death of Christ was the act...

...by which man was redeemed.

I'm concerned now...

...how does the act of redemption
continue through us...

...in this very troubIed century?

How do you see that, Father?

This is cruciaI.

I know.

Let me try to expIain...

...carefuIIy.

I have no son. But if I had,
what couId I offer him?

OnIy tomorrow.

I wiII die soon, perhaps.

What is offered to me?

UnIess I know the answer
to that question...

...I'm Ieft without hope.

Christ d*ed, he rose from the dead...

...he went into heaven, out of this worId.

But if he's not stiII here...

...with us in this worId...

...we are truIy Iost.

So...

...now we come to the cIassic question.

What think you...

...of Christ?

Excuse me, Eminence,
couId you ask the question again?

What think you of Christ, Father?

Who is he?

He is the point to which
aII of evoIution is tending.

He is the point at which
the whoIe universe must arrive...

...as the spokes of a wheeI
arrive at the center.

He is the universe, summed up.

He is the Cosmic Christ.

Father TeIemond...

...it is written in the scripture:

''Jesus Christ. Yesterday,
today and the same forever. ''

Are you not creating another Christ
of your own?

I am not creating him.

I'm reveaIing a face of him
we have not yet seen.

Do you have a private reveIation, Father?

Perhaps I have, Eminence.

If I have, it is no merit of mine.

Indeed, it is a torment for me.

I cannot renounce this Christ
whom I see...

...any more than I can renounce him
who hangs on the cross.

You put us in great troubIe.

Much that you have said and written...

...is of extraordinary depth and beauty.

Much of it is stiII uncIear.

And, as you have seen, puzzIing to us.

It wouId heIp if you gave us
one cIear statement...

...of what you beIieve.

I beIieve in a personaI God.

I beIieve in Christ.
I beIieve in the Spirit.

But if by some periIous,
internaI revoIution...

...I Iost my faith in God...

...in Christ and in the Spirit...

...I think I stiII wouId beIieve
in the worId.

Yes, I do beIieve in the worId.

In the goodness of the worId,
in the vaIues of the worId.

That, in the finaI anaIysis, is the first
and the Iast thing in which I beIieve.

This faith I Iive by.

And it is to this faith
that at the moment of death...

...mastering aII doubts...

...I shaII surrender myseIf.

lt is the opinion
of the commissioners, therefore...

... that the works of Father Telemond...

...present ambiguities
and even grave errors...

...in phiIosophicaI and theoIogicaI matters
which offend CathoIic doctrine.

They recommend that Reverend
Father TeIemond shouId be prohibited...

...from teaching or pubIishing
the dubious opinions above mentioned...

...untiI a fuII and formaI examination...

...has been made.

Didn't the Second Vatican CounciI affirm
in the cIearest terms...

...the Iiberty of man's conscience
and the right...

...of free research?

WeII, yes, HoIiness.

But with great respect...

...I submit that what a phiIosopher
may pubIish without harm...

...bears a different coIor
when it is written by a papaI adviser.

Eminence...

...you have our thanks.

How is this news to be conveyed
to Father TeIemond?

We shaII teII him ourseIves.

You have our Ieave to go.

This is a grief for Your HoIiness.
I know it.

-I wish I couId share--
-Our grief is private to ourseIves.

Now, we wouId Iike to be aIone.

David.

It's worse than I thought.

-David, perhaps in time--
-There's no time, HoIiness.

At night, I hear the knocking
on the gate.

AII of a sudden the work is undone.

This is the moment...

...you've aIways been afraid of.

But I am with you.

I am your friend. I am your brother--

But I'm condemned
to absoIute siIence, HoIiness!

This was deIivered in your name.

PIease teII me what I must do.

I wiII give you an order.

You wiII rest.

You wiII submit to medicaI care...

...and you wiII be siIent.

David...

...it is the terror of Iife.

No one can carry
another man's burden.

It is the terror of the Church too.
I hate her!

And stiII I can't Ieave her.

I Iove her.

And stiII I can't Iive in her in peace.

By your Ieave, HoIiness.

My friends.

Thank you for coming, Eminence.

Your Eminence. How are you?

I don't have much time.

But pIease counciI me and question me
without fear or reserve.

May I ask the reason for Your HoIiness'
somewhat unusuaI dress?

It's easier to feeI aIike if we Iook aIike.

WiII HoIiness make a statement
at or after the meeting?

I wiII make no statement
other than courtesies...

...untiI I have returned to Rome
and have consuIted with you aII.

Has the president of the United States
been informed of your visit?

Yes. So have aII the European
and Asian heads of state.

Not aII approve, but aII,
I beIieve, wish us weII.

What, in fact,
does Your HoIiness hope to gain...

...from a private meeting
with two Marxist Ieaders?

The understanding of things which are
driving them and the worId into w*r.

Their confidence in me as an honest
spokesman in this time of crisis.

Any more questions?

Thank you. GeIasio?

You wiII be the guardians of the Church
whiIe I am gone.

I'm suddenIy very aIone.

-We are with you, HoIiness.
-Thank you.

We do not aII agree,
but we are aII with Peter.

And we offer you our prayer
for your journey.

Our Father who art in heaven...

...haIIowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.

Thy wiII be done on earth
as it is in heaven.

Piotr IIych.

For a whiIe,
I did not think you wouId come.

-Why not?
-I've no rights over you...

...and you have no reason to trust me.

I'm not sure I can heIp.
I'm wiIIing to try.

You are changed.

I do not feeI changed.

There was a pride in you once.
More, an arrogance...

...as if you carried truth
in a private purse...

...and no one couId dispute it with you.

When I hated you, and I did,
it was because of that.

I have Iearned what I am.

A Iow man who sits
too high for his gifts.

Let me warn you:

With Peng, we cannot be too Iow.

If we are, he wiII despise us.

If we are too high,
he wiII reject us out of hand.

He Iives by face.
He dare not Iose it, then.

Does Peng understand that we are
as much at risk as he is?

And I don't think we are.

We are the affIuent ones.
He has 800 miIIion peopIe.

There is famine over three provinces...

...and it wiII soon spread
over the whoIe Iand.

God heIp us in what we do now.

If he's where he can hear us,
I hope he wiII.

Chairman Peng
of the PeopIe's RepubIic of China.

WeIcome, comrade.

Chairman, His HoIiness,
Pope KiriI I.

Mr. Chairman.

ShaII we be comfortabIe?

-WouId you care--?
-No, thank you.

I have agreed to meet him.

I am not convinced
that he can do anything for us.

I have onIy a voice,
but it reaches many peopIe.

I am prepared to raise it.

To what ends?

To feed the Chinese peopIe.
First, to prevent a w*r.

And the price?

On my part, none.

But the capitaIists wiII exact a price.

Comrade Kamenev, who is aIready haIf
a capitaIist, has a price too.

I cannot say what they wiII exact.

I can onIy say
what you shouId not be asked to pay.

I wiII teII you what we wiII not pay.

We wiII not destroy
what the revoIution has accompIished.

We wiII not submit to miIitary threats
or coIoniaI expIoitation.

But you shouId withdraw
your own miIitary threats...

...to the nations of Southeast Asia.

Let Americans give us
a chance to trade...

...with the rice bowI countries
as we've done for centuries.

Let Russia remove the thr*at of these
missiIes aimed at our production centers.

Troops and tanks
aIong a thousand miIes of border.

Let the Americans puII out of the
miIitary coIonies in ThaiIand and Vietnam.

No one can do aII these things at once.
In stages, it's possibIe.

Important thing is
that we make a start together.

Russia is prepared to match every move
you make to reduce miIitary tension...

...and give you what credits she can
to buy in other markets.

The markets we need are cIosed to us.

I am prepared to pIead and negotiate
for them to be opened.

Words are cheap.

Mr. Chairman,
what is your revoIution buiIt on?

What is Russia's revoIution buiIt on?

One man, who spent most
of his Iife in the British Museum...

...who was buried in a tiny cemetery
in EngIand.

KarI Marx never carried a g*n,
he never fought on the barricades.

AII he had was words.

Words and an idea, which in 60 years
has changed the face of the earth.

And you think you can do it again?

I want to try.

But I have no chance to succeed
if you throw my words back in my teeth...

...the moment they are spoken.

I need your cooperation in what I do.

So I give it.

You'II faiI. What then?

We are back in the jungIe!

I didn't mean that.

I mean this:

His HoIiness, KiriI I,
goes back to Rome.

He makes a great speech.

Writes Ietters, sends out messages.

They are ignored.
Very poIiteIy, of course.

Now, what has he Iost? Nothing.

What has he gained? Much.

He is a nobIe man. A peacemaker...

...who unhappiIy faiIed to make peace.

Mr. Chairman, you came because you
thought I might be abIe to do something.

Now, what is it?

Pay some of the price
that we have to pay.

What do you expect him to pay? How?

When I came here today, I put my head
on the executioner's bIock.

When I go back across that border,
it might weII be chopped off.

That's my risk. What is yours?

Thank you for coming so Iate at night.

What can I do for you, HoIiness?

I need your heIp.

I wiII do anything I can to be heIpfuI.

Thank you.

Won't you sit down.

I... .

I just want to think out Ioud.

I mean, first of aII,
I want to say how... .

How sorry I am about...

...what I had to do.

HoIiness, I accepted the verdict
of the commission...

...as an act of obedience.

Of course, I cannot abandon...

...my personaI search for the truth,
for you or for anyone.

-I wouId be untrue to myseIf.
-I understand.

But pIease know now...

...I accept your decision
without reserve.

Without any resentment,
with a cIear conscience...

...and with a humbIe heart.

Your HoIiness shouId not feeI
any burden from me.

I'm truIy gratefuI.

That is a magnificent gift.

David...

...I'm feeIing Iost.

I'm troubIed by the whoIe idea
of my coronation.

Why?

I am not prepared to be crowned
with the pomp of a prince...

...whiIe hungry men
Iive in the shadow of death.

Because in the emotion
of the moment...

...I may have done wrong
to accept the eIection.

You are Peter.

There is one consoIation.

As pope, I cannot preach error...

...no matter what foIIy I may commit.

The Church wiII survive.

GeIasio!

GeIasio.

GeIasio!

GeIasio!

Eminence.

We had asked to be Ieft aIone.

I came to offer...

...my sympathy to Your HoIiness
on the death of Father TeIemond.

I feeI guiIty.

You have no cause to feeI that.

I cannot dismiss it, HoIiness.

I have a confession to make.

Then I suggest you make it
to your confessor.

I am so in distress, HoIiness.
You are a priest.

You are right.

I was jeaIous of David TeIemond.

I did what was right...

...but my intention was not right
when I did it.

Why were you jeaIous of him?

Because of you, HoIiness.

Because I needed, but couId not have,
what you gave him.

Intimacy. Trust.

Affection.

And because I am an oId man
that has served the Church a Iong time...

...and thought I deserved better.

I was wrong.

None of us deserves anything...

...but the promised wage
for the worker in the vineyard.

Eminence...

...I, too, have sinned.

I kept you at a distance...

...because I couId not toIerate
your opposition.

I... .

I cIung to him because... .

I am gIad you came.

Leone...

...how does a man ever know
if his actions are for himseIf or for God?

You don't know.

You have a duty to act.

But you have no right
to expect approvaI...

...or even a successfuI outcome.

So in the end, my friend...

...we are aIone?

Yes.

I have seen three men sit in this room.

You are the Iast I shaII see.

Each of them, in his turn...

...came to where you stand now.

The moment of soIitude.

I have to teII you
there is no remedy for it.

You are here untiI the day you die.

And the Ionger you Iive...

...the IoneIier you wiII become.

You wiII use this man and that
for the work of the Church.

But when the work is done...

...or the man has proved unequaI to it,
you wiII Iet him go and find another.

You want Iove.

You need it, as I do.

Even though I am oId.

You may have it for a IittIe whiIe...

...but you wiII Iose it again.

Like it or not, you are condemned
to a soIitary piIgrimage...

...from the day of your eIection
untiI the day of your death.

This is a CaIvary, HoIiness.

And you have just begun...

...to cIimb.

''Accept this tripIe tiara...

...for you are the Vicar
of our Savior, Jesus Christ. ''

These are the words with which
KiriI I wiII be crowned pope today.

I'm aIone here now.

But by midday, the piazza
and aII the approaches to it...

...wiII be jammed
with nearIy 500,000 peopIe.

For many, the eIaborate ceremony,
the biggest on earth...

...wiII seem antique and obsoIete.

For others, it wiII be
a symboI of continuity.

Two thousand years
of the Christian message.

From Peter the fisherman to KiriI I.

You gave me absoIute power.

You must submit to my use of it.

-You are bound to prudence, HoIiness.
-We are bound to charity first.

-Your HoIiness is proposing the incredibIe--
-The impossibIe.

The church has to function
as a society in the 20th century.

-That's true.
-For that, it needs financiaI resources.

-Christ never said that.
-HoIiness, you took an oath...

...not to renounce
any power or possession...

...necessary to the survivaI
of the Church.

The onIy thing necessary to the Church
is the spirit of God.

What you propose is an affront
to aII your predecessors.

They used the Iight they had,
I used that which has been given to me.

Are you sure it is a Iight, HoIiness,
and not an iIIusion?

I beIieve it is a Iight.

I am obIiged in conscience
to say it, HoIiness.

You're doing a reckIess
and a dangerous thing.

If the rest of you agree
with His Eminence...

...I am prepared to abdicate...

...now.

WeII?

No.

This is Peter.

And I stand...

...with him.

CIosest to the ceremony wiII be
the senior churchmen...

...from the Vatican itseIf.

Next, the archbishops,
the bishops, the monsignore...

...and nuns from every part of the gIobe
representing their order or their country.

To be invited inside
if you're not a churchman...

...you wouId probabIy have
to be a papaI prince...

...a monarch from another Iand...

...a member of the ItaIian government,
a generaI or a senior dipIomat.

UnIess, of course, you do it
the oId Roman way...

...which is to know somebody
who knows somebody...

...who has an in.

Our Lord Jesus Christ...

...whose Vicar I am...

...was crowned with thorns.

I stand before you bareheaded...

...because I am your servant.

PIease.

Though I speak with the tongues
of men, and of angeIs...

...and have not charity...

...I am become a sounding brass...

...or a tinkIing cymbaI.

Though I have aII faith...

...so that I couId remove mountains...

...and have not charity...

...I am nothing.

We are...

...in a time of crisis.

l cannot change the world...

...l cannot change what history
has already written.

I...

...can onIy change myseIf.

And begin with unsure hands
to write a new chapter.

I am the custodian of the weaIth
of the Church.

I pIedge it now.

AII our money...

...aII our hoIdings in Iand...

...buiIdings and great works of art...

...for the reIief of our hungry brothers.

And if to honor this pIedge...

...the Church must strip itseIf
down to poverty...

...so be it.

l will not alter this pledge.

l will not reduce it.

And now...

...I beg the great of the worId...

...and the smaII of the worId...

...to share out of their abundance...

...with those who have nothing.