Conclave (2024)

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Come, Saints of God, run the Angels of the Lord, taking up my soul, offering the age to the most inconsiderate.

Taking up Christ, whom he calls Lord, and in the bosom of Avra, nudged and leading.

I cried out to you from the depths, Lord.

Lord, heal my voice.

My soul hoped in the Lord, more than the guards of the dawn.

More than the keepers of the dawn, the spirit of Israel in the Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

to the Spirit of the Holy God, and to the breast of the avra, comforting and leading.

Amen.

He is with God.

Sedevacante.

The throne of the Holy See is vacant.

I'll go.

Hey, do you think that anybody would mind if I took that, as a keepsake?

Of course, take it.

He would have wanted you to have it.

We used to play quite often in the evenings.

He said it helped him to relax.

Who won?

Oh, he did.

He was always eight moves ahead.

I'll do it.

I'm sorry.

What happened?

Do you know?

No.

They say a heart attack.

There had been warnings.

Oh, I hadn't heard that.

Yeah.

He didn't want anyone to know.

He was afraid that if word got out, that they would start circulating rumours that he was going to resign.

Curious.

Yes.

Janus.

I know this is hard for you, but we will have to prepare a detailed statement.

Who discovered the Holy Father's body?

I did, Your Eminence.

And then what did you do?

I called the Holy Father's doctor, but

it was too late.

And what time was this?

Around 11.30 minutes.

We would have called you earlier, but...

Thomas, I'm so sorry.

I know His Holiness had no colleagues closer than you and Aldo, but I asked Janus to hold off calling you.

I wanted to ascertain all the facts.

You know how rumour spreads.

I've prepared a timeline of His Holiness's last day,

and these are the Holy Father's most recent medical records.

And who was the last to have a scheduled meeting with him?

I believe that may have been me.

Father Wozniak was the last one.

You were, Your Eminence, traveling.

Put in all the meetings he had that day.

It will show how hard he was working right to the very end.

Well, it might look like we were placing a huge burden on a sick man.

The papacy is a huge burden, especially for an older man.

Well, Dean, it seems the responsibility for the conclave falls upon you.

Sigillate, Lestanza.

The security say they'd like to test the electronic Janus phone last time you were here.

Have I done that better be quick?

Is this really necessary, Willie?

Apparently so.

They say eavesdroppers can use lasers to read the vibrations of the glass.

Really?

Well, let's hope none of our brothers suffer from claustrophobia.

Who knows how long we're going to be in here?

Can you reassure me that we will be finished on time?

They will work through the night, if they have to.

It will be fine, Your Eminence.

It always is.

Italy, you know, I'm sorry to fuss.

Well, eminence, I'd say this is a pretty fair vision of hell.

Well, don't be blasphemous, Ray.

Hell arrives tomorrow when we bring in the cardinal.

How do I pronounce this?

Kalko, your eminence, he's Indian.

Oh, Kalko, thank you.

Your eminence, Archbishop Wozniak has asked if you might have a word,

eminence.

Well, I don't think that's possible.

The cardinals will be arriving in an hour.

What's it about?

He didn't say.

I wouldn't have brought it up.

It's just he seemed so upset.

Ray, we're going to be sequestered from six o'clock.

You should have come to me earlier.

Yes, your eminence, I'll let him know.

Ray, tell him that I'll see him after I've met the cardinals.

The poor fellow will be worrying about his future.

many is that, Willie?

I'll order three eminence, Lawrence.

I wonder where Tedesco has got to.

Perhaps he's not coming.

Well, that'd be too much to hope for.

We could wait inside if you prefer.

Let's stay out here, get some fresh air while we can.

Father Bellini.

How old are you?

Am I the last man?

Not quite.

How are you?

Oh, well, you know, fairly dreadful.

Have you seen the papers?

Apparently it's already decided.

Well, I happen to agree with them.

What if I don't want it?

No sane man would want the papers.

Some of our colleagues seem to want it.

What if I know in my heart that I am not worthy?

You are more worthy than any of us.

Well, then tell your supporters not to vote for you.

Pass the chalice.

And let it go to him.

I could never lose myself.

Eminence Tedesco.

Decano Lorenz.

How are you?

Fine.

Sorry my train was delayed from Venice.

We missed you.

Yes, no doubt.

But don't worry, my friends have kept me well informed.

Are you well?

No.

No one is ever well at our age, no.

And you?

How do you feel with your new responsibility?

Everything under control.

I believe so.

Eminence Tedesco, please.

No!

Miss, please.

See you later, Eminence.

Dear Lord.

That's enormous.

Apparently Pope John XXIII was too fat to fit into the biggest cassette,

so they had to split the seam at the back for him to get into it.

No.

Oh.

You look tired.

Now, Lord, this was a duty I never thought I'd have to perform.

I thought he would outlive all of us.

We didn't part well.

I asked for his permission to resign as dean.

Join an order.

What did he say?

He refused my resignation.

He said some were chosen to be shepherds and some to manage the farm.

Apparently I am a manager.

He told me about your crisis of faith.

But you should know that he had his own doubts towards the end.

Well, the Pope had doubts about God.

No.

Never about God.

What he had lost faith in was the Church.

Father Wozniak.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

My last confession was four weeks ago.

Janusz, Janusz, I haven't got time to hear your confession.

There's still so much to do.

We've been drinking.

What's troubling you, tell me.

I should have come to you before.

But I promised not to say anything.

Promised who?

Cardinal Trembley.

Janusz, the door's closed soon and you'll have to leave.

Now, if you promised Cardinal Trembley, then perhaps it isn't right that you're...

The day the Pope died.

The last person to have an official appointment with him was Cardinal Trembley.

Yes, I know.

It's on the official timeline.

At that meeting, the Holy Father dismissed him.

What?

He sacked him.

Why?

For gross misconduct.

Wouldn't you tell me this now?

We're about to be sequestered, Janusz.

Forgive me, but it wasn't until the last few days when I started to hear the rumours.

What rumours?

He may be elected Pope.

Well, wouldn't you see it as your duty to prevent that, do you?

I no longer know what my duty is.

Were you there at this meeting?

No, Your Eminence.

The Holy Father told me about it afterwards, when we had supper.

Did he tell you why he had dismissed Eminence Trembley?

No.

He said the reasons would become clear soon enough.

Ignorance.

Initial.

Oh, dear God.

One of them has died.

I'm sorry?

Have we lost a cardinal?

No, Your Eminence.

We seem to have acquired one.

I mean it literally.

Another cardinal has just turned up.

Well, then we've left someone off the list.

He was never on our list, Eminence.

He says he was created in Pectorum.

Oh, no.

Then he has to be an imposter, surely.

Well, that's what I thought, Eminence.

But Archbishop Manloff has spoken to him and thinks not.

Oh, what's this I'm hearing?

His name is Vincent Benitez, Your Eminence.

He's the Archbishop of Kabul.

Archbishop of where?

Kabul.

But he's Mexican.

The Holy Father appointed him last year.

Last year?

So how has this been kept a secret for so long?

I thought perhaps you would be aware of his innovation.

No, I'm not.

Ray, ask Eminence Bellini to join us.

Maybe he knows something of this.

Yes, Your Eminence.

Thank you.

He has a letter of appointment from the Pope addressed to the Archdiocese of Kabul,

which they kept secret at the Holy Father's request.

You don't think he could have forged it?

Where is he now?

A cardinal?

In Afghanistan?

That's absurd.

A main Catholic father in Afghanistan?

He was head of the Catholic mission there until his elevation.

How can one possibly ensure his safety?

Presumably that's why the Holy Father wanted it kept a secret.

Well, it won't be in pectore now.

I don't think we have any choice but to admit him.

Wait, wait.

Tell us.

Are we sure that the Holy Father was entirely competent when he made this appointment?

I believe this man is legally a cardinal, Aldo,

and I think he has a right to take part in the election.

Eminences, before we eat, I'd like to introduce a new member of our order

whose existence was not known to any of us until only a few hours ago.

This is because our brother was made a cardinal by a perfectly legitimate procedure known as creation in pectore.

Now, the reason why it had to be done this way is known only to God and to the late Holy Father.

But I think we can guess well enough, as our new brother's ministry is an extremely dangerous one.

Welcome to our order, Vincent Benitez,

cardinal archbishop of Kabul.

Eminence, please would you bless our meal?

Of course.

Bless us, oh Lord.

And these, your gifts, which we are about to receive from your bounty.

Amen.

Amen.

Please, come.

This is all of it.

Thank you.

Yes.

Bienvenido.

Gracias.

Muchas gracias.

To all the brothers of the church in South America.

Decano!

Lorenz!

Oh, I have to thank you.

Carle.

No fredo?

No malo.

Vieni.

Take some wine.

Grazie.

Grazie.

You look anxious.

Our new brother.

Una meravigliosa testimonianza della chiesa universale, non crede?

Tanti uomini di culture e razze diverse legati dalla fede in Dio.

Guardali attorno.

Guarda come tutti gravitano vicino ai loro connazionali.

Italiani tutti qua.

Spagnoli là.

Inglesi là.

Francesi.

Divided by language.

The dead language.

Things fall apart.

The center cannot hold.

Abyssus abyssum invocat.

It was shrewd of him to stay away from Rome until today.

One outspoken newspaper interview could have written Tedesco off.

But instead, he will do well tomorrow, I think.

Which means, I would say, he's worth 15

votes in the first ballot.

And Bellini.

Why do I feel like a cow being priced by the farmer?

First ballots?

Between 20 and 25.

But it is tomorrow night that the real work begins.

Somehow we have to get him a two-thirds majority.

By real work, you mean what exactly?

The ten minutes of Bellini.

Those who seek the papacy.

I don't seek the papacy.

Listen, you don't have to do anything.

Just leave it to us.

Tell them I stand for a common-sense approach to such issues as gays and divorce.

Tell them I stand for never returning to the days of the Latin liturgy

or families of ten children because mama and papa didn't know any better.

That was an ugly and repressive time, and I'm glad that it's over.

Tell them I stand for respecting other faiths, for tolerating other views within our own church.

And tell them that I believe women should play more of a role in the curia.

Let's not mention women.

Why?

Brother, I have no intention of concealing my views or pretending to be anything other than I am in order to sway any of our number who are undecided.

So, if you want to canvas on my behalf,

then make sure that my message is clear.

I stand for everything that Tedesco does not.

Okay.

If you'll excuse me.

No worries.

Marco, you talk to the Americans.

Villanueva, I leave the South Americans to you.

Tell Marco, you take the Africans.

Aldo doesn't want it.

Any of it.

And you know that, don't you?

Of course I do.

That's why I support him.

The men who are dangerous are the ones who do want it.

I'm enjoying all this mystery, Thomas.

And I suppose you should tell me what you want to talk about.

Your last meeting with the Holy Father.

Oh, what about it?

I've been told it was difficult.

Was it?

Difficult?

No.

Not that I can recall.

I'm sorry to have to ask you this, Joe, but to be specific, I was told that the Holy Father demanded your resignation.

What?

That's absurd.

I don't know what...

who told you that?

Archbishop Wozniak.

Why would he say such a thing?

So there isn't any truth in the allegation.

Oh God, no, of course not.

It's absurd.

You don't think that...

No, well, I had to ask.

I understand, but no.

You can ask Monsignor Morales.

He was at the meeting.

Well, I would, but at the moment we happen to be sequestered.

Can you think of any reason why Archbishop Wozniak would circulate such a story?

No, I can't.

I really...

Do you want a coffee?

No.

I'm shocked.

He told you this himself?

Yeah.

You don't think...

What?

The drinking.

I don't like to bring it up, but we both know his drinking has been getting much heavier,

and perhaps it's affecting his judgment, his mind even.

And I know my name has been mentioned as a future pope,

and if the archbishop doesn't approve of that idea, maybe he's...

I don't know.

I'm just trying to make sense of this.

And the poor man, he was shattered by the Holy Father's death.

Yes, indeed.

Again, Joe, my apologies.

No, not at all.

I completely understand.

What did you discuss with the Holy Father in that final meeting?

Forgive me, Thomas.

It was a private conversation, and very precious.

Those were the last words I ever exchanged with the Holy Father.

Yes, of course.

Good night, Joe.

Good night, Thomas.

Oh, we're neighbors, Joshua.

Ah, it appears so.

I thought that I should do a little more work on my homily for tomorrow.

Ah, yes, of course.

I look forward to it.

I understand the trick is to offend no one.

You're a manager.

Manage.

Yes.

But you

know all that.

Let me speak from the heart for a moment.

Saint Paul said, be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

To work together, to grow together, we must be

tolerant.

No one person or faction seeking to dominate another.

And speaking to the Ephesians, who were, of course, a mixture of Jews and Gentiles,

Paul reminds us that God's gift to the church is its variety.

It is this variety, this diversity of people and views which gives our church its strength.

And over the course of many years in the service of our mother, the church, let me tell you,

there was one sin which I have come to fear above all others.

Certainty.

Certainty is the great enemy of unity.

Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance.

Even Christ was not certain at the end.

Dio mio, Dio mio, perché mi hai abbandonato?

He cried out in his agony at the ninth hour on the cross.

Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand in hand with doubt.

If there was only certainty and no doubt,

there would be no mystery and therefore no need for faith.

Let us pray that God will grant us a Pope who doubts

and let him grant us a Pope who sins and asks for forgiveness and who carries on.

Dear Lawrence, your homily has caused quite the stir.

I don't think anyone expected you to say something interesting.

I'll have a transcript made of the recording.

If, um, if there's nothing else.

Yes, um, I need you to do

something for me.

Monsignor Morales, I'm sure he's still in Rome.

Could you try and see him?

Today?

I use my authority.

I'd like to know what happened in the final meeting between Cardinal Tremblay and the Holy Father.

What happened specifically?

Did anything occur that might render Tremblay unfit for the papacy?

Of course you haven't.

Bless him.

Fratelli Cardinali, si procederà ora al primo

scrutinio.

Troverete davanti a voi la vostra scheda elettorale.

Sulla metà superiore è scritto Eligo insumum pontificiam.

Assicuratevi che la vostra calligrafia sia legibile.

Testor Christum Dominum, qui me iudicaturus est,

me eum eligere, quem secundum Deum iudico eligi debere.

Testor Christum Dominum, qui me iudicaturus est, me eum eligere,

quem secundum Deum iudico eligi debere.

Il primo

voto è per il Cardinale tedesco.

Il secondo voto è per il Cardinale tedesco.

Cardinale Tremblay.

Cardinale Tremblay.

Cardinale Tedesco.

Cardinale Adeyemi.

Cardinale Lawrence.

Cardinale Bellini.

Cardinale Bellini.

Cardinale Villanueva.

Cardinale Tremblay.

Cardinale Adeyemi.

Cardinale Tremblay.

Cardinale Tedesco.

Cardinale Bellini.

Cardinale Adeyemi.

Infine, Cardinale Benitez.

I risultati del primo scutinio sono i

seguenti.

Cardinale Adeyemi, 21 voti.

Cardinale Tedesco, 18 voti.

Cardinale Bellini, 17 voti.

Cardinale Tremblay, 16 voti.

Cardinale Lawrence, 5 voti.

Altri cardinali che hanno ricevuto un solo voto, 31 voti.

Cari fratelli, con questo si conclude il primo scrutinio.

Poiché nessun candidato ha ottenuto la maggioranza necessaria di 72 voti,

per la serata la seduta è aggiornata e riprenderemo le votazioni domattina.

Grazie.

Aprite le porte!

The media have noticed the presence of a cardinal who doesn't appear on the official list, Cardinal Benitez,

so I've taken the liberty of putting together a draft statement.

I've also put together some biographical details for yourself.

Ministries in Veracruz, the Congo, where he established a hospital

for the female victims of genocidal sexual violence during the first and second wars,

then Baghdad, and finally the mission in Kabul.

There was some question of his resigning on health grounds,

but apparently the Holy Father convinced him to continue.

He certainly served his ministry in some terrible places.

Yes, health grounds.

I look into that, would you arrange the kind of thing the press would like to get hold of?

Of course, and the other matter...

Yes, I spoke to Monsignor Morales.

He was emphatic that he knows of no reason why Cardinal Tremblay should not be Pope.

However, will you forgive me if I say I did not entirely believe the good Monsignor.

He was just so emphatic.

My Spanish is quite poor, and I may have accidentally given him the impression that you had seen a document that contradicts that.

And he said, you want to worry that...

And his exact words were, el informe ha sido retirado.

A report?

A report about what?

Withdrawn when?

That I couldn't say.

Third place.

Not what we had hoped.

Your sermon didn't exactly help us, and your five votes.

You have far too little support to emerge as a serious candidate.

My position is an embarrassment to me.

If I find out who my supporters are, I'll plead with them to vote for someone else.

I'll tell them I'll be voting for Aldo.

All right.

At least 31 votes are available.

We simply have to pick up most of them.

The Holy Father's turtles.

He was very fond of them.

A gift from Angola.

I thought I was imagining them.

I love them.

They're so clever.

Well, here they keep escaping and being run over.

We should go back to the evening curfew.

And your health, how are you bearing up?

My health is perfect, thank you.

I only meant, have you recovered from your journey?

I have, indeed.

Good.

And in the Sistine, you found someone to vote for?

Yes, I voted for you.

Forgive me, am I not supposed to say?

No, no, it's not that you...

No, I'm honoured, but...

My dear Vincent, may I call you Vincent?

I'm not a serious candidate.

My vocation lies in a different.

After the Conclave, I hope to resign as Dean, and then leave Rome

altogether.

Why?

I've been experiencing difficulties.

With your faith?

Prayer.

I only mention it to illustrate my point that I am in no way worthy to be Pope.

Come.

Octavo, piano.

Apertura forte.

Aldo?

Aldo?

I feel wretched that my meagre tally of votes may have come at your expense.

I had no idea you were so ambitious.

Oh, that's a ridiculous thing to say.

Is it?

Is it?

I thought we had your support.

If we liberals are not united, Tedesco will become Pope.

You have no idea how bad it became, Thomas.

The way he and his circle attacked the Holy Father towards the end.

The smears, the leaks to the press.

He was savage.

He fought for the people, he fought him every single day of his pontificate.

And now that he's dead, he wants to destroy his life's work.

If Tedesco becomes Pope, he will undo 60 years of progress.

You talk as if you're the only alternative, but Adeyemi has the win behind him.

Adeyemi?

Adeyemi.

The man who believes that h*m* should be sent to prison in this world and hell in the next.

Adeyemi's not the answer to anything, and you know it.

If you want to defeat Tedesco...

Defeat?

No.

This is a conclave, Aldo.

It's not a w*r.

It is a w*r, and you have to commit to a

side.

Save your precious doubts for your prayers.

You can't seriously believe that I have the slightest desire to become Pope.

Come on!

Every cardinal has that desire.

Every cardinal deep down has already chosen the name by which he would like his papacy to be known.

Well, I haven't.

Deny it if you like, but set your heart, and then tell me it isn't so.

Cardinal Tedesco, 25 votes.

Cardinal Bellini, 18 votes.

Cardinal Chamberlain, 16 votes.

Cardinal Lawrence, 9 votes.

Cardinal Benitez, 2 votes.

Dear brothers, in accordance with the apostolic constitution,

we will proceed immediately to the next vote.

Thank you.

The results of the third vote are as follows.

Cardinal Adeyemi, 52 votes.

Cardinal Tedesco, 30 votes.

Cardinal Chamberlain, 10 votes.

Cardinal Bellini.

Brothers, please.

Thank you.

Cardinal Bellini, 9 votes.

Cardinal Lawrence, 5 votes.

Cardinal Benitez, 4 votes.

And I take it something has happened.

There's been an expl*si*n, Your Eminence, in the Piazza Bavarini.

A b*mb?

It's unclear at the moment.

There are injuries, but no talk of fatalities.

You must say nothing to the cardinal electors about this raid.

They are sequestered, and they must be shielded from all news that may influence their judgment.

You understand?

Of course, Your Eminence.

What am I supposed to tell them in Milan when they start to discover our new Pope's

social views?

Tell your congregation that they should celebrate the first African Pope in the history of the Church.

If Athena was white.

We'll be all condemning him as more reactionary than Tedesco, just only because he's not right.

It's too late, it's too late.

What happened?

Well, good afternoon, Sister.

I would like to speak to the nun who dropped her tray just now.

She's safe with me.

I'm dealing with the situation.

I'm sure you are, Sister Agnes, but I must see her myself.

I hardly think a dropped tray should concern the Dean of the College of Cardinals.

Even so, I...

The welfare of the Sister is my responsibility.

And this conclave is mine.

Please sit, my child.

My name is Cardinal Lawrence.

How are you feeling?

She's feeling much better.

Could you tell me your name?

Shanumi.

Her name is Shanumi.

Please, please do sit down.

I really think you would be better if you let me deal with the situation.

Would you be so good as to leave us now, Sister Agnes?

Sister Shanumi, I want you to understand that, first of all,

you are not in any kind of trouble.

The fact of the matter is that I have a responsibility before God to ensure that the decisions that we make here are the right ones.

Now, it's important you tell me anything that is in your heart or that is troubling you insofar as it relates to Cardinal Adeyebi.

Can you do that for me?

Even if I give you my assurance it will go no further than this room.

Would you like me to hear your confession?

Are we ready in a moment, Dean?

Shouldn't we be going?

In a moment.

That sounds ominous.

If this is about the incident downstairs, I have no desire to talk about it.

I am the victim of a disgraceful plot to ruin my reputation.

Someone brought that woman here and staged this melodrama.

She never left Nigeria before and suddenly she's here in the Casa Santa Marta.

With respect, Joshua, how she came here is secondary to the issue of your relationship with her.

I have no relationship to her.

I haven't set eyes on her in 30 years until she turned up outside my room last night.

It was a lapse, Dean.

A lapse.

Let God grant us a Pope who sins and asks forgiveness and carries on.

Your words.

And the child?

The child?

The child was raised in a Christian household and to this day he has no idea who his father is if indeed it is me.

That is the child.

We were very young.

No, no, no, Joshua.

She was very young.

She was 19 years old.

You were 30.

Thomas, Thomas, listen to me, please.

I sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit this morning.

I swear it.

I am ready to take this burden.

Does a single, single mistake 30 years ago disqualify me?

Thomas, please, I was a different man.

Please, I beg you, do not use this to ruin me.

Joshua, that thought's not worthy of you.

Shinomi will say nothing to protect her son.

And I am bowed by the vows of the confessional.

So I still have hope?

No, there

is no hope.

After such a public scene there will be rumors and you know what the cure here is like.

Nothing terrifies our colleagues more than the thought of yet more sexual scandals.

I am more sorry than I could say.

You will never be back.

You must begin again.

But you are a good man.

I know you'd be a good man.

And you will find a way to return.

Will you pray with me?

Yes, of course.

May I choose whom, according to God, I judge and choose

the right.

The results of the fifth scrutiny are as follows.

Cardinal Chamberlain, 40 votes.

Cardinal Teresco, 34 votes.

Cardinal Bellini, 13 votes.

Cardinal Lorenz, 11 votes.

Cardinal Adeyemi, 9 votes.

Cardinal Benitez, 6 votes.

Brothers, this is the end of the fifth scrutiny.

Since no candidate has obtained the necessary majority, the votes

will be taken again tomorrow morning.

Anything else?

Oh, Cardinal Benitez.

He's had problems.

He was issued a round-trip ticket to Geneva, paid for by the Pope's own

account.

I checked his visa application.

The purpose of travel was given as medical treatment.

Anyways, whatever it was, it can't have been serious.

The ticket was cancelled.

It never went.

All right.

Thank you.

Forgive me.

Eminence, I know you said we should forget about the matter of the withdrawn report.

But I wondered, in light of Cardinal Tremblay's current

position, I could see if I could

find out.

No, I'm not a witch finder.

It's not my job to go hunting for secrets in my colleagues' pasts.

Forgive me.

Please, no more investigations.

I think you've heard enough secrets.

Let God's will be done.

Yes, of course.

Good night, then, Your Eminence.

Is this really necessary?

I feel as if I'm at some American political convention.

Well, it isn't going to take long.

Our friend here doesn't have sufficient support amongst our colleagues to be elected Pope.

It isn't over yet.

Well, I'm afraid as far as I'm concerned, it is.

So, now the question arises, if I can't win, whom

do I advise my supporters to vote for?

Thomas, I am no more an enthusiast for Tremblay than you are.

But we have to face the fact that

he has demonstrated broad appeal.

Maybe he'll be a unifying force.

Why?

Is this what we're reduced to, considering the least worst option?

But the field has narrowed.

If we don't change our vote, we won't be here for weeks.

And that's exactly what Tedesco wants.

We had a Pope who was in the Hitler Youth and fought for the Nazis.

We had Popes accused of colluding with Communists and Fascists.

We had Popes who have ignored reports of most appalling sexual abuse of children.

Okay, shh.

We take the point.

The point is, we will never find a candidate who doesn't have any kind of black mark against them.

We're mortal men.

We serve an ideal.

We cannot always be ideal.

Then we're agreed.

We urge all our supporters to back Tremblay.

Good.

The other night, you were kind enough to say that you had voted for me.

Now, I don't know if you've continued to do so, but if you have, then I must repeat my plea to you to stop.

Why?

Well, firstly, I lack the spiritual depth to be Pope.

Secondly, I couldn't possibly win.

A long, drawn-out conclave would be seen by the media as proof that the Church is in crisis.

You have come to ask me to vote for Cardinal Tremblay?

Yes, I have, and to urge your supporters to do the same.

Cardinal Tremblay already spoke to me about this.

No, I'm sure he has.

You want me to vote for a man you see as ambitious?

I do not want to see Tedesco as Pope.

He would take our Church back to an earlier era.

I'm sorry, but I cannot vote for a man unless I think him the most worthy to be Pope.

And for me, that is not Tremblay.

It's you.

I don't want your vote!

Nevertheless, you have it.

Come on.

Sister Shenoumi is on her way home to Nigeria.

There was a flight to Lagos this evening, and I thought it was best for everyone if she was on it.

How did Sister Shenoumi come to be in Rome?

I received notification from the office of the superior general that you will be joining us.

The arrangements were made in Paris.

You should ask her to back your eminence.

I would, except, of course, I am sequestered for the duration of the conclave.

Then you should ask them afterwards.

The information is of value to me now.

Sister Agnel, I know that you were close to the Holy Father.

When I tried to resign as dean, he wouldn't let me.

I couldn't understand why at the time, but now I think I do.

I think the Holy Father knew he was dying and for some reason he wanted

me to run this conclave.

Which is what I am trying to do for him.

I would like you to withdraw your name from the next ballot.

You are not the right man to be pope.

Well, forty of our colleagues wouldn't disagree with you on that.

That's because they don't know you as I do.

This is sad, Thomas.

I shall pray for you.

I know there was some kind of proportion to your activities.

I know the Holy Father raised the matter with you hours before he died and that he dismissed you from all your posts.

And I know that somehow you discovered Adiemi's surrender to temptation thirty years ago

and that you arranged for the woman involved to be brought to Rome with the express intention of destroying Adiemi's chances of becoming pope.

I deny that accusation.

Will you deny asking our superioress to transfer one of her sisters to Rome?

No.

I asked her.

But not on my own behalf.

Well, on whose behalf then?

The Holy Father's.

Oh, you wouldn't libel the Holy Father in his own house?

It isn't libel.

It's the truth.

The Holy Father gave me the name of a sister and asked me to make a private request to bring her to Rome.

I have no idea why.

And now you have chosen to...

You should be careful, Thomas.

Your own ambition has not gone unnoticed.

This might be seen as a tactic to blacken the name of a rival.

Well, that's a despicable accusation.

Is it?

I wonder if you really are so very reluctant to have the chalice passed to you.

I shall pretend this conversation never took place.

But it has taken place.

It's the report on the activities of Tremblay.

It's an overwhelming prima facie case that he is guilty of simony,

which of course is an offence stipulated in the...

I'm aware of what simony is, thank you.

He only obtained all those votes in the first ballot because he bought them.

Cardenius, Diene, Figarella, Baptiste.

In all this in the last twelve months, when he must have guessed, the Holy Father's pontificate was coming to an end.

How do we know that this money wasn't used for completely legitimate purposes?

Because I have seen no bank statements.

It seems the Holy Father was spying on all of us.

He didn't trust anyone.

Where did you get this?

He broke the seals.

I felt I didn't have a choice.

I suspected Tremblay of bringing that poor woman from Africa to embarrass Elaiemi.

You must continue with your candidacy, Aldo.

Put them back.

Put them back.

Or burn them, or...

Just...

Put them back.

I could never become Pope in these circumstances.

A stolen document, the smearing of a brother cardinal.

I could be the Richard Nixon of Popes.

Then stay clear of this, Peter.

To me, I'm willing to handle the consequences.

You know who's going to benefit most from this?

Tedesco.

The whole basis of his candidacy is that the Holy Father led the Church to disaster by his attempts at reform.

If you reveal this report, it isn't Tremblay's reputation that's going to suffer.

It's the Church's.

Accusing the Curia of institutional corruption.

I thought we were here to serve God, not the Curia.

Don't be naive.

Put them back.

And have Tremblay as Pope?

We've had worse.

What has he offered you?

Secretary of State?

Five times I cast my vote for you, Aldo.

But I was wrong.

You lack the courage required to be Pope.

I will do that for you, Your Eminence.

How many copies do you require?

One hundred and eight.

You are responsible for this, I believe.

No, Eminence, you are.

This report is entirely mendacious.

It would never have seen the light of day if you had not broken into the Holy Father's apartment to remove it.

If the report is mendacious, then why did the Holy Father, in his last official act as Pope, ask you to resign?

He did no such thing, as Monsignor Morales, who was at the meeting.

And yet Archbishop Wozniak insists the Holy Father hold him.

The Holy Father, may his name be numbered among the high priests,

was a sick man toward the end of his life, as those of us who saw him regularly can attest.

If I may add to this kind conversation, I would like to remind you that the names of eight cardinals have been obscured.

Blacked out.

I imagine the dean can tell us who they are.

Let's let them know.

Here, now.

No, I

will not.

Eminence!

Eminence!

Eminences, although we sisters are supposed to be invisible, God has nevertheless given us eyes and ears.

I know what prompted the dean of the college to enter the Holy Father's rooms.

He was concerned that the sister from my order, that made a regrettable scene,

might have been brought to Rome with the deliberate intention of embarrassing a member of this conclave.

His suspicions were correct.

She was indeed here at the specific request of Cardinal Tremblay.

My brothers,

it's true.

But the Holy Father asked me to.

I had no knowledge who this woman was.

I swear to you.

Judah Tremblay.

Seems that we're running out of favorites.

You must take over the supervision of this election, Aldo.

Oh, no, thank you.

You are steering this conclave.

Exactly where, I do not know.

But that firm hand of yours has its admirers.

Thomas, I've come to ask for your forgiveness.

I had the temerity to tell you to examine your heart

when all the time it was my own, but...

it's shameful to be this age and still not know yourself.

Ambition the moth of holiness.

I'm sorry.

So, perhaps it's time you decided upon a name.

As the next most senior member of this conclave, it will fall to me to ask you how you wish to be known as Pope.

For better or for worse, it seems that Tremblay is finished.

This is a contest between Tedesco and you.

You're the only one who can stop him now.

John.

I will choose John.

The head

of Christ the Lord, who is my judge, is the one to choose, which, according to God,

the judge must choose.

Everyone has been taken back to the Casa Santa Marta.

No one was seriously hurt, some cuts, that's all.

Outside in the city, how bad is it?

At 11.20 this morning, a car b*mb exploded in the Piazza del Risorgimento.

Shortly afterwards, as people were fleeing the scene,

an individual with expl*sives strapped to his body detonated himself.

There are reports of further attacks in Louvain and Munich.

The current death toll stands at 52.

Hundreds have been injured.

Here.

Here we finally see the result of the doctrine of relativism,

so dear to our liberal brothers.

A relativism that sees all faiths, all fantasies, have the same weight,

so much so that if we look at the homeland of our Holy Roman Mother Church,

we see it now dotted with minarets, mosques.

You should be ashamed.

We should all be ashamed.

But don't touch me.

Yes, a w*r of religion.

We need a leader who doesn't end to the deriva that has been going on for 50 years.

How long will we have to stay in this weakness?

How long?

We need a leader who fights these animals.

With respect, what do you know about w*r?

I carried out my ministry in the Congo, in Baghdad and Kabul.

I've seen the lines of the dead and wounded, Christian and Muslim.

When you say we have to fight, what is it you think we're fighting?

You think it's those deluded men who had carried out these terrible acts today?

No, my brother.

They're small and petty.

They're only interested in themselves, in Rome,

in the election and power.

And those things are not the Church.

The Church is not tradition.

The Church is not the past.

The Church is what we do in the future.

The Church is not the past.

Lord, Rector and Custos, we ask you in the depths of your famous spirit of intelligence, truth and peace,

that they may be pleased with you, that they may know you with all their heart and follow you with all their virtue.

Through our Lord Christ.

Amen.

Amen.

Do you accept the election of the High Priest?

Do you accept

the election of the High Priest?

I do.

What is your name?

Innocentius.

Monsignor, I'm sorry to interrupt.

Ray, I think you should gather up the Cardinal's notes.

The sooner we light the stoves, the sooner the world will know we have a new Pope.

What is it?

It wasn't...

It wasn't the outcome I expected.

No, but it's wonderful all the same.

If it's my position you're worried about, I can reassure you I feel nothing but relief.

Our new Holy Father will make a much better Pope than I would have ever done.

I wonder if I could ever work in private.

I should have told you this morning when I found out, but with everything that...

And I didn't dream that Cardinal Benitez would become...

Ray, please, tell me what's troubling you.

I found out...

Switzerland...

Cardinal Benitez trooped to Switzerland.

Switzerland, the hospital in Geneva, yes?

It wasn't a hospital.

It was a clinic.

A clinic for what?

Your Holiness, His Holiness refuses to eat.

Excuse me.

May I speak to you alone?

Of course.

I was waiting for you to come.

You must tell me about this treatment at the clinic in Geneva.

Must I?

Yes, you must.

Within the hour you will be the most famous man in the world, so please tell me what is your

situation?

My situation, as you put it, is the same as when I was ordained a priest

and when I was made a cardinal.

But the treatment in Geneva?

There was no treatment.

I considered it, I prayed for guidance and decided against it.

But what would it have been, this treatment?

It was called a laparoscopic hysterectomy.

You have to understand, when I was a child there was no way of knowing my situation was more complicated.

And life in the seminary is, as you know, a very modest one.

The truth is, there simply was no reason to think I was physically different from the other young men.

Then, in my late thirties, I had a surgery to remove my appendix.

And that was when the doctors discovered that I had a uterus and ovaries.

Some would say my chromosomes would define me as being a woman,

and yet I'm also, as you see me,

it was a very dark time for me.

I failed to see my entire life as a priest who had been left in a state of sin.

Of course, I offered my resignation to the Holy Father.

I flew to Rome and I told him everything.

Hynia?

Yes, Hynia.

And he thought it acceptable for you to continue as an ordained minister.

We considered surgery to remove the female parts of my body.

But the night before I was due to fly, I realized I was mistaken.

I was who I had always been.

It seemed to me more of a sin to change his handiwork than to leave my body as it was.

So you are still one.

I am what God made me.

And perhaps it is my difference that would make me more useful.

I think again of your sermon.

I know what it is to exist between the world's certainties.