in the world

Jan 12, 2025

.

Last week I saw the movie Conclave which has just opened in New Zealand.

Since the film’s US release in October I had avoided the reviews and had not read Robert Harris’ 2016 book on which the movie is based so I was able to come to the screening with a fairly open mind.

I suppose it’s natural to have a curiosity about events and processes which are secret and few gatherings are as classified as the conclave election of a pope.

From the opening scenes I was caught up in the drama and intrigue. I love a good story. Yes there were some inaccuracies – including a breaking of the sacred seal of confessional (something which would not happen), and an unrealistically casual lock-up of the Cardinals for the election process. But liberal artistic licence is presumed, excused and expected in the making of movies and Conclave (the movie) is a movie and does not claim to be a catechism class or documentary.

On the drive home after the movie I listened to a few reviews of the film and was surprised at the scathing critiques given by many Catholic commentators.

Most of these seemed to be a defensive protection of an imaginary clerical caste in which imperfection is non-existent.

Other commentators were more considered in their reactions.

I was particularly interested in the comments of Bishop Robert Barron. His insights are always helpful and often inspiring. He opened his review: “If you’re interested in a film about the Catholic Church that could have been written by the editorial board of the New York Times, this is your movie.”

Hearing this I knew that this was a movie which would interest me. Secular media sees faith and the Church from an outside perspective and this view is not only important but necessary for Christians who while not of the world do live in the world.

Barron continued suggesting that in the movie “the hierarchy of the Church is a hotbed of ambition, corruption, and desperate egotism, Conservatives are xenophobic extremists and the liberals are self-important schemers. None can escape this irredeemable situation.”

Bishop Barron concludes: “My advice is to run away from it [the movie] as fast as you can”.

My view is different.

In the cinema last week I was surrounded by many people I knew to be faith-filled Catholics who know the Church and who appreciate that ambition, corruption and egotism are found in every institution including the Church and in every gathering of people including clergy.

However people in the Church also know that through these frail, fickle and fallible human instruments of institution and clergy the power of God continues to be present and and active.

During my two hours in the cinema and in the days since the opening sentence of Vatican II’s final document has been a mantra for me: “The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.”

This quotation from the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World is significant because it announces and authenticates a new era in the life of the Church, not as a perfect society in a world perceived to be evil, but as an instrument of divine life which permeates and leavens every human situation including the earthly Church institution and the people of the Church whatever their vocation.

That’s what I liked about the movie.

Some critics are concerned that Conclave portrays Cardinals as imperfect, driven by ungodly agendas with passions to match. But anyone who does follow clerical news knows that in recent years at least two Cardinals have been permanently removed from their positions for abuse and impropriety – crimes and offences more serious than anything portrayed or implied in the movie. That’s fact not fiction.

Of the one hundred and eight Cardinal electors in the movie fewer than half a dozen have speaking parts. Each of these, in their own unique ways are portrayed as doing their personal best in and for a demanding world and a complex church.

There are many moments of inspiration and prayer as the characters call to God from their doubt with a healthy wariness of their certainties.

I pray that when the Cardinals of the Church next meet to elect a pope they bring as much prayer and passion to the process as those in the movie.

And, without spoiling the story, a final word about two of the chief characters, one the Dean of the College of Cardinals, and the other who in the last minutes of the movie becomes the protagonist.

There was so much I liked about these men, each dealing with the same joys, hopes, griefs and anxieties that are a part of the lives of all healthy people in 2025 Aotearoa and therefore I find it encouraging to think that the same joys, hopes, griefs and anxieties exist in the College of Cardinals.

I liked the openness and honesty of these two. Each of them was an open book, unpretentious, innocent even – without being naive, humble before God and even more inspiringly unafraid of themselves and their personal and private struggles. Neither was particularly ambitious for anything but God, the truth of God, and the truth of themselves.

I’d be happy with either of these characters as the next pope.

 

14 Comments

  1. Superb response Fr John. I 100 percent agree.

    Reply
    • Well rationalized comments Fr John. The beauty of hearing different perspectives broadens our own understandings. Thank you

      Reply
    • I agree with you John even without watching it yet and I am interested to watch this movie.

      Reply
  2. Thank you John for your frank and honest review of the film. Ihaven’t seen it yet but am really looking forward to doing so. Interesting that this follows on from Pope Francis encouraging us to read and experience books of the secular kind, not so long ago.
    Time to enjoy stories for what they are, a source of enjoyment with a meaning and lesson to be found!
    Glad you enjoyed the film, and for taking the time to tell us of your experience of it.

    Reply
  3. I saw the movie shortly after it opened – I was surprised that theater was booked. – I agree totally with you Fr. John. I saw it as pretty true – and I think I would have voted for the one that was voted in.

    Reply
  4. Yes, a gripping movie which held my attention…
    I think I liked the way the Spirit worked and in the end surprised us in the face of humanness.
    As it did in electing +Francis…

    Reply
  5. A beautiful film filled with complex realities of uncertainty and faith co existing. We were treated to an experience of a church closed to the turmoil outside with a focus on the politics and the humanity of each flawed character. Excellent screenplay so I encourage people to check it out. Followed by a lively conversation with a friend or two.

    Reply
  6. Thank you for the reflection on the film. I have it on my to do list already but after reading your reflection & various responses am moving it up to see this week.

    Reply
  7. I totally agree with you and very much enjoyed it, help me to do God’s will for the rest of my life.

    Reply
  8. Great Review ! I was captivated by the drama within CONCLAVE, and not at all shocked that the Holy Spirit surprised us with a Divine Twist. The Mystery of God is in our uncertainty. Yes, the Church is how and what we do next. The film for me was encapsulated in the very final scene : the three young nuns exiting the fine stone building, adorned by statues of saints and sinners, into a courtyard of sunlight and space, and expressing their excitement of joy and chatter. They seemed bursting with life. Jesus comes so that we who believe in Him may have life to the full. John 10:10

    Reply
  9. Thank you, John, for your courage in making public your thoughts about this film. The people who suggest we should not go to see it seem to give us no credit for having discernment. My faith is made stronger by viewing the diamond with all its facets, not just the ones we were told to believe.
    The words from the film, said to come from the Pope who had just died, seem so relevant, that he did not wrestle with his faith in God, but with his faith in the church.

    Reply
  10. I read the book years ago and saw the film and loved every minute of it and thought it portrayed the
    wonderful conclave with reverence, and showed the human side as well as spiritual of the Cardinals. I was surprised at the full theatre who came to view it.

    Reply
  11. “There is one sin which I have come to fear above all others… certainty. If there was only certainty, and no doubt, there would be no mystery. And therefore, no need for faith.”

    Reply
  12. A really well acted film. Well worth seeing. It kept you guessing and showed strengths and flaws, but mostly the huge responsibility carried by those voting. Without giving anything away to those who haven’t seen the film yet, I would have liked the film to end with the choice for Pope. I felt that the revelations at the end of the film took away rather than added to the quality of the film. The person chosen’s vision for the Church was enough to justify the choice.

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Posts

culture & faith

culture & faith

Today we mark 184 years since the first signatures were put to the Treaty of Waitangi

retreating

retreating

My suggestion is that in a time of retreat what we are retreating from is all that is not reality.

heartland

heartland

he simply sought to be fully with the one or two people he was with in any moment, and that was enough.

baptism

baptism

At conception, our human life begins. At baptism, our eternal life begins

the seekers

the seekers

If the Magi had settled for seeking creature comforts, they would never have encountered the Lord.