Conclave (2024)

1. Amen.

2. He is with God.

3. The throne of the Holy See is vacant.

4. - Aldo. - Hmm?

5. Hey. Do you think that anybody would mind if I took that?

6. - As a keepsake. - Of course. Take it.

7. He would have wanted you to have it.

8. Because we used to play quite often in the evenings.

9. He said it helped him to relax.

10. - And who won? - Oh, he did.

11. He was always eight moves ahead.

12. Mm.

13. Aldo, I'm sorry.

14. Mm.

15. What happened?

16. Do you know?

17. No. They say a heart attack, but...

18. There had been warnings.

19. Oh, I hadn't heard that.

20. Yeah. He didn't want anyone to know.

21. He was afraid that if word got out that they would start

22. circulating rumors that he was going to resign.

23. The Curia.

24. Yes.

25. Okay.

26. Janusz.

27. I know this is hard for you,

28. but we will have to prepare a-a detailed statement.

29. Who discovered the Holy Father's body?

30. I did, Your Eminence.

31. And then what did you do?

32. I called the Holy Father's doctor.

33. Mm-hmm.

34. - But it was too late. - Mm.

35. And what time was this?

36. At around 11:30, Eminence.

37. We would have called you earlier, but...

38. Thomas, I'm so sorry.

39. I know His Holiness had

40. no colleagues closer than you and Aldo,

41. but I asked Janusz to hold off calling you.

42. I wanted to ascertain all the facts.

43. You know how rumor spreads.

44. I-I've prepared a time line of His Holiness's last day.

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

46. And who was the last to have

47. a scheduled meeting with him?

48. I believe that may have been me.

49. Father Wozniak, I was the last one?

50. You were, Eminence Tremblay.

51. Put in all the meetings he had that day.

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

53. Well, it might look like

54. we were placing a huge burden on a sick man.

55. The papacy is a huge burden.

56. Especially for an older man.

57. Mm.

58. Well, Dean, it seems the responsibility for the conclave

59. falls upon you.

60. Security say they'd like to test the electronic jammers

61. one last time, Your Eminence.

62. Well, then they'd better be quick.

63. I mean, is this really necessary, Willi?

64. Apparently so.

65. They say eavesdroppers can use lasers

66. to read the vibrations on the glass.

67. Really? Well, let's hope none of our brothers

68. suffer from claustrophobia.

69. And who knows how long we're going to be in here?

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

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

72. It will be fine, Your Eminence. It always is.

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

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

75. Well, don't be blasphemous, Ray.

76. Hell arrives tomorrow when we bring in the cardinals.

77. Now, how do I pronounce this?

78. Kahl-koh, Your Eminence. He's Indian.

79. Oh, Kahl-koh. Thank you.

80. Archbishop Wozniak has asked if he might have a word, Eminence.

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

82. The cardinals will be arriving in an hour.

83. - What's it about? - Uh, he didn't say.

84. I-I wouldn't have brought it up.

85. It's just, he seemed so upset.

86. Ray, we're going to be sequestered from 6:00.

87. He should've come to me earlier.

88. Yes, Your Eminence. I'll let him know.

89. No, Ray, tell him that I will see him

90. after I've met the cardinals.

91. The poor fellow will be worrying about his future.

92. So how many is that, Willi?

93. 103, Eminence Lawrence.

94. Well, I wonder where Tedesco has got to.

95. Perhaps he's not coming.

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

97. We could wait inside if you prefer.

98. No, let's stay out here

99. and get some fresh air while we can.

100. Ah.

101. Father Bellini.

102. Aldo.

103. - Am I the last? - Not quite. How are you?

104. Oh, well, you know, fairly dreadful.

105. - Have you seen the papers? - Mm-hmm.

106. Apparently, it's already decided it's to be me.

107. And I happen to agree with them.

108. What if I don't want it?

109. No sane man would want the papacy.

110. Some of our colleagues seem to want it.

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

112. - You are more worthy than any of us. - I'm not.

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

114. to pass the chalice.

115. And let it go to him?

116. I could never live with myself.

117. Ah. Sorry, my train was delayed from Venice.

118. But don't worry.

119. My friends have kept me well-informed.

120. Mah.

121. No one is ever well at our age, no?

122. And you?

123. Huh? How do you feel with your new... huh?

124. responsabilita?

125. Everything under control?

126. No!

127. See you later.

128. Dear Lord.

129. That's enormous.

130. Apparently, Pope John the 23rd

131. was too fat to fit into the biggest cassock,

132. so they had to split the seam at the back

133. for him to get into it.

134. You look tired.

135. Well, all this is

136. a duty I never thought I'd have to perform.

137. I thought he would outlive all of us.

138. We didn't part well.

139. I asked for his permission to resign as dean.

140. Join an order.

141. What did he say?

142. He refused my resignation.

143. Said some were chosen to be shepherds

144. and some to manage the farm.

145. Apparently, I am a manager.

146. He told me about your crisis of faith.

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

148. Well, the pope had doubts about God?

149. No.

150. Never about God.

151. What he had lost faith in was the Church.

152. Father Wozniak?

153. In the name of the Father, the Son

154. and the Holy Ghost.

155. - My last confession was four weeks ago. - Janusz.

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

157. There's still so much to do.

158. Have you been drinking?

159. What's troubling you? Tell me.

160. I should have come to you before.

161. But I promised not to say anything.

162. - Promised who? - Cardinal Tremblay.

163. Janusz, the doors close soon and you'll have to leave.

164. Now, if you promised Cardinal Tremblay,

165. then perhaps it isn't right that you're...

166. The day the pope died,

167. the last person to have an official appointment with him

168. was Cardinal Tremblay.

169. Yes, I know. It's on the official time line.

170. At that meeting, the Holy Father dismissed him.

171. What?

172. He sacked him.

173. Why?

174. For gross misconduct.

175. And you tell me this now?

176. We're about to be sequestered, Janusz.

177. Forgive me, but it wasn't until the last few days

178. when I started to hear the rumors.

179. What rumors?

180. He may be elected pope.

181. Oh, and you see it as your duty to prevent that, do you?

182. I-I no longer know what my duty is.

183. Were you there at this meeting?

184. No, Your Eminence.

185. The Holy Father told me about it afterwards,

186. when we had supper.

187. Did he tell you why he had dismissed Eminence Tremblay?

188. No.

189. He said the reasons would become clear soon enough.

190. Ah. Dean Lawrence.

191. An issue.

192. Oh, dear God.

193. One of them's died?

194. - I'm sorry? - Have we lost a cardinal?

195. No, Your Eminence. We seem to have acquired one.

196. I mean it literally.

197. Another cardinal has just turned up.

198. Well, then we left someone off the list.

199. He was never on our list, Eminence.

200. He says he was created in pectore.

201. Oh, no, then he has to be an imposter, surely.

202. Well, that's what I thought, Eminence.

203. But Archbishop Mandorff has spoken to him and thinks not.

204. Well, what's this I'm hearing?

205. His name is Vincent Benitez, Your Eminence.

206. He's the archbishop of Kabul.

207. Archbishop of where?

208. Kabul.

209. But he is Mexican.

210. The Holy Father appointed him last year.

211. Last year? So how has this been kept a secret for so long?

212. I thought perhaps you would be aware of his elevation.

213. No, I'm not.

214. Ray, ask Eminence Bellini to join us.

215. Maybe he knows something of this.

216. - Yes, Your Eminence. - Thank you.

217. He has a letter of appointment from the pope

218. addressed to the Archdiocese of Kabul,

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

220. Mm-hmm.

221. You don't think he could have forged it?

222. Uh, where is he now?

223. A cardinal in Afghanistan?

224. - Mm. - It's absurd.

225. How many Catholics are there in Afghanistan?

226. Uh, he was head of the Catholic mission there

227. until his elevation.

228. But how can we possibly ensure his safety?

229. Well, presumably, that's why the Holy Father

230. wanted it kept a secret.

231. - Well, it won't be in pectore now. - Mm.

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

233. Wait, wait. Thomas.

234. Are we sure that the Holy Father

235. was entirely competent

236. when he made this appointment?

237. I believe this man is legally a cardinal, Aldo,

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

239. Eminences, before we eat,

240. I'd like to introduce, uh, a new member of our order,

241. whose existence was not known to any of us,

242. uh, until only a few hours ago.

243. This is because our brother was made a cardinal

244. by the perfectly legitimate procedure

245. known as creation in pectore.

246. Now, the reason why it had to be done this way

247. is known only to God and to the late Holy Father.

248. But I think we can guess well enough,

249. as our new brother's ministry is an extremely dangerous one.

250. Welcome to our order, Vincent Benitez,

251. cardinal archbishop of Kabul.

252. Eminence, please, would you bless our meal?

253. Of course.

254. Bless us, O Lord, and these, your gifts,

255. which we are about to receive from your bounty.

256. Amen.

257. Amen.

258. Please come.

259. This is your...

260. Here, come.

261. Lawrence!

262. Oh, I have...

263. - Goffredo. - Tommaso.

264. Take some wine.

265. Grazie.

266. You look anxious.

267. Our new brother...

268. Hmm?

269. Divided by language.

270. Ecco...

271. Things fall apart.

272. The center cannot hold.

273. Mm.

274. It was shrewd of him to stay away from Rome

275. until today.

276. One outspoken newspaper interview

277. could have written Tedesco off.

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

279. Which means?

280. I would say...

281. he's worth 15 votes on the first ballot.

282. And Bellini?

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

284. First ballot?

285. Between 20 and 25.

286. But it is tomorrow night that the real work begins.

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

288. By "real work," you mean what exactly?

289. But, Eminence Bellini,

290. those who seek the papacy...

291. I don't seek the papacy. I...

292. Listen, you don't have to do anything.

293. Just leave it to us.

294. Tell them I stand for a commonsense approach

295. to such issues as gays and divorce.

296. Tell them I stand for never returning to the days

297. of the Latin liturgy

298. or families of ten children because mama and papa

299. didn't know any better.

300. That was an ugly and repressive time,

301. and I'm glad that it's over.

302. Tell them I stand for respecting other faiths,

303. for tolerating other views within our own Church,

304. and tell them that I believe

305. women should play more of a role in the Curia.

306. Let's, uh... let's not mention women.

307. Why?

308. Brother, I have no intention of concealing my views

309. or pretending to be anything other than I am

310. in order to sway any of our number who are undecided.

311. So...

312. if you want to canvass on my behalf,

313. then make sure that my message is clear.

314. I stand for everything that Tedesco does not.

315. Okay. If you'll excuse me.

316. All right.

317. Rocco, you talk to the Americans.

318. Villanueva, I leave the South Americans to you.

319. Gianmarco, you take the Africans.

320. Aldo doesn't want it.

321. Any of it.

322. You know that, don't you?

323. Of course I do. That's why I support him.

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

325. I'm enjoying all this mystery, Thomas.

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

327. Your last meeting with the Holy Father.

328. Oh, what about it?

329. Well, I've been told it was difficult.

330. - Was it? - Difficult? No.

331. Not that I can recall.

332. Well, I'm sorry to have to ask you this, Joe,

333. but to be specific, I was told

334. that the Holy Father demanded your resignation.

335. What?

336. That's absurd. I...

337. I don't know what... Wh-Who told you that?

338. - Archbishop Wozniak. - Why would he say such a thing?

339. So there isn't any truth in the allegation?

340. Oh, God, no, of course not. It's absurd.

341. You don't think that...

342. - No, well, I-I had to ask. - Oh, I understand, but no.

343. Y-You can ask Monsignor Morales.

344. He was at the meeting.

345. Well, I would, but at the moment,

346. we happen to be sequestered.

347. Oh.

348. Can you think of any reason why

349. Archbishop Wozniak would circulate such a story?

350. No, I can't.

351. I really... D-Do you want a coffee?

352. No.

353. I'm shocked.

354. - He told you this himself? - Yes.

355. You don't think...

356. What?

357. The drinking.

358. I don't like to bring it up, but we both know

359. his drinking has been getting much heavier.

360. And perhaps it's affecting his judgment, h-his mind even.

361. And...

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

363. and if the archbishop doesn't approve of that idea,

364. maybe he's...

365. I don't know. I-I'm just trying to make sense of this.

366. And the poor man.

367. He was shattered by the Holy Father's death.

368. Yes, indeed.

369. Again, Joe, uh, my apologies.

370. No, not at all.

371. I completely understand.

372. Um...

373. What did you discuss with the Holy Father

374. in that final meeting?

375. Forgive me, Thomas.

376. It was a private conversation.

377. And very precious.

378. Those were the last words I ever exchanged

379. with the Holy Father.

380. Yes, of course.

381. Good night, Joe.

382. Good night, Thomas.

383. - Decano. - Ah.

384. Oh, we are neighbors, Joshua.

385. Ah. It appears so.

386. I thought that I should, uh...

387. do a little more work on my homily for tomorrow.

388. Ah, yes, of course.

389. I look forward to it.

390. I understand the trick is to offend no one.

391. You're a manager.

392. Manage.

393. Decano Lawrence?

394. - Eminenza. - Tutto bene, grazie.

395. But you know all that.

396. Let me speak from the heart for a moment.

397. Saint Paul said, "Be subject to one another

398. out of reverence for Christ."

399. To work together, to, uh, to grow together,

400. we must be tolerant.

401. No one person or-or faction seeking to dominate another.

402. And speaking to the Ephesians,

403. who were of course a mixture of Jews and gentiles,

404. Paul reminds us that God's gift to the Church

405. is its variety.

406. It is this variety, this diversity of people and views,

407. which gives our Church its strength.

408. And over the course of many years,

409. in the service of our mother the Church, let me tell you,

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

411. Certainty.

412. Certainty is the great enemy of unity.

413. Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance.

414. Even Christ was not certain at the end.

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

416. Our faith is a living thing

417. precisely because it walks hand in hand with doubt.

418. If there was only certainty and no doubt,

419. there would be no mystery.

420. And therefore no need for faith.

421. Let us pray that God will grant us a pope who doubts.

422. And let him grant us a pope who sins

423. and asks for forgiveness and who carries on.

424. Dean Lawrence,

425. your homily has caused quite the stir.

426. I don't think anyone expected you to...

427. What, to say something interesting?

428. - I'll have a transcript made of the recording. - Mm-hmm.

429. If, uh... if there's nothing else.

430. - Grazie. Grazie. - Eminence.

431. Yes, um...

432. I, uh, I need you to do something for me.

433. Monsignor Morales.

434. I'm sure he's still in Rome.

435. - Could you try and see him? - Today? Well, I...

436. Use my authority.

437. I'd like to know what happened in the final meeting

438. between Cardinal Tremblay and the Holy Father.

439. What happened?

440. Specifically, did anything occur

441. that might render Tremblay unfit for the papacy?

442. Of course, Your Eminence.

443. Bless you.

444. Cardinale Tremblay.

445. Cardinale Tedesco.

446. Cardinale Adeyemi.

447. Cardinale Lawrence.

448. Cardinale Bellini.

449. Cardinale Bellini.

450. Cardinale Villanueva.

451. Cardinale Tremblay.

452. Cardinale Adeyemi.

453. Cardinale Tremblay.

454. Cardinale Tedesco.

455. Cardinale Bellini.

456. Cardinale Adeyemi.

457. The media have noticed the presence of a cardinal

458. who doesn't appear on the official list, Dean,

459. Cardinal Benitez,

460. so I've taken the liberty of putting together

461. a draft statement.

462. I've also put together some biographical details

463. for yourself.

464. Ministries in Veracruz, the Congo,

465. where he established a hospital

466. for the female victims of genocidal sexual violence

467. during the first and second wars.

468. - Then Baghdad and finally the mission in Kabul. - Right.

469. There was some question of his resigning on health grounds,

470. but apparently the Holy Father convinced him to continue.

471. He's certainly served his ministry

472. - in some terrible places. - Yes.

473. Health grounds?

474. Uh, look into that, would you, Ray?

475. It's the kind of thing the press like to get hold of.

476. Of course.

477. And the, um... the other matter, the...

478. Yes.

479. I spoke to Monsignor Morales.

480. He was emphatic that he knows of no reason

481. why Cardinal Tremblay should not be pope.

482. - Thank you. - However,

483. will you forgive me if I say

484. I did not entirely believe the good monsignor?

485. He was just...

486. so emphatic.

487. My Spanish is quite poor, and I may have accidentally

488. given him the impression that you had seen a document

489. that contradicts that, and he said

490. you weren't to worry, that... and his exact words were...

491. A report? A report about what?

492. Withdrawn when?

493. That I couldn't say, Eminence.

494. Mm.

495. Third place.

496. Not what we had hoped.

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

498. You have far too little support

499. to emerge as a serious candidate.

500. Well, my position is an embarrassment to me.

501. If I find out who my supporters are,

502. I'll plead with them to vote for someone else.

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

504. All right.

505. That leaves 31 votes available.

506. We simply have to pick up most of them.

507. The Holy Father's turtles.

508. He was very fond of them.

509. A gift from Angola.

510. I thought I was imagining them.

511. I love them. They're so clever.

512. Well, here they keep escaping and being run over.

513. We should go back. The evening curfew.

514. And your health, how are you bearing up?

515. My health is perfect. Thank you.

516. I only meant have you recovered from your journey?

517. - I have indeed. - Good.

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

519. Yes. I voted for you.

520. Forgive me. Am I not supposed to say?

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

522. No, I'm honored, but, my dear Vincent...

523. May I call you Vincent?

524. I'm not a serious candidate.

525. My vocation lies in a different...

526. After the conclave, I hope to resign as dean

527. and then leave Rome altogether.

528. Why?

529. I've been experiencing difficulties.

530. With your faith?

531. Prayer.

532. I only mention it to illustrate

533. my point that I'm in no way worthy to be pope.

534. Come.

535. Aldo.

536. Aldo?

537. I-I feel wretched that my-my meager tally of votes

538. may have come at your expense.

539. Hmm.

540. I had no idea you were so ambitious.

541. Oh, that's a ridiculous thing to say.

542. Is it?

543. Is it?

544. I thought we had your support.

545. If we liberals are not united, Tedesco will become pope.

546. You have no idea how bad it became, Thomas.

547. The way he and his circle

548. attacked the Holy Father towards the end.

549. The smears, the leaks to the press.

550. It was savage.

551. He fought him every single day of his pontificate.

552. And now that he's dead,

553. he wants to destroy his life's work.

554. If Tedesco becomes pope,

555. he will undo 60 years of progress.

556. Y-You talk as if you are the only alternative.

557. - Well... - But Adeyemi has the wind behind him.

558. - Adeyemi? Adeyemi? - Mm-hmm.

559. The man who believes that homosexuals should be

560. sent to prison in this world and hell in the next?

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

562. If you want to defeat Tedesco...

563. "Defeat"? This is a conclave, Aldo.

564. It's not a war.

565. It is a war!

566. And you have to commit to a side!

567. Save your precious doubts for your prayers.

568. You can't seriously believe

569. that I have the slightest desire to become pope.

570. Oh, come on!

571. Every cardinal has that desire.

572. Every cardinal, deep down, has already chosen the name

573. by which he would like his papacy to be known.

574. Well, I haven't.

575. Deny it if you like.

576. But search your heart, and then tell me it isn't so.

577. Well, I take it something has happened.

578. There's been an explosion, Your Eminence,

579. in the Piazza Barberini.

580. - A bomb? - It's unclear at the moment.

581. There are injuries.

582. No talk of fatalities, though.

583. We must say nothing

584. to the cardinal electors about this, Ray.

585. We are sequestered, and they must be shielded

586. from all news that may influence their judgment.

587. - You understand? - Of course, Your Eminence.

588. This is exactly what I believe.

589. What am I supposed to tell them in Milan

590. when they start to discover our new pope's social views?

591. Tell your congregation that they should celebrate

592. the first African pope in the history of the Church.

593. If Adeyemi was white,

594. we'd be all condemning him as more reactionary than Tedesco.

595. Just only because he's not white...

596. It's too late for all that.

597. It's too late.

598. What happened?

599. Oh, good afternoon, sister.

600. I would like to speak to the nun

601. - who dropped her tray just now. - She's safe with me.

602. I'm dealing with the situation, Dean.

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

604. I hardly think a dropped tray

605. should concern the dean of the College of Cardinals.

606. Even so, I...

607. The welfare of the sister is my responsibility.

608. And this conclave is mine.

609. Please sit, my child.

610. My name is Cardinal Lawrence.

611. How are you feeling?

612. She's feeling much better.

613. Could you tell me your name?

614. Shanumi. Her name is Shanumi.

615. Please, please do sit down.

616. I-I really think it would be better

617. if you let me deal with the situation...

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

619. Sister Shanumi,

620. I want you to understand that, first of all,

621. you are not in any kind of trouble.

622. The fact of the matter is that I have a responsibility

623. before God to ensure that the decisions that we make here

624. are the right ones.

625. Now, it's important you tell me anything that is in your heart

626. or that is troubling you,

627. insofar as it relates to Cardinal Adeyemi.

628. Can you do that for me?

629. Even if I give you my assurance

630. it will go no further than this room?

631. Would you like me to hear your confession?

632. I'll be ready in a moment, Dean.

633. - Shouldn't we be going? - In a moment.

634. That sounds ominous.

635. If this is about the incident downstairs,

636. I have no desire to talk about it.

637. I am the victim of a disgraceful plot

638. to ruin my reputation.

639. Someone brought that woman here and staged this melodrama.

640. She'd never left Nigeria before,

641. and suddenly she's here in the Casa Santa Marta...

642. Well, with respect, Joshua, how she came here is secondary

643. to the issue of your relationship with her.

644. I have no relationship to her!

645. I hadn't set eyes on her in 30 years

646. until she turned up outside my room last night!

647. It was a lapse, Dean.

648. A lapse.

649. "Let God grant us a pope who sins

650. and asks forgiveness and carries on."

651. - Your words. - And the child?

652. The child?

653. The child was raised in a Christian household.

654. And to this day, he has no idea who his father is,

655. if indeed it is me.

656. That is the child.

657. We were very young.

658. No, no, no, Joshua.

659. She was very young. She was 19 years old.

660. - You were 30. - Thomas.

661. Thomas.

662. Listen to me. Please.

663. I sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit this morning,

664. I swear it.

665. I am ready to take this burden.

666. D-Does a single... single mistake 30 years ago

667. disqualify me?

668. Thomas, please. I was a different man.

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

670. Joshua, that thought's not worthy of you.

671. Shanumi will say nothing to protect her son.

672. And I am bound by the vows of the confessional.

673. So I still have hope.

674. No.

675. There is no hope.

676. After such a public scene, there will be rumors,

677. and you know what the Curia is like.

678. Nothing terrifies our colleagues more than

679. the thought of yet more sexual scandals.

680. I am more sorry than I can say.

681. You will never be pope.

682. You must begin again.

683. But you are a good man.

684. I know you to be a good man,

685. and you will find a way to atone.

686. Will you pray with me?

687. Yes, of course.

688. Yes, Ray?

689. The incident this morning, Your Eminence.

690. I have more information if...

691. No, I, too, must be shielded from any knowledge which could

692. act as an interference in the process of this conclave.

693. Of course, Your Eminence.

694. - Anything else? - Uh...

695. Oh. Cardinal Benitez.

696. - His health problems. - Mm-hmm.

697. He was issued a round-trip ticket to Geneva,

698. paid for by the pope's own account.

699. I checked his visa application.

700. The purpose for travel was given as "medical treatment."

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

702. The ticket was canceled. He never went.

703. All right. Thank you.

704. Forgive me, Your Eminence.

705. I know you said we should forget about the matter

706. - of the withdrawn report. - Yes.

707. But I-I wondered,

708. in light of Cardinal Tremblay's current position...

709. I-I could see if I could find out...

710. No, no, I'm not a witchfinder.

711. It's not my job to go hunting for secrets

712. in my colleagues' pasts.

713. Forgive me.

714. Please, no more investigations.

715. I...

716. think we've heard enough secrets.

717. Let God's will be done.

718. Yes, of course.

719. Good night then, Your Eminence.

720. Well, is this really necessary?

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

722. Well, it isn't going to take long.

723. Our friend here doesn't have sufficient support

724. amongst our colleagues to be elected pope.

725. Well, it isn't over yet.

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

727. So, now the question arises:

728. If I can't win,

729. whom do I advise my supporters to vote for?

730. Thomas, I am no more an enthusiast

731. for Tremblay than you are.

732. But we have to face the fact that...

733. We have to face the fact

734. that he has demonstrated broad appeal.

735. - Maybe he'll be a unifying force. - No, no.

736. - What? - Is this what we're reduced to?

737. Considering the least worst option?

738. But the field has narrowed.

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

740. And that's exactly what Tedesco wants.

741. We had a pope who was in the Hitler Youth

742. and fought for the Nazis.

743. We had popes accused of colluding

744. with communists and fascists.

745. We had popes who have ignored reports

746. of most appalling sexual abuse of children!

747. Shh. Okay, shush.

748. We take the point.

749. The point is we will never find a candidate

750. who doesn't have any kind of black mark against them.

751. We're mortal men.

752. We serve an ideal.

753. We cannot always be ideal.

754. Then we're agreed.

755. We urge all our supporters to back Tremblay.

756. Good.

757. The other night, you were kind enough

758. to say that you had voted for me.

759. Now, I don't know if you've continued to do so,

760. but if you have, then I must repeat my plea to you to stop.

761. Why?

762. Well, firstly, I lack the spiritual depth to be pope.

763. Secondly, I couldn't possibly win.

764. A long, drawn-out conclave would be seen by the media

765. as proof that the Church is in crisis.

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

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

768. Cardinal Tremblay already spoke to me about this.

769. Oh, well, I'm sure he has.

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

771. I do not want to see Tedesco as pope.

772. He would take our Church back to-to an earlier era.

773. I'm sorry, but I cannot vote for a man

774. unless I deem him the most worthy to be pope.

775. And for me, that is not Tremblay.

776. It's you.

777. I don't want your vote!

778. Nevertheless, you have it.

779. Sister Shanumi is on her way home to Nigeria.

780. There was a flight to Lagos this evening,

781. and I thought it was best for everyone if she was on it.

782. How did Sister Shanumi come to be in Rome?

783. I received notification

784. from the office of the Superioress General

785. that she would be joining us.

786. The arrangement were made in Paris.

787. You should ask Rue de Bac, Your Eminence.

788. I would except, of course,

789. I am sequestered for the duration of the conclave.

790. Then you should ask them afterwards.

791. Uh, the information is of value to me now.

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

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

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

795. I think the Holy Father knew he was dying,

796. and for some reason, he wanted me to run this conclave.

797. Which is what I'm trying to do.

798. For him.

799. I would like you to withdrawyour name from the next ballot.

800. You are not the right man to be pope.

801. Well, 40 of our colleagues

802. would disagree with you on that.

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

804. This is sad, Thomas.

805. I shall pray for you.

806. I know there was some kind of report into your activities.

807. I know the Holy Father raised the matter with you

808. hours before he died

809. and that he dismissed you from all your posts,

810. and I know that somehow you discovered

811. Adeyemi's surrender to temptation 30 years ago

812. and that you arranged for the woman involved

813. to be brought to Rome with the express intention

814. of destroying Adeyemi's chances of becoming pope.

815. I deny that accusation.

816. Well, you deny asking our superioress

817. to transfer one of her sisters to Rome?

818. No. I asked her.

819. - But not on my own behalf. - Well, on whose behalf, then?

820. The Holy Father's.

821. Oh, you would libel the Holy Father in his own home?

822. It isn't libel.

823. It's the truth.

824. The Holy Father gave me the name of a sister

825. and asked me to make a private request to bring her to Rome.

826. I have no idea why, and now you have chosen to...

827. You should be careful, Thomas.

828. Your own ambition has not gone unnoticed.

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

830. Well, that's a despicable accusation.

831. Is it?

832. I wonder...

833. if you really are so very reluctant

834. to have the chalice passed to you.

835. I shall pretend this conversation never took place.

836. But it has taken place!

837. It's the report on the activities of Tremblay.

838. It's an overwhelming prima facie case

839. that he is guilty of simony, which of course

840. is an offense stipulated in the Holy Scriptures...

841. I'm aware of what simony is. Thank you.

842. He only obtained all those votes in the first ballot

843. because he bought them.

844. Cardenas, Diene, Figarella, Baptiste.

845. And all this in the last 12 months

846. when he must have guessed the Holy Father's pontificate

847. was-was coming to an end.

848. How do we know that this money wasn't used

849. for completely legitimate purposes?

850. Because I've seen no bank statements.

851. Dear God.

852. Seems the Holy Father was spying on all of us.

853. He didn't trust anyone.

854. Where did you get this?

855. You broke the seals.

856. I felt I didn't have a choice.

857. I suspected Tremblay

858. of bringing that poor woman from Africa to embarrass Adeyemi.

859. You must continue with your candidacy, Aldo.

860. Put them back.

861. Put them back.

862. Or burn them or...

863. Just put them back.

864. I could never become pope in these circumstances.

865. A stolen document, the smearing of a brother cardinal?

866. I'd be the Richard Nixon of popes.

867. Then stay clear of this. Leave it to me.

868. I'm willing to handle the consequences.

869. You know who's gonna benefit most from this?

870. Tedesco.

871. The whole basis of his candidacy

872. is that the Holy Father led the Church to disaster

873. by his attempts at reform.

874. If you reveal this report,

875. it isn't Tremblay's reputation that's going to suffer.

876. It's the Church's.

877. Accusing the Curia of institutional corruption.

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

879. Oh, don't be naive.

880. Put them back.

881. And have Tremblay as pope?

882. We've had worse.

883. What has he offered you?

884. Secretary of state?

885. Five times I cast my vote for you, Aldo.

886. But I was wrong.

887. You lack the courage required to be pope.

888. I will do that for you, Your Eminence.

889. Oh.

890. How many copies do you require?

891. Uh, 108.

892. You are responsible for this, I believe.

893. No, Eminence. You are.

894. This report is entirely mendacious!

895. It would never have seen the light of day if you had not

896. broken into the Holy Father's apartment to remove it!

897. If the report is mendacious, then why did the Holy Father,

898. in his last official act as pope, ask you to resign?

899. He did no such thing.

900. As Monsignor Morales, who was at the meeting...

901. And yet Archbishop Wozniak insists the Holy Father...

902. The Holy Father, may his name be numbered

903. among the high priests,

904. was a sick man toward the end of his life,

905. as those of us who saw him regularly can attest.

906. Blacked out!

907. If Cardinal Tremblay requested their votes

908. in return for the money...

909. Let each man examine his conscience as I have.

910. I have no desire to create bitterness in this conclave,

911. and I will be happy to stand down as dean.

912. You see? You see?

913. Eminenze!

914. Eminenze!

915. Eminences.

916. Although we sisters are supposed to be invisible,

917. God has nevertheless given us eyes and ears.

918. I know what prompted the dean of the College

919. to enter the Holy Father's rooms.

920. He was concerned that the sister from my order

921. that made that regrettable scene

922. might have been brought to Rome with the deliberate intention

923. of embarrassing a member of this conclave.

924. His suspicions were correct.

925. She was indeed here at the specific request

926. of Cardinal Tremblay.

927. My brothers,

928. it's true.

929. But the Holy Father asked me to.

930. I had no knowledge who this woman was,

931. I swear to you.

932. Seems that we're running out of favorites.

933. You must take over the supervision

934. of this election, Aldo.

935. Oh, no, thank you.

936. You are steering this conclave.

937. Exactly where, I do not know.

938. But that firm hand of yours has its admirers.

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

940. I had the temerity

941. to tell you to examine your heart,

942. when all the time, it was my own that...

943. It's shameful.

944. To be this age and still not know yourself.

945. Ambition, the moth of holiness.

946. I'm sorry.

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

948. As the next most senior member of this conclave,

949. it will fall to me to ask you

950. how you wish to be known as pope.

951. For better or for worse,

952. it would seem that Tremblay is finished.

953. This is a contest between Tedesco and you.

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

955. John.

956. I would choose John.

957. Everyone has been taken back

958. to the Casa Santa Marta, Your Eminence.

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

960. Outside in the city, how bad is it?

961. Oh, dear God.

962. At 11:20 this morning,

963. a car bomb exploded in

964. the Piazza del Risorgimento.

965. Shortly afterwards, as people were fleeing the scene,

966. an individual with explosives strapped to his body

967. detonated himself.

968. There are reports of further attacks

969. in Leuven and Munich.

970. The current death toll stands...

971. at 52.

972. Hundreds have been injured.

973. - You should be ashamed. - Ashamed?

974. - Ashamed. - We should all be ashamed!

975. who fights these animals!

976. Is this the man you want to lead us?

977. My brother cardinal.

978. My brother cardinal.

979. With respect...

980. what do you know about war?

981. I carried out my ministry in the Congo.

982. In Baghdad, in Kabul.

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

984. Christian and Muslim.

985. When you say we have to fight,

986. what is it you think we're fighting?

987. You think it's those deluded men

988. who have carried out these terrible acts today?

989. No, my brother.

990. Amen.

991. Bellini.

992. Benitez.

993. Lawrence.

994. Tedesco.

995. Lawrence.

996. Monsignor.

997. I'm sorry to interrupt.

998. Ray.

999. I think you should gather up the cardinals' notes.

1000. The sooner we light the stove,

1001. the sooner the world will know we have a new pope.

1002. What is it?

1003. It wasn't...

1004. wasn't the outcome I expected.

1005. No, but it's wonderful all the same.

1006. If it's my position you're worried about,

1007. I can reassure you I feel nothing but relief.

1008. Our new Holy Father will make a much better pope

1009. than I would ever have done.

1010. I wonder if I could have a word in private.

1011. I should have told you this morning when I found out,

1012. but with everything that...

1013. and I didn't dream

1014. that Cardinal Benitez would become...

1015. Ray, please tell me what's troubling you.

1016. I found out...

1017. Switzerland.

1018. Cardinal Benitez's trip to Switzerland.

1019. Switzerland. The-the hospital in Geneva, yes?

1020. It wasn't a hospital.

1021. It was a clinic.

1022. A clinic for what?

1023. - May I speak to you alone? - Of course.

1024. I was waiting for you to come.

1025. You must tell me about this treatment

1026. at the clinic in Geneva.

1027. - Must I, Dean? - Yes, you must.

1028. Within the hour, you'll be the most famous man in the world,

1029. so please tell me.

1030. What is your situation?

1031. My situation, as you put it,

1032. is the same as when I was ordained a priest.

1033. And when I was made a cardinal.

1034. But the treatment in Geneva?

1035. There was no treatment.

1036. I considered it.

1037. I prayed for guidance and decided against it.

1038. But what would it have been, this treatment?

1039. It was called a laparoscopic hysterectomy.

1040. You have to understand.

1041. When I was a child, there was no way of knowing

1042. my situation was more complicated.

1043. And life in the seminary is, as you know, a very modest one.

1044. The truth is, there simply was no reason to think

1045. I was physically different from the other young men.

1046. Then, in my late 30s,

1047. I had a surgery to remove my appendix.

1048. And that was when the doctors discovered

1049. that I had a uterus.

1050. And ovaries.

1051. Some would say my chromosomes would define me

1052. as being a woman.

1053. And yet I'm also as you see me.

1054. It was a very dark time for me.

1055. I felt as if my entire life as a priest

1056. had been lived in a state of sin.

1057. Of course, I offered my resignation to the Holy Father.

1058. I flew to Rome, and I told him everything.

1059. He knew?

1060. Yes. He knew.

1061. And he thought it acceptable for you to continue

1062. as an ordained minister?

1063. We considered surgery to remove the female parts of my body.

1064. But the night before I was due to fly,

1065. I realized I was mistaken.

1066. I was who I had always been.

1067. It seemed to me more of a sin to change his handiwork

1068. than to leave my body as it was.

1069. So you are still, um...

1070. I am what God made me.

1071. And perhaps it is my difference that will make me more useful.

1072. I think again of your sermon.

1073. I know what it is to exist

1074. between the world's certainties.