Dear Parishioners, I have two topics I wanted to talk about in this week’s bulletin.
First, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Holy Day of Obligation this year even though the Feast Day is transferred to Monday. Normally, this Feast Day is on December 8th which is a Sunday this year. Since this is an Advent Sunday, we cannot replace it with the Feast Day. So, we transfer the Feast Day to the next day. In previous years when this has happened, the Immaculate Conception was not a Holy Day of Obligation. However, this year the Vatican has decided that from now on it will still be a Holy Day of Obligation.
Second, you might be tempted to see a new movie about the church called Conclave. I really hope you do not because everything I have been told about the plot shows this movie to be a jab at the faith. We know what is going to happen in this movie because it is based on a novel that came out a couple years ago. While the movie looks like it will be beautifully shot, well-acted, and may even be entertaining, the basic premise of the movie shows itself to be against the faith and mocking the hierarchy.
If you do not believe me, then please let me reveal to you the plot of this movie. Conclave begins with the death of a recent Pope. So, all the Cardinals gather in Rome to elect a new one. The main character is the Cardinal in charge of running the conclave who is greatly concerned with his own ambition and balancing the various factions within the Church. One contender is a supposedly ultra-Orthodox Nigerian Bishop who is described as having bad table manners. Another strong contender is disqualified for buying votes. The conclave then elects a secretly appointed cardinal (who by Canon Law should not be a cardinal because all secret elevations need to be made public before a Pope dies or they are not recognized by the College of Cardinals). The great twist is that this Pope-elect turns out to be biologically female. He is apparently intersex, raised as a male and later found out that he actually was female. This is a secret that the main character decides to keep (even though his ordination would be invalid).
What’s the problem with this plot? First, it disparages the Cardinals and goes out of its way to make them look corrupt, self-serving and foolish. Second, it is not so subtly pro-women’s ordination which Pope John Paul II already declared is impossible. Third, it mocks the faith by making the Nigerian cardinal look like a savage (and he’s supposed to be the orthodox candidate) but also through the main character’s speech shown in the trailer about certainty being a sin and doubt is what makes faith necessary. (I may have to write another article explaining why this statement makes no sense.) Hollywood will continue to produce what we consume. So, please don’t spend your money on what mocks our religion.
God Bless!
Fr. Carter