Conclave – Intriguing intrigue

“The Church is not tradition. The Church is not the past. The Church is what we do next.”

Imagine if the U.S. Senate was locked into the Capitol, and they would choose one of themselves to be the President. They need a 2/3 vote. There is no news in or out while this is going on. There are strong personalities. There are serious differences in philosophies and temperaments. Now transfer that to the Roman Catholic Church choosing a new Pope. There you have the basic premise of Edward Berger’s Conclave.

The film, based on a novel by Robert Harris, is a look at what it might be like inside the conclave that chooses the Pope. The process is centuries old, but it has been tweaked from time to time. Cardinals, the highest ranking clergy below the Pope, are locked into the Vatican until they choose one of their own to lead the church. Because of the secrecy involved and past history of intrigue (in the past the Medici and Borgia families were part of this), the conclave is fertile ground for a story of political intrigue.

The film opens with the death of the Pope. English Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), as the dean of the College of Cardinals, must lead the conclave. Lawrence does not really want this task. In fact, at one point he asked to resign his position because of a crisis of faith, but the Pope would not accept his resignation. He does, however, take his task seriously. There are many details that must be arranged, including the seclusion of all involved.

Just before the conclave starts, a surprise pops up—a priest from Kabul who has a letter stating that he had been secretly appointed (“in pectori”) as a Cardinal. Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz) has served in missions to Congo and Afghanistan. He has not, like the other Cardinals, been part of the church hierarchy. His presence is in some ways controversial, but it also brings an outsider perspective to the process.

There are factions within the College of Cardinals that have differing views of who should be the next Pope. Traditionalists rally behind Cardinal Tadesco (Sergio Castellitto) of Venice. The progressive group favors Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci), an American who has been serving as the Vatican Secretary of State, and who was a friend of the late Pope. Also in the mix are Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati) of Nigeria, who would be the first Pope from Africa, and Cardinal Trembly (John Lithgow) of Montreal, who could be seen as a compromise between factions.

Lawrence becomes instrumental in finding information that would harm the chances of others who are seeking the Papacy. Yet we know that he has no desire for the job. But by elimination of others, he may be setting the stage for the Cardinals to vote for him. The story has several twists and turns, including an explosive deus ex machina that ends up letting some wind (i.e., Holy Spirit) to blow into the Sistine Chapel before the decisive ballot. But even after the election, there is still one more major twist.

The issues involved are boiled down to Traditional and Progressive, although there are certainly more nuanced issues the church and the world face. The two sides are both somewhat caricatured, making it seem like a binary choice, which may never be able to be settled. (And there have been times in the distant past when it has taken a long time.)

Certainly, there are parallels to other political processes. The kinds of alliances formed and secrets leaked remind me of the primary process in American politics. Some times the Cardinals talk not so much of who should be Pope as to who should not—not unlike the way we often choose our leaders. It is interesting that the film hits theaters just a few days before the US Presidential Election (although many of us will have already voted).

But for all the politicking going on within the conclave (and in society), what is really at issue is the future. In the case of a papal conclave, that future is about the direction of the Church, which should mean the Cardinal-electors should be seeking God’s will in the process. We see little of that, although Cardinal Lawrence’s sermon at the opening of the conclave (which is a paean to doubt) does at least bring an important aspect of faith to the proceeding. But it is a later short monologue in the midst of bickering among the cardinals that reminds them (and us) of what is really at stake.

While the film is filled with improbabilities and I’m certain is frequently in conflict with canon law, it is a very nice piece of political intrigue. The twists and secrets along the way make for story that holds our interest in what seems like an arcane event. In reality we will see that it is really a microcosm of not only our political processes, but also of the struggles that churches are constantly facing.

Tradition can be both a blessing and an impediment to churches. The same is true of progressive ideas: they may lead us to new places, but they may move us away from our foundations. In the end the church is made up of both. The tension between them may seem to want to tear the church apart (and it has in many cases). In the end, it is getting in touch again with the Gospel that saves the conclave and may be the salvation of many churches in conflict. It may also be an important part of how we face our own political choices.

Conclave is showing in theaters on October 25th, 2024.