Wei Mo (School of Foreign Chinese, Shanghai Maritime University)
On Christmas 2019, a high-profile film, The Two Popes, was released in North America to rave reviews and was nominated for three Oscar heavyweight awards (Best Actor, Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay). The film is based on a major and true historical event, which tells the story of Pope Benedict XVI (played by Anthony Hopkins) who voluntarily resigned from the pope after the scandals of the Catholic Church were constantly exposed in the early 21st century, and under the mediation of power, the Argentine bishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio (played by Jonathan Pres) was elected as the new Pope (today's Pope Francisco). When Bishop Begrio put on the Pope's special white clothes and walked into the central balcony to face the crowd, the first Pope from the southern hemisphere was born, and he was also the first Jesuit to become pope. Pope Francis' succession to the "throne of St. Peter the Apostle" is one of the most dramatic transfers of power in the Roman Catholic world.
The Hong Kong version of China translates the title as "White Smoke of the Holy See", mainly based on the "white smoke" of the Holy See chimney rising during the election of the Pope in the movie, to show the image of the new person elected as a close-up, so the translation can also be described as superb. The film is brightly colored, the colorful Sistine zenith frescoes, the cardinal's red robes, the black and white clips presented in the form of flashbacks, etc., the collision of colors seems to have a layer of deep meaning that is difficult to say. Many of the major plots of the story have been artistically processed, and the conflict of colors has a significant allusion, reflecting the multi-sided wrestling events and realities in the modern history of the world wrapped up by religious forces.
Stills from The Succession of the Pope
In addition to the color, the dialogue is also a major highlight of the film. The two popes have several major "rival plays", including arguments on theological views, differences in the development of the church, and confessions of personal historical encounters, etc., and the tit-for-tat confrontation between the two popes is extremely exciting. From this plot, as viewers, we can all imagine the "sword and light sword shadow" in the real dialogue scene of history. But what I am concerned about is precisely the blank space of the film, and the gaps that fall into silence are the key to the succession of the Pope.
The inheritance of conservatism and innovation
Dante's Divine Comedy denounces the abdication of the Pope as a cowardly demeanor. Throughout the history of the Church, it is extremely rare for the Pope to announce his abdication in the living. In the nearly two thousand years that the Holy Order operated, only one case occurred in the Middle Ages. In 1294, Celestine V (Celestine V) -1294) was elected Pope at the age of 85, but was forced to abdicate six months later by the powerful cardinal, succeeding Pope Bonifacius VIII (1234-1303), due to his inability to cope with the internal and external affairs of the Holy See. Of course, there have also been some moments in history when the opposition between true and false popes has existed, usually because of the contradictory views held, and cannot be combined with the Holy See. As for the Pope who took the initiative to let go, Benedict XVI is the first man in ancient times.
In 2005, after the death of Pope John Paul II (1920-2005), 112 cardinals scattered in 52 countries (cardinals, which can also be translated as "cardinals" according to the color of their uniforms) gathered in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican to participate in the papal election, and those elected received at least two-thirds of the votes, or 77 votes. The first round of voting ended, unsurprisingly, with black smoke rising, with the highest number of votes being 47 votes by German Bishop Joseph Alois Ratzinger and second by Argentine Bishop Begrio with 10 votes. Racsinger was a theological titan of great prestige, the head of the Council of Cardinals, an important supporter and right-hand man of John Paul II, and a representative of the conservatives. Bergoglio, on the other hand, was a reformative Jesuit who reached out to the populace and advocated that the church should adapt to the changing times. At lunch, Ratzinger lobbied mostly for cardinals to explain his philosophy in the hope of getting results in the second round of voting. Sure enough, after the second vote, white smoke rose from the chimney, and Bishop Lasinger was elected, giving him the name "Benedict", known as "Benedict XVI".
The College of Cardinals voted for the new Pope
However, benedict XVI's inauguration was no longer anachronistic. With the advent of the information revolution, the world has undergone tremendous changes, freedom of marriage, freedom of abortion, freedom of sexual orientation, etc., have become the norm in society, and Benedict XVI is an elitist from the old society, befriending bankers and politicians, adhering to power structures and rules, and the changes in the external environment and the demands of the people are far away. He continued the position of the previous John Paul II, rejecting contraception, abortion, homosexuality, etc., believing that all acts contrary to the Bible were perverse, so his election caused the momentum of reform of the Catholic Church to be again frustrated. In addition, the numerous factional struggles within the Holy See, bank scandals, and the rise of scandalous cases of child prostitution have further intensified the contradictions between the Church and the external society.
In 2012, Bergriott, a bishop in Argentina in South America, went to the Vatican to ask the Pope for his resignation. After many years, the two former opponents are full of silver hair. The elderly Benedict XVI needed pacemaker support. After the usual greeting, the Pope was very unhappy with Begrio's resignation. How the Holy See, in the midst of a scandal, responded to the resignation of a reformist representative can be seen as a direct protest against the conservative forces of the Holy See. Begrio also makes no secret of his disappointment with the church today, which is now derailed from the real world and has lost credibility, and bishops and priests are like salesmen, peddling an expired commodity to the faithful. Benedict XVI argued that doctrine should be static and constant, while Begrio believed that doctrine should evolve with the times, and the two argued about it.
Begrio was one of Benedict XVI's harsh critics, and since his appointment as Bishop of Argentina, he has refused to live in the lavish episcopal residence. His simple and people-friendly style of life, in the eyes of the conservatives represented by Benedict XVI, is simply to point the spearhead of criticism at other bishops with actions, believing that their lives are luxurious in contrast. In addition, Begrio accepted homosexuality, remarriage of divorced people, etc., and he often preached in the crowd and personally distributed food, including to non-believers. For in his view, the meaning of the Communion was not to reward the wise, but to provide food to those who starved. These explanations seemed to Benedict XVI to be strong rhetoric and "the work of narrow relativism". If the interpretation of dogma is changed because of a change in positions and conditions, then what authority does the church have. Benedict XVI once said of this warning: "If the church marries this age, it must be widowed in the next age." Benedict XVI, a conservative, and Bergoglio, an innovative, seem to have a hard time convincing each other.
A few days later, Benedict XVI privately informed Begrio of his intention to resign and asked Bergoglio to take over. "God wants the next Pope to fix the mistakes of the previous one." Begrio was shocked because the abdication of the Pope was rare in the long history of the Catholic Church. And at this time, the Holy See is accepting questions from the outside world, which is bound to lead to more speculation, and most importantly, it is difficult for the faithful to accept. The so-called Pope is the successor of Jesus, who is believed to have been crucified on the cross, bearing all the sins of mankind. It is the preaching, suffering and sacrifice of successive popes in the world that has ensured the legitimacy of religious power. If the Pope resigns, it could even be seen as a betrayal, which would irreparably damage the legitimacy of the Roman Catholic Church. The question that Bergo was worried about was naturally taken into account by the Pope. But now the Holy See is in internal and external difficulties, and the old order and experience can no longer help him manage. The Holy See is faced with twelve hundred million believers, and only by resolving the contradictions between the Church and the times and completing this transition will the authority of the Holy See not be subverted by the faithful, so he needs a suitable successor to do everything possible to complete this transition of power smoothly. In Benedict XVI's view, this person was none other than Begrio.
In February of the following year, Pope Benedict XVI announced in his speech that he had decided to resign from his post as Pope for personal reasons, in which he told the faithful that he would no longer be the leader of the Catholic Church, but a pilgrim who would embark on his last journey on the pilgrimage. In the same year, Begrio was elected new pope and named Francis, and he was the first pope to take the name "Francis". Instead of changing into the pope's exquisite shawl and ribbon as is customary, he appeared before the world in a simple manner, accepting people's cheers and expectations for the new era. After taking office, Pope Francis worked to correct some of Benedict XVI's mistakes, break down the walls of the Catholic Church, and tolerate contraception, homosexuality and other issues, while paying more attention to poverty, children, immigration and economic injustice. He was an apostle of the Information Age, a defender of the New Order of the Catholic Church, and a member of the Jesuit Society, one of the most elite religious orders of the Holy See.
Black memories of the "Pope in Black" with Francis
"The Black Pope" is a vivid parable referring to the Superior General. The costumes of the Jesuits were unified in black, in sharp contrast to the black and white of the Pope's costumes. Due to the growing influence of the Jesuits in religious affairs during the reign of Napoleon, they were often the king's confessional priests and even worshipped the Pope. In 1814, in the period after the Restoration of the Jesuits, they soon returned to the center of the affairs of the Holy See. Therefore, as the power of the orders is rising, the head of the Jesuits is often regarded as the "black pope" who really holds the authority. A French Jesuit also applied this term to the novel (Le jésuite, 1865). By the end of the 19th century, the term "Pope in Black" had become a convention throughout the Continent, but it also contained a mockery of the way the Jesuits were missioned, with a certain negative connotation, meaning that the Jesuits seemed to have conspiratorial activities, and the white-clad Pope at the front desk was at the mercy of a marionette. And this speculation, which is biased toward conspiracy theories, has also been attacked by Protestant priests in the form of books. Of course, these statements are not made out of thin air, but they cannot be explained only from a single dimension of positive or negative. Indeed, the Jesuits usually had outstanding knowledge and ability after long-term academic training, and their cultivation usually took 15 years to cultivate various humanities, and the congregation had a relatively flexible and flexible mobile law, which helped the Jesuits to carry out missionary activities according to local conditions and avoid excessive constraints, such as the "Supplementary Confucianism and Easy Buddha" adopted by the Jesuits who came to China in the late Ming Dynasty to conform to Chinese culture and open up the "upper line" mission. The Jesuits, with their agility and wisdom, entered the core of social power in Europe, listening to the confessions of the princes and dukes, and gradually became the power figures of the feudal state, with both religious authority and secular influence. At a time when the monastic power was expanding to the point of expansion, it was suppressed by the Holy See.
Pope Francis and the President of the Society of Jesus (left)
If the dissolution of the Jesuit Decree of 1773 represented the bottom of the relationship between the Congregation and the Holy See, then the victory of Pope Francis in 2013 may be considered a sign of the most harmonious relationship. But in the film, Begrio hesitates in the face of Benedict XVI's Zen concessions. For he still has sins that have not yet been washed away, a hurdle in his heart that he cannot cross, the darkest page that has not been fully recorded in the archives of the Holy See, which is closely related to his experience as president of the Jesuit province of South America.
Since the age of discovery, the Jesuits have embarked on a missionary journey in Latin America. The gradual formation and reorganization of the religious unions in Latin America reflects to a large extent the deepening and development of relations between the Jesuits and the local indigenous peoples. Various political and cultural forces between latin American countries will affect the development of the mission of the congregation, and the decline in the number of members is also closely related to it. Working among the local population requires proficiency in the language, proficiency in multiple languages, and different grammar and vocabulary requirements, as well as familiarity with national history and the study of local culture, which are often areas of expertise for the Jesuits. Therefore, the Order also took advantage of this opportunity to establish institutions of higher learning to provide assistance for the cultivation of talents in Latin America, and the influence and prestige of the Order were also expanding.
In 1976, Argentina massacred civilians in the "Dirty War"
In 1973, Bergoglio was appointed head of the Jesuit Latin American province. Three years later, Argentina erupted in the notorious "Dirty War," a massacre that lasted until 1983. The military government's use of force to overthrow the power of the democratically elected government under the domination of the terrorist policy, and the disappearance of many people who dared to speak out for no reason, aroused great concern in the international community. The Jesuits are believed to have been on the side of the poor, marginalized crowds in this battle, and they have always shared the enemy of the locals in the face of state terrorism. However, Begrio was the Jesuit leader in the region, and in order to protect the priests under him, he was very fond of the junta and asked his subordinates to stop their confrontational activities. However, the Jesuits did not understand him, believing that he had defected to the junta, no longer obeyed his orders, and denounced him as a coward. In a fit of rage, Begrio kicked these opponents out of the Jesuits. In a few days, the monks who had lost the protection of the congregation were arrested by the government army, and it was too late for him to rush to the rescue. After the fall of the military dictatorship, democracy returned. Begrio was exiled by the Congregation to a remote area, where he spent the darkest two years of his life, but it was during these two years of ordinary priesthood that he learned to listen. He tried to reflect, to reflect on the dangers of tyranny, and to reflect on the arbitrariness of his youth, to repent of the Jesuits who had indirectly killed him, believing that it was all caused by his ego. Because of conceit, it will build a high wall between yourself and others, and lead to more people suffering. And the tyranny of the junta is also a manifestation of conceit, because it is arrogant and arrogant, and it regards human life as a straw.
In 1998, Bergojo returned to Argentina to translate all his thoughts over the years into an appeal. The Begrio International Conference has spoken out many times and has also been preached among the civilian population. In 2003, Bergoglio, who was ordained bishop of Argentina, continued to maintain his style and not to be a high priest. He often went to preach among the people and personally distributed food to the people, which he regarded as an asceticism. Because repentance and atonement for his sins made him more aware of the meaning of suffering. It seems that only the suffering can see the suffering of others.
"Focusing" on the silence of the Pope
In The Succession of the Pope, there is a very special mute effect. After listening to Begrio's confession, Pope Benedict XVI also tried to warn himself of his sins, that he should have suffered from all beings, but because he could not face the actual suffering, he hid in the pile of books and allowed his sins to be defended by the church's home base. It was these prevarications that kept faith away from him. The silence here corresponds to the increasing number of cases of child abuses by Catholic clergy since the beginning of the 21st century.
Poster and slogan for the movie "Spotlight" "Open the Story, Break the Silence"
In 2002, The Boston Globe's Spotlight Investigation reported on the years-investigated case of clergy child prostitution. In fact, this kind of "scandal" has been circulating in the media for a long time. What shocks readers most is not only the shameful acts of the clergy, but also the deliberate cover-up of such crimes by bishops or religious leaders who are considered to be knowledgeable and well-imaged. Their failure to protect innocent children and minors has led to a great disappointment in the Roman Catholic Church's mission to save the souls, the Church, and the management of the Congregation. The event was remade into the film Spotlight, which was released in 2015 and won numerous high-profile awards including the Academy Award for Best Picture.
If you take the North American region that Focus focuses on as an example, there were actually such scandals as early as 1985, when a louisiana priest was accused of committing 11 cases of child prostitution, which affected the entire United States and eventually aroused world-class attention, but the bishops avoided it and were silent. Some clergy have received medical treatment, but the vast majority have only been transferred to posts where minors are no longer exposed. Some of the mass violations against children referred to in the Spotlight case were also committed by Jesuits in North America. In 2011, Jesuits in Oregon were accused of committing several cases in the Alaska region, eventually paying up to $250 million in damages to more than 700 victims. A total of 57 Jesuits committed the crime, either by indigenous peoples, mainly north Americans, or children of Alaskan native families. The province also went bankrupt due to massive compensation. The most notorious jesuit offender was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment and excommunication. However, before the final verdict, his punishment was mostly transferred between different provinces, and the provincial president or even the president did not face such problems.
Over the years, such sensational cases have emerged, and the Church has dealt with it mostly as a cover-up, transferring clergy who have committed crimes to other parishes. So in many cases, these clergy have no fear, and the abominable crime begins again. The high walls that the church has built around itself not only block the human heart, but also cover up sin. Begrio once heard a bishop say, "It is better to let nine children suffer than to let nine million people lose their faith because of a scandal." Seeing the church evolve toward a law he could not tolerate, Bergo was reluctant to be a salesperson again, to sell to the faithful a self-contained, unenterprising church. Benedict XVI was speechless and fell into silence. Begrio told the Pope: "Confession can dispel the guilt, but it will not help the victims." "Bergoglio himself was a Jesuit, and he did not tolerate such acts. Since his appointment in 2013, Pope Francis has helped establish a series of measures aimed at addressing clergy abuses against children, called Instruments of Hope and Healing: Safeguarding Children and Young People, which is implemented in North America. With the American Jesuits as forerunners, all American Jesuits were required to receive specialized training every three years to prevent, respond to, and supervise such events. In Europe, The Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome led the implementation of the measure. In February 2019, Francis convened a four-day summit at the Vatican on the theme of "Protecting Children within the Church", determined to eradicate the widespread sexual abuse of children by clergy within the Catholic Church. At the end of the same year, Pope Francis announced the repeal of the Apostolic Statute of Secrecy, abolishing those claims that cover up the crimes of the clergy under the pretext of secrecy. No one can do evil again in the banner of faith.
Today, we can still read the column in the electronic magazine of the Boston Globe through the Internet, and at the same time, taking the Jesuit as an example, the Order of The Order confronts this historical reality in its published works. Dare to face it is an important step towards hope. This is true of individuals, so is the order, and it is even more so of the Holy See.
Meeting of the two popes
Shortly after his abdication, Benedict XVI returned to live in the Vatican, where his influence remained strong. In the face of scandal and self-doubt, the introspective Benedict XVI bravely summoned and confronted his harshest critics and successors to Rome. Within the walls of the Vatican, a dialogue between tradition and progress, sin and forgiveness, unfolds. These two very different subjects, the rational and courageous Benedict XVI and the enlightened and benevolent Francis, confronted their respective pasts and tried in silence to tear down the barriers that had risen within them, open the door to the Church's entry into the world, and create a future for one billion believers around the world. The position of pope may symbolize power, but to ensure power, the trust of believers is the key to the survival of faith. After silent reflection, a new era has raised its sails.
Editor-in-Charge: Yu Shujuan
Proofreader: Yan Zhang