When shall I make my return?
You should begin with a discreet visit to the sisters,
and I will leak a photo of you to the media.
Spalleta and Tomas Altbruck are laundering money.
With your permission, I will eliminate them...
- What do you want? - Your resignations.
VOIELLO ... and I will return as your secretary of state.
The Vatican is in the midst of a crisis.
They're targeting
the most vital centers of Catholicism.
We have to make a decision about the future.
What do you recommend we do?
That is a decision only you and Pius XIII can decide.
How?
By meeting.
- Synced and corrected by Firefly - - www.addic7ed.com -
You're all talking about miracles,
awakenings, tricks,
deception, resurrection,
the second coming of Christ.
Nonsense, all of it,
which the Holy See unequivocally rejects.
The photograph that sparked your imagination
is from two years ago.
Someone wanted to play a practical joke on us,
a joke in rather bad taste.
Lies, Sofia! Lies!
We are fairly certain that the intensive care room
at the Venice hospital is empty.
Pius XIII is no longer there.
I deny it categorically.
So what became of him, then?
Did he meet the same end
as Francis II?
That is a deliberate provocation,
and as you all know,
the Holy See never responds to provocations.
Thank you.
How am I?
Dazzling.
I missed you.
I am and always will be your friend.
This is comforting.
Are you nervous?
When I want, Gutierrez,
I know how to take the stage.
I know.
The girls who snubbed us,
the boys who deserted us,
the strangers who ignored us,
the parents who misunderstood us...
The employers who rejected us,
the mentors who doubted us...
The bullies who beat us,
the siblings who mocked us,
the friends who abandoned us...
The conformists who excluded us...
The kisses we were denied
because no one saw us.
They were all too busy turning their gaze elsewhere
while I was directing my gaze at you...
Only at you,
because I am one of you.
Sorrow has no hierarchy.
Suffering is not a sport.
There is no final ranking.
Tormented by acne and shyness,
by stretch marks and discomfort,
by baldness and insecurity,
by anorexia and bulimia,
by obesity and diversity,
reviled for the color of our skin,
our sexual orientation,
our empty wallets,
our physical impairments,
our arguments with our elders,
our inconsolable weeping,
the abyss of our insignificance,
the caverns of our loss,
the emptiness inside us,
the recurring incurable thought of ending it all,
nowhere to rest, nowhere to stand,
nothing to belong to.
Nothing, nothing, nothing.
Yes...
That is how we felt.
And just like you,
I remember it all.
But it no longer matters
that the world took issue with us,
for now it is us who shall take issue with the world.
We will no longer tolerate
being named as the problem.
Because, in point of fact,
they are the problem.
We are the solution,
we who have been betrayed and abandoned,
rejected and misunderstood,
put aside and diminished.
"There is no place for you here",
they told us with their silence.
"Then where is our place?"
we implored them with our silence.
We never received that reply.
But now we know, yes.
We know our place.
Our place is here.
Our place is the Church.
Cardinal Biffi said it first
and in an astonishingly simple way.
We are all miserable wretches
whom God brought together to form a glorious Church.
Yes,
we are all miserable wretches.
Yes, we are all the same.
And yes, we are the forgotten ones.
But no longer.
From this day forth,
we shall no longer be forgotten.
I assure you, they will remember us,
because we are the Church.
What's wrong?
Nothing.
Second thoughts?
I just don't understand.
Understand what?
What it is we want.
Lenny's body.
That's what we want.
Dead or alive.
We won't rest until we find his body.
Why?
Because for me, it's like the body of Christ.
Isn't it the same for you?
You must realize that if you go through with it,
you probably won't be allowed to keep working here.
So it's not a good idea to go to the police.
A good idea is one that minimizes damages
and maximizes profits.
Outside of here, they call it capitalism.
But we've been practicing it
since the time of the catacombs.
Why did you do it?
You told me that true punishment
isn't served in prison
but, rather, in one's soul.
I got to thinking, though,
that prison is the perfect place
to wrestle with one's soul.
So let's archive the entire incident
- and get back to work, Sofia. - No.
I have decided to resign.
- I'm leaving. - But why?
Please, Eminence. Don't make me say it.
You are the most intelligent man in the world.
I am sure you can imagine why.
Why do you all make the same mistake?
What's that?
Sooner or later, you all fall in love.
Please, do with me what you will,
but let the children go.
I would have much preferred our first encounter
to have been under more pleasant circumstances.
And instead we are burdened with a difficult
and urgent mission.
We have six children and a priest to save.
The police...
This is not a job for the police.
This is a job for the Church.
Do you know who was more afraid that I would wake up than you?
Who?
The caliph.
Let's analyze the situation, Your Holiness.
I fall into a coma and I become a living saint.
We witness the first signs of a Catholic fanaticism.
Until now, fanaticism has been the exclusive prerogative
of the caliph.
He feels we've usurped his territory,
and so he attacks us.
Now he's afraid that I've woken up,
so he ups his game
and strikes at the thing I love most:
children.
But he's not afraid you've woken up.
He's afraid you've risen from the dead,
in which case, you're not merely an infidel
but, as you would be the Antichrist for us,
for him, you would be Iblis, the devil,
and there is no dealing with the devil.
That's precisely what I want.
He's gonna have to deal with me.
The caliph doesn't know for sure
if I've risen from the dead or not.
He has doubts,
and doubt, as Voiello says,
is a weapon, but we have a secret,
a certainty...
I have come back.
And our certainty is not a weapon.
It's a bomb.
No one is interested in having that bomb explode,
which is why we can force him to release the children.
I don't understand what you plan to do.
I plan to let the caliph know for certain
that I'm no longer in a coma.
He knows if I show myself to the world,
I will rob him of his monopoly on fanaticism.
I can create a billion Catholic fanatics in a week.
Caliph knows that.
That's why he reacted so erratically.
If I don't show myself to the world,
he can carry on dreaming his delirious dreams.
It'll be up to him to decide.
But if he doesn't want me to show myself,
he's gonna have to let those children
and their teacher go immediately.
What do you think?
I think that we are the Church
and we must act like the Church.
We must kneel down and pray for six children
and the priest while the forces of law and order
devise a plan to liberate them
without leaving any dead bodies
on the ground,
and that is what we shall do, Lenny.
That is the middle way.
You are the pope, and you establish the line.
I will submit to your will.
That night you wept at your brother Adam's tomb,
you told him, "God doesn't like you".
How would you know that?
Did you think you were alone?
I was there with you, John.
John.
You're gonna have to resign yourself
to believing in me...
Now that you've realized
what I am.
Free them now!
Free them now! Free them now!
Free them now!
Free them now! Free them now!
Brother cardinals...
I've come back.
This meeting here today is to be our secret.
If you reveal to anyone that I've returned,
I will know how to punish you.
Do you remember, brother cardinals,
when I told you that the faithful had to come to us
through a narrow door?
That we would not go to them?
You were all... rather skeptical.
Yet that is exactly what's happened.
And it is why I want you all now,
in absolute silence with your eyes closed...
With your eyes closed,
to concentrate
and ask my forgiveness,
and say to yourselves,
"It will never happen again
that I, a wretched man,
will fail to believe in Pius XIII".
We are always saying that we guide people's hearts.
But what does that mean?
The heart in and of itself, as I know perfectly well,
is nothing more than an organ that beats.
Sometimes it beats faster. Sometimes it beats slower.
Sometimes it stops.
The heart is a mechanism.
It means nothing.
What does it mean exactly to guide people's hearts?
It means to rule emotion.
Your emotion,
the emotion of other Catholics outside these walls.
If you can rule the emotion of your fellow man,
he will follow you
wherever you please.
This is called power.
Our most excellent Voiello
exercises it over you all.
John Paul III and myself exercise it
over the world at large.
What a marvelous job John Paul III has done.
When he shouted that "no" in Lourdes,
he displayed all the courage you have always lacked.
And last Sunday,
at the Angelus,
when he bared his heart,
he bared others' hearts as well,
others who have been concealing themselves.
But now they have emerged from their sorry little rooms,
their ditches of uncertainty.
They're all out there now
in the square.
They came, they stayed,
and they will continue to stay.
What a glorious pope,
John Paul III.
Because at long last, John Paul III
has formed the angry base of the young Catholic army.
If need be, I will expand,
inspire,
and arm them.
The coming days will be crucial,
which is now why I need you by my side.
I need my red backdrop.
So you will remain by my side,
silent,
obedient,
and good.
You're too old to reinvent yourselves,
too old to comprehend the shifts
in the emotional nature of this world.
You don't need to trust me.
You need to entrust yourselves to me
and pray.
Pray for Don Antonio,
a good priest who is suffering,
and for six frightened children.
God is by our side.
We tend toward the good,
and God tends toward the good,
which is why God will remain by our side,
because He knows me,
and I know Him!
Let us pray.
I don't understand.
Who is the pope now?
Shut up and pray, idiot.
When a man,
in the name of other men...
And in one God's name abducts children,
terrorizes them, deprives them of food,
and threatens them with death,
he is not just committing a crime.
He is declaring war.
The modern Church will not fall for these provocations.
But I am not modern.
I am ancient.
I say to you now,
I am ready to respond to this declaration of war.
- Your Holiness... - Shut up, Voiello,
and listen to me.
We will annihilate them.
Tomorrow morning, I want John Paul III
to address the people in the square.
Take notes, Voiello.
I have to dictate what he will say.
I speak to the kidnappers.
Yes, you are despicable,
and yes, you are already dead.
You act against any will of any God.
Therefore, I command you to release the children
and Don Antonio.
If you fail to obey,
I will come there and I will have with me
God and iron, faith and fire,
and I will not be alone.
You must know that.
I will not be alone.
You have any idea of the work we've been doing?
We haven't slept in days.
Our intelligence services, our diplomats,
the vice president,
we're all been working our asses off
to save your ass,
rescue those kids, the priest.
And your emeritus pope, how does he thank us?
By having John Paul III say he's ready to declare war.
Are you out of your minds?
Last time you fought a war was in 1540,
and that was to conquer Perugia.
Do you have the slightest idea what the danger
- of declaring war is, Voiello? - No, what?
That then you actually gonna have to fight it.
Calm down, Bauer.
Pius XIII is, uh, just a little wound up.
Ah, okay.
So why don't you try to wind him down a little?
'Cause otherwise, I will be forced
to do something more decisive.
What do you want to do, Bauer?
Assassinate the pope? There would be no point.
- He would just rise again. - He might.
You wouldn't.
Let me explain something to you, Your Eminence.
When we know the scenario, we can control it,
but when it's all an unknown,
things spin out of control.
One day, you're taking your kids to the park.
Next day, you're taking cover in a bomb shelter.
One day, your pope is a little unwound.
Next day, World War III breaks out
before you even know it.
Now, can you see that living legend behind me there?
I noticed him immediately.
General Parker. That says it all.
Now, the general is not gonna utter a single word,
but he will move his head in response to my questions,
so watch him carefully.
General Parker,
in the event of a war,
will the United States...
the most powerful nation on Earth...
be willing to save the Vatican's ass?
Got it?
Yes, I got it,
but you are the one who's pretending not to get it.
No one wants a war.
If Pius XIII shows himself to the world,
Catholic fundamentalism will boil over.
If Pius XIII utters the word "war",
millions of people from around the world
are ready to immolate themselves
on the Syrian border
and to launch the greatest religious war of all time.
Many of them will be Americans.
The front lines would include Catholic factions
from the conflicts in former Yugoslavia,
freedom fighters from Ukraine,
and the Lithuanian special forces.
And affluent members of the Catholic diaspora
stand ready to finance the conflict
and provide arms.
Am I wrong, General Parker?
See?
We might be a little rusty,
but we still know a thing or two about war.
Can't believe we're even having this conversation.
The Vatican entertaining the idea
of declaring war on Islam.
Jesus fucking Christ, Voiello.
No, hold on, Bauer.
Not on Islam, on Islamic terrorism.
We know perfectly well that
the majority of Muslims are moderate,
but that's exactly the point.
It's the moderate Catholics
who now risk becoming few in number
because the majority would become fundamentalists
if Pius XIII were to show himself.
So now listen to me, Bauer.
Pius XIII may have in mind to leave a sign...
a divine sign.
Not some momentary peace that lasts only until
the next madman comes along, eager to carry out
an attack somewhere in the world,
but everlasting peace, or at least
a very long-lasting peace.
Where you were unable to do it,
he may well prove to be successful
because the collective imagination
is more powerful than the atomic bomb.
Now do you get it, Bauer?
Life is so beautiful.
It would be enough to embrace it for what it is:
an opportunity for joy and grace,
for love and lightheartedness.
When did you lose your lightheartedness?
When?
Everyone down there remembers my miracles,
but they forget about my murders.
They don't know it was me who killed that poor priest,
that hero in Ventotene,
and I left those six bewildered children alone
with those madmen.
Tomorrow they'll blame John Paul III,
but it was me.
I'm a danger to others.
I'm worthless.
A rash, unreasonable child.
Your Holiness,
John Paul III would like to see you.
Your Eminence.
Bauer, what are you doing here?
Brought someone to see you.
Who is he?
The man closest to the caliph.
Did you track him down?
Nope.
That's where it gets interesting.
He tracked me down.
When you don't have proof...
You don't have proof.
Voiello called me.
They made contact.
They sought us out.
They're afraid.
They claimed it wasn't them.
They're bluffing, naturally.
This is the confirmation that it was them.
Are you a charlatan?
Are you a guru?
Are you a saint?
Are you the devil?
Are you the Messiah?
Are you Christ?
Are you God?
It doesn't matter, Lenny.
I am the pope.
For me, you are a priest, nothing more.
And you will show me perfect obedience,
as all priests do.
For that is all we know.
That is the Church,
and we answer for the Church.
Your Holiness, you are exactly right.
I'm wrong.
If you continue to listen to me,
I will continue to make mistakes.
I'll withdraw to my tower for the rest of my life,
and no one will ever see me again.
No, you will not withdraw.
You will show yourself to the world,
and you will say what I did not have the courage to say.
Will you be at my side, Your Holiness?
No.
The moment I have always longed for has finally arrived.
What moment?
When I fulfill my one and only ambition...
to be forgotten.
But you are the pope.
No.
I am a fragile piece of porcelain.
But I have finally understood that my fragility
is my strength, not my damnation.
What are you gonna do?
Will you return home?
I will return to myself.
Are we sure we didn't forget anything?
Yes, we are, sir.
What shall I do with the box,
sir?
Hmm, let's keep it for now, shall we?
As Cardinal Newman used to say, "One never knows in life".
Stand up.
That's Amber, an escort from Hanover.
She follows me everywhere.
Actually, I've recently decided we're gonna get married.
I'm gonna miss you, Voiello.
You are leaving?
Yeah, I'm done here.
Where will you go?
Korea.
Things are really heating up over there.
I'm gonna try and calm them down.
Please don't tell anyone that's where I'm going.
I didn't need this.
Yeah, I know.
Even though I do all I can to dissuade people,
in the end, they always develop a soft spot for me.
You were right.
The caliph didn't carry out any attacks in Europe.
Who am I going to talk to now?
Ever since Girolamo died,
you have been my only friend.
Relax, Voiello.
This is not the 15th century.
With a few precautions, we can talk on the phone.
You better wish me luck, though.
I've been dining on clams here.
They're gonna feed me dog soup in Korea.
Isn't he the sweetest thing,
my little Bauer octopus?
Please don't say that, sweetheart.
You're demolishing the legend.
Voiello, I need you to explain something to me.
Why would some Catholics try to kill other Catholics?
Because fanaticism and obtuseness
are one and the same thing.
Anyway, they don't eat dog in Korea anymore.
I know.
I know but it doesn't really matter.
Whenever they serve me food,
that's gonna be my expectation.
That will be my perception:
dog.
And as you and I know all too well, my friend,
perception is everything.
Sir John,
your parents wish to see you.
They would like to welcome you home.
Our mouths are filled with the word "love",
but I, before anyone else, didn't know how to define it.
Our mouths are filled with the word "beauty",
but I, before anyone else, didn't know how to receive it.
For this, I ask your forgiveness.
Please forgive me.
At times, we confound love with madness...
Beauty with ecstasy.
History has repeated itself.
Madness and ecstasy have once again proven
to be irresistible temptations,
but they always end the way they did on Ventotene...
With unjust death.
In this case, of a good and innocent priest.
There is a life of happiness to be found
in the sphere of gentleness...
Kindness,
mildness...
lovingness.
We must learn to be in the world,
and the Church must contemplate the idea of opening up
to the love that is possible
in order to fight against the love that is abhorrent.
All this, John Paul III,
with great humility, calls the middle way.
In the past few days, I've understood.
It is not the middle way.
It is the way.
Ever since I came back,
you've been asking yourselves all sorts of questions.
Is he the Father or the Son?
Is he God or the Holy Spirit?
Is he man, or is he Jesus?
Did he wake up, or did he rise from the dead?
Is he a saint, or is he an imposter?
Is he Christ,
or is he the Antichrist?
Is he alive, or is he dead?
It doesn't matter.
You know what is so beautiful about questions?
It's that we don't have the answers.
In the end, only God has the answers.
They're his secret.
God's secret, which only He knows.
That is the mystery in which we believe.
And that is the mystery which guides our conscience.
And now I would like to come down among you
and do what I've wanted to do since the first moment...
Embrace you, one by one.
Brother cardinals,
after the good fortune
of two truly great popes,
John Paul III and Pius XIII,
what is it we need?
A man steeped in mediocrity.
Dull, hardworking,
sensitive,
and receptive to the countless requests
of his beloved colleagues in the College of Cardinals.
I didn't sleep a wink last night.
I read and reread the pontifical yearbook
1,000 times.
And in the end,
I didn't find a single name
that responds to the call.
I did.
I've found a name.
Which one, Don Cavallo?
The last one alphabetically.
Voiello Angelo.
Why do you always have to make me feel so uneasy?
Who are you?
This person something terrible happened to.
But you're not that here.
When was the last time you really let go, Sam?
There's something special about this place.
Long way from home on such a day.
Times have been hard.
We've been through some bad things.
But helping peoples what this place is all about.
Thank you... but I can't stay.
But you need to come with us.
Before that causeway closes,
and you have to stay here in paradise forever.
Well, you can't leave.
Excuse me?
Something appalling happened here.
And it's raging inside.
Most people are scared of pain.
But they don't know how warm it can be.