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‘Conclave’: Electoral Fight for Christianity’s Future
The Gospel Coalition ^ | 2024 | Brett McCracken

Posted on 03/05/2025 9:44:09 AM PST by CondoleezzaProtege

The release of Conclave mere weeks before the U.S. presidential election is no accident…The conclave’s primary factions fall roughly along a progressive/conservative split that mirrors American politics. To be sure, there is a divide in the Catholic Church between those who prioritize conserving tradition and those who seek an updated, more inclusive church.

It’s not that the filmmakers want the church to go away entirely. They just want a church that matches their progressive views…“Let us pray for a pope who doubts,” one cardinal says in a pivotal sermon. “Certainty is the great enemy of unity. Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance.”

“Certainty” is framed in Conclave (as it often is by progressive Christians) as the most egregious sin…The church isn’t the past, one liberal cardinal asserts; the church “is what we do next.” He might as well have been advocating for a church defined by “what can be, unburdened by what has been.”

In the end, the victor is a dark-horse, mysterious candidate who wasn’t even on the original invite list: Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz), who has led Catholics in some of the hardest places in the Middle East (Baghdad, Kabul). He wins because he appears to be the most humble, Jesus-like servant leader—decidedly not seeking power.

But here’s the twist: Benitez isn’t a he at all. He’s intersexual, having been “assigned” male at birth and living as a man, even though he later discovered he had female reproductive organs.

When Lawrence discovers the secret and confronts Benitez, the new pope (who tellingly chooses the name Pope Innocent XIV) says, “I am what God made me,” a familiar line in the LGBT+ movement. “I know what it is to exist between the world’s certainties,” he adds, in a binary-defying statement intended to be the film’s mic-drop line…

(Excerpt) Read more at thegospelcoalition.org ...


TOPICS: History; Religion; Society; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: catholic; conclave; papacy; pope
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Not only was the film’s release mere weeks from the US elections, but depending on Pope Francis’ health, weeks before an actual Conclave. So hopefully reality will not go on to imitiate art.
1 posted on 03/05/2025 9:44:09 AM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

I looked in Strong’s Concordance, and cannot find “Conclave” in The Bible


2 posted on 03/05/2025 9:50:45 AM PST by Scrambler Bob (Running Rampant, and not endorsing nonsense; My pronoun is EXIT. And I am generally full of /S)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

I think the portrayal of a trannie Pope was among the reasons Trump won in a landslide.


3 posted on 03/05/2025 9:53:10 AM PST by Get Daddy a Beer
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To: Scrambler Bob
I looked in Strong’s Concordance, and cannot find “Conclave” in The Bible

I can't find "Strong's Concordance" in the Bible either.

4 posted on 03/05/2025 9:53:23 AM PST by Sirius Lee ("Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”)
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To: Scrambler Bob
Much of this is interesting to watch, even as a Protestant believer who finds the papacy and the Roman Catholic idea of apostolic succession unbiblical. The film’s inside look at such a secretive but long-held tradition is Conclave’s greatest strength.…

Of course, reform is valuable in the church. We Protestants know this well (Happy early Reformation Day!). But elevating uncertainty to the highest value isn’t a recipe for healthy reform and an enduring church. Conclave is correct to assert the fallibility of the church’s human leadership. But too often a healthy skepticism about human authority sets the stage for a doubt of all authority and eventually a deconstruction of faith.

5 posted on 03/05/2025 9:53:37 AM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Theologically incorrect, the visuals were beautiful. I think it should have won Best Picture, if only for the acting and photography. Whatever. Nobody remembers the Oscar winners anymore.


6 posted on 03/05/2025 10:08:29 AM PST by MHT
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To: Sirius Lee

Yeah but you can just about reconstruct The Bible from Strong’s by working backwords.


7 posted on 03/05/2025 10:11:44 AM PST by Scrambler Bob (Running Rampant, and not endorsing nonsense; My pronoun is EXIT. And I am generally full of /S)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Catholicism doesn’t speak for all of Christianity nor can they claim ownership of it or authority over it.


8 posted on 03/05/2025 10:22:29 AM PST by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus)
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To: Scrambler Bob
You also won't find "Trinity", "Incarnation", "altar call", and a number of other terms commonly used by Christians, including Protestant Christians.

You also won't find a verse in the Bible stating that every jot and tittle of church governance is found in the Bible.

9 posted on 03/05/2025 10:27:07 AM PST by Campion (Everything is a grace, everything is the direct effect of our Father's love - Little Flower)
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To: Scrambler Bob

:)

There’s one place where His disciples took it upon themselves to replace Judas by casting lots.

Maybe not an accident that Saul/Paul ended up not being on the ballot, yet chosen as a vessel by Christ to have his Holy Spirit inspired words immortalized as New Covenant scriptures that one would expect from one of the 12 Apostles..


10 posted on 03/05/2025 10:41:49 AM PST by delchiante
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

There is no “conservative” Christianity or “liberal” Christianity.

There are only followers of Christ and wolves in sheep’s clothing.


11 posted on 03/05/2025 10:42:02 AM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is opinion or satire. Or both.)
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To: Campion

While I’m a Protestant, I don’t look at other denominations or “different” thinkers as enemies. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. As long as we accept the Bible as the Word of God and that Christ died for us, and belief in Him as our Savior, we’re all on the same page.

The only folks I have an issue with are those that twist the Word of God into something that it’s not.


12 posted on 03/05/2025 10:44:10 AM PST by woweeitsme
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To: Sirius Lee
I can't find "Strong's Concordance" in the Bible either.

I'll call your "can't find Strong's Concordance" in the Bible, and raise you, "can't find Bible" in the Bible.

13 posted on 03/05/2025 10:47:02 AM PST by JesusIsLord
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To: metmom

Much of this is interesting to watch, even as a Protestant believer who finds the papacy and the Roman Catholic idea of apostolic succession unbiblical...Happy early Reformation day!

Due to excerpts limits, left the above out :) - Consider the source of the review and writer. Both McCracken and the Gospel Coaliton are decidedly Protestant in the conservative, Reformed (but not progressive) mold. His point: the film tackles debates that concern Christianity (and America) at large, not just Rome.

14 posted on 03/05/2025 10:48:14 AM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: Scrambler Bob
"I looked in Strong’s Concordance, and cannot find “Conclave” in The Bible"

"Conclave" is just another word for an election, and the Bible depicts the disciples electing ("casting lots") a replacement for Judas.
15 posted on 03/05/2025 10:50:45 AM PST by Steve_Seattle
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To: metmom
No, Catholicism does not represent all of Christianity.
However, Simon Peter the ROCK on which Jesus built his church is buried under the alter of Saint Peters Basilica at the Vatican in Rome.

Peter was the first pope. The Catholic church has over 1.2 billion members worldwide. All Christian religious orders were spin offs from the Catholic church over the last 2000 years. So, we may not all be fans of Frances. However, the Pope is the most important person in Christianity in the world. He also controls a very powerful, rich and influential country.

16 posted on 03/05/2025 10:50:50 AM PST by woodbutcher1963
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To: BenLurkin
There is no “conservative” Christianity or “liberal” Christianity.

There are only followers of Christ and wolves in sheep’s clothing.

I wish it were as cut & dry, but judging by how many never-Trumpers exist even among ‘conservative Christian’ circles: I can only validate the Biblical premise that “even the elect” can be deceived! - Matthew 24:24 - To make matters worse, some may even go so far as to refer to Trump as a false prophet. To which I’d respond w/ Isaiah 5:20 “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness…

17 posted on 03/05/2025 10:58:04 AM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

I wouldn’t call Donald Trump any kind of prophet.


18 posted on 03/05/2025 11:04:15 AM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is opinion or satire. Or both.)
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To: BenLurkin

Agreed!!! But that’s their accusation against what they perceive his supporters to believe.


19 posted on 03/05/2025 11:06:36 AM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Thanks for the heads up, you saved me a few bucks renting it, on Netflix. Just more left wing trash.


20 posted on 03/05/2025 11:18:04 AM PST by kenmcg (ti hi o)
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