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.
It is not news to discover that the Vatican is historically a political hotbed, and that popes have been selected by corrupt practices for the most secular of reasons. In the Renaissance, with the French army at the gates and Spanish army on the other side of town, the Cardinals picked Pius III because he was aged and decrepit and wouldn’t last long, while the French and Spanish settled between them who would be elected next.
That having been said, this film is apparently more about politics than religion.