Of Cathol, and all she teaches (3)

For the uninitiated, Shoes of the Fisherman is a 1968 production of the book by Morris L. West, published originally in 1963. It is the only film that has ever attempted to reenact in studios the election of a pope, and the filmmakers were given unprecedented access to the footage of Paul VI's election, which had just happened. Critics panned the movie, but I loved every second of it. It's most glaring flaw is that it is so very dated (it's a Cold War movie and the hairdos and clothes were current) and the outcome is practically inconceivable- but that's West's fault- and he was a lapsed Catholic after all.

But what's so staggering about the story is that it depicts the election of the first Slavic pope, Kiril Lakota, an exiled Russian prelate, whose name is Kiril...Kyril...Karol...This was a decade before it actually happened in the Conclave of 1978!

The title refers to the Petrine Office: the fact that the Pope stands alone in the world, wearing the Shoes of the Fisherman, the Shoes of Saint Peter. According to the latest news, Benedict XVI didn't want the Shoes. Not only had he asked to retire in 1991, 1996, and 2001- but he was praying that he wouldn't get elected! That poor man! He is truly a Servant.

Can you blame him though? As I said in my "Speculations" post just before the election, whoever "seeks papal power does not comprehend what he's asking, and anyone who comprehends the task at hand will surely be in tears." Which is why I find it ironic that everyone is buzzing about the shoes he's wearing-- I hope in all the buzz that noone forgets the significance of the color RED.