The Two Popes (Netflix, 2019, dir. Fernando Meirelles) dramatizes the imagined conversations between Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (the future Pope Francis) in the years before Benedict's resignation. It is a film about faith, doubt, institutional failure, and what it means to hear God's call when you would rather not.
The Two Popes succeeds because it treats both men as genuine believers wrestling honestly with God. Benedict (Ratzinger) is shown as a man of profound theological intellect whose institutional instincts failed him during the abuse crisis. Bergoglio is shown as a man haunted by his compromises during Argentina's Dirty War. Neither is a saint in the hagiographic sense — both are flawed men trying to follow God faithfully.
The film's theological center is a conversation about doubt. Bergoglio tells Benedict that he no longer hears God's voice and wants to retire. Benedict's response — that doubt is part of faith, that silence is not absence — is some of the most honest theological dialogue in mainstream cinema. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me" is the prayer both men know from the inside.
The film addresses the Catholic clergy abuse crisis directly and does not exonerate Benedict. Protestant and evangelical Christians watching this should note: the institutional failure depicted is a real and serious wound to the body of Christ globally, not merely a Catholic problem. The film's honest engagement with it is more valuable than pretending it didn't happen.
The Two Popes is explicitly Catholic in setting and theology — papal authority, the role of tradition, and Catholic liturgical practice are central. Protestant viewers will find some theological friction. The film is not Catholic propaganda; it is a serious examination of two men's faith. Its themes of calling, failure, repentance, and renewal are universal Christian concerns. Worth watching with that lens.
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