MovieChat Forums > The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968) Discussion > Why the Soviets Were Interested in an Uk...

Why the Soviets Were Interested in an Ukrainian Pope

posted 18 years ago by HijodelCid
3 replies | jump to latest

Something like the Soviets trying to manipulate the Church by having a pope from their sphere of influence explains why there were only Italian popes from 1523 to 1978. When popes were elected from superpowers of the time such as France, their sovereigns always tried very heavyhanded-like to dominate the Papacy. Dutch Pope Adrian VI's reign of 1522-23 was constantly frustrated by the fact that he had been the tutor of Kaiser Charles V, who continued to think of Pope Adrian as a subordinate, instead of as Pope. The rivals of Charles V did the same, with the result that Adrian could never get accepted as the Universal Shepherd that he was. Italian popes did not present that problem, since none of the Italian regimes were powerful enough to dominate the Papacy. The situations presented by the Polish pope and the German pope are very interesting: Pope Wojtyla was feared--rightly--by the Polish Communists as a danger to their rule; on the other hand, nobody has yet accused the German government of trying to use Pope Ratzinger as an instrument for its own interests.

[–] TorontoJediMaster 17 years ago

I don't think the Soviets were that deliberate in their planning.

When they released Kiril, they had no way of knowing how soon a Papal Conclave would be coming. Even if they did, they would likely have assumed that Kiril would have no chance of being elected. Remember, when released he wasn't even a member of the College of Cardinals. As well, it was assumed at the start of the conclave that the ultimate choice would surely be an Italian.

[–] dgranger 16 years ago

Please go back to the beginning of the film. The Russians are not trying influence to who is to be the Pope. Premier Piotr Ilyich Kamenev is desperately trying to avoid an open war, a nuclear war, between Russia and China. The cause of the war? Famine in China and China being blocked on the world markets from being able to import enough food stuffs to feed it's people, thus inducing it to invading the "rice bowl countries" (the movie's term) that have areas of rice fields producing excellent harvests and countries that have protection treaties with the USSR and the USA. Kamenev releases Lakota as an attempt to establish a liaison with the Vatican. Even the Elder Pope says that was Lakota's role, a liaison between the Vatican and USSR. Through Lakota, Kamenev hoped to influence the Elder Pope to act as an emissary between the countries of the Western world and China to resolve the growing crisis in China on a humanitarian basis - fight the famine in China.

Yes, the book and the film discusses the political power or ability of the Pope's voice to reach vast members of the Christian, namly Catholic, congrations throughout the world. Any smart head of state would know that. Just as they would also know that what Chairman Peng says is equally true to some extent. This is all reflected in the film and book.

As for trying to make Lakota the Pope, that was an accident Kamenev didn't count on. I got the book and that is how it plays out in the book. The political and theological intrigues of Cardinal Rinaldi and Cardinal Leone and testimony by Lakota is what gets Lakota elected Pope.

Here Comes Harry!
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.

[–] HijodelCid 16 years ago

A Pope from Bavaria, possibly the most famous region of Germany. If I were in the German government, I would be ecstatic at the fact that the Supreme Pontiff is from the country that was formerly the center of the Holy Roman Empire.

God is subtle, but He is not malicious. (Albert Einstein)