What do you all suspect sister A's mortal sin was about? It obviously very much affected her when FF asked her about it. I think it may be tied to her past marriage, because I don't really see the reason of mentioning she was married. Unless it was to make her more relatable, and less stoic?
Anyway, what say you all?
My guess would be she was unfaithful to her husband while he was away. Or she ate a hot dog on a Friday. Both would have been considered mortal sins pre Vatican ll.
"I bet you write wonderful letters."
The way she was cradling that scarf, I'd say she killed her baby.
My "#3" key is broken so I'm putting one here so i can cut & paste with it.
I always wondered if she didn't actually DO anything but instead had impure thoughts about Father Scully. When Sister James first alerted her to her suspicions, Sister A said, "Years ago at Saint Bonefice, there was this priest...but I had Father Scully then." I always thought she said that rather wistfully, almost as if she had feelings for him that would have been inappropriate in that day and age. I don't know...am I reading too much into that line? It always at least justified to me why she would have believed so immediately that Father Flynn was guilty, having dealt with the issue previously.
shareShe was remembering Father Scully fondly, as an ally who helped her to oust the other priest who was guilty of molestation. She may have had romantic feelings for him, but it was clear that in this context she thought of him as an all-around good man who had been on her side.
"You can keep the gum."
According to strict R.C. doctrine, you can hardly get through a single day without committing a mortal sin…read old prayer books. Mine said: "6th and 9th commandment: Sins against these two commandments are virtually always mortal sins." It mentioned several examples, including but not limited to: adultery, fornication, marrying a civilly divorced person, "manual stimulation of the sexual organs"…the last one being: "entertaining fond memories of such sins committed"…today, I cannot help but chuckle a bit, but as a young woman, I was genuinely afraid of ending up in hell for "manual stimulation" and "fond memories". Sister Aloysius was a pious and disciplined woman, but everybody has certain thoughts, at least occasionally…because that's how human sexuality works.
shareEverybody has certain thoughts, but one can choose not to entertain them.
shareThat is very interesting! I wondered why she held the scarf like a baby - I think abortion may very well have been her mortal sin.
What hump?
I don't think so. First of all, neither lying nor doubt are considered mortal sins by default. Lying can become a mortal sin if it leads to certain consequences. Some theologians might consider lying in order to succeed in somebody losing his job a mortal sin. However, Sister A was 100% sure that she was doing the right thing, so she wouldn't have confessed to that sin…but she claimed she DID confess to it. Doubting by itself isn't considered sinful at all, as long as you are fighting those doubts. And I think Sister A didn't have doubts about the church until the very end, when Father was assigned to another SCHOOL.
shareI'm pretty sure her mortal sin was before she got to that church, the way that dialogue was treated.
I'm still very intrigued by the way she 'pets" her scarf in one scene. Very subconscious behavior on her part.
"De gustibus non disputandum est"
#3
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I am not RC, but an uninterested Lutheran, and we have no mortal sins, even though we have guilt. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were no "post deleted" in this thread whatsoever. Post deleted is so common throughout the imdb universe, that I was certain I'd see it here.
shareI've found this film's message board to be one of the most intelligent and thought-provoking boards on IMDB. It also helps that this is a film that would be considered too "boring" for those with childish behaviors. For being a film that revolves around the church, it is surprisingly replete with tolerance!
"De gustibus non disputandum est"
#3
While watching the film, I thought the mortal sin had to do with her time before the church and related to her marriage. Reading these posts now, I agree that clues (holding a scarf like a child, the mention of a husband away at war) point towards an affair that led to an abortion.
I rewatched it tonight in mourning of PSH. He is a gifted actor. His performance leads me to believe his character's innocence, but this was in complete antithesis to my position earlier in the film when I was adamant of his guilt. I love the trivia that the writer/director tells the actor of every Father Flynn of his guilt or innocence beforehand.
I should be doing something else besides posting here. You too... Just a reminder.
My best guess, like others have stated is that she either had an affair whilst her husband was away fighting the war (20 yrs earlier).
What drove her to become a Nun? Obviously not all war widows became Nuns but many women did to hide "the family shame". Maybe as others have said she fell pregnant while her husband was away or later after he died out of wedlock?
Her sin is the lie She tells about contacting the other nun at his former parish to get him to confess.Remember it is Her moral compass not ours,to us the ends justify the means but to her it is a soul destroying act to lie.Her reaction in that moment is a reaction to how far he has made her go,It's a realization that she has broken her religious code to no effect and that she has no power to see justice done.
shareshe holds the scarf as if it was a baby. I wonder if she got pregnant while her husband was away and had an abortion?
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at first i thought she was hinting that she was an evil genius in a previous life and the scarf was a substitute for her evil cat, but not having a cat to hand, petted the evil scarf. but now maybe i think it was really was to do with a baby in her past instead :P
The mortal sin probably is the lie she told. She's probably now considering the possibility that she was wrong to lie - since all it did was get Flynn promoted to another school. She's probably realised that because of her lie, she may have condemned other innocent children to be abused by him. And since they're in another school, there's now nothing she can do about it
I'm gonna die of long hair!
I agree fully it is the lie she told. I am pretty sure that's why the writer put that in the end of the film so we could put the pieces together. As the OP said it is not about it being a mortal sin in the eyes of the church, it's about how she perceived it from her point of view.
Whether it is perceived as that bad that she has a mini breakdown and got tearful over is another matter that makes it slightly doubtful (pun intended) to me.
I originally thought as others said it may have been an infidelity in her past marriage.
She said she'd committed a mortal sin and then said she'd confessed, when questioned by Fr F. She'd not confessed the lie yet to Fr F yet. That confession was to Sister James after Fr F left their parish. Her mortal sin must've been prior. I doubt it was a sin about a priest, or something similar to her lie to Fr F. Perhaps there was an unfortunate situation in her past where things had to be said or done, that caused her to "step away from God" like she said when things must be done. Her subconscious action holding her shawl in that way, caressing it while she was accusing Fr F of intrusive behavior against Donald Miller I think was her protective instinct kicking in. Her hypervigilance is on to something, like the ballpoint pens she found on sister James' classroom. Fr F happened to be using one like the ones she found by a student's desk. She knows there's more to the alter wine that Donald Miller drank. Fr F seems guilty during that discussion. The RC church has some mortal sins that are clear, specific like not upholding the Sunday obligation for mass. Lapsing would be mortal. Gossip is not mortal if it does not negatively affect a persons reputation. Lying can be mortal. Her doubt is in her willfully stepping away from God and lying to get the result of Fr F's guilt proved. Is the action going to be considered against God? I like sister A.
shareBeing a horrible, hateful, suspicious, gossipy, mean-spirited, controlling shrew?
share[deleted]