Oh, no!
THE JEWISH CARDINAL
Shit! Come on!
- Sorry. My moped wouldn't start. - Follow me. The nuncio is waiting.
Take the metro next time.
Your helmet.
- Father Lustiger is here. - Forgive me.
I got carried away studying Hebrew.
It's a hard language. Do sit down.
I know you want to be a priest in Jerusalem.
But the Church has other plans for you.
Not a new parish. I've spent ten in Sainte-Jeanne.
No, no.
The Pope wants to appoint you Bishop of Orléans.
- I don't understand. - Father Lustiger,
Pope John Paul II has chosen you to succeed Monsignor Riobé.
You can refuse, of course.
But the Pope doesn't know me.
I mean, doesn't the Holy Father know who I am?
John Paul II knows you were baptised in 1940, in Orléans.
How old were you when you converted?
14. I must admit I thought having been born Jewish
would preclude me from becoming a bishop.
Who'd have thought we'd have a Polish Pope one day?
Do I sign there?
Do you realise the implications?
Can a shepherd be so different from his sheep?
Oh, what a nice surprise. How are you?
Fanny, what are you doing here?
If you saw your father more often, you'd know he hired me.
- I needed money. I left my fiancé. - Good riddance.
I didn't leave him because he was a goy,
but because he was stingy.
- I'm no longer going to Jerusalem. - Why? Too many Jews there?
- Sorry. That was a bad joke. - I've a better one.
- I've been made a bishop. - Are you kidding?
- No, it's true. - Bishop of what?
Orléans.
Oh, that's incredible.
You've come full circle.
Do you have nothing to say, Dad?
Fanny, will you help me close the shop?
Why would the Pope make a bishop of Aaron?
To show that a good Jew is a converted Jew?
A reward for treachery, is that what you're insinuating?
- Why the hell did I bother to come? - Stop it! Listen,
your son can do what he wants. His name is Jean-Marie now.
Get used to it.
Look at yourselves. You should both see a shrink.
You don't know the Poles the way I do.
John Paul II wasn't born when you fled the pogroms.
Do you know what we say?
The Poles absorb anti-Semitism in their mother's milk.
In other words, we also talk rubbish.
The Poles...
- You have a new TV, Dad? - I've had it nearly a year.
These new screens have much greater image clarity.
The Pope's trip to Poland was incredibly vivid.
Can we change the subject?
I'll cook the pasta. You set the table.
So, did you watch John Paul II saying Mass in Auschwitz?
A million Catholics, priests dressed up like deportees
and a seven-metre cross right next to the gas chambers.
Dad, we were meant to change the subject.
And not a word...
..about the Holocaust.
That takes some doing.
Before Mass John Paul II stopped before a stele in Hebrew
and mentioned the people who'd been doomed to extermination.
That was enough for you?
They murdered your mother in Auschwitz.
Aaron, you can't forgive so quickly,
even if you no longer want to be Jewish,
even if you're a self-hating Jew.
What's happened to us, my son?
What's happened to us?
- The body of Christ. - Amen.
- Hello. How are you? - Hello, sir. I'm fine.
- The same as ever. - Yes. Here you go, sir.
- Don't forget "Pilote". - Ah, yes. Sorry.
Here you go.
Thank you, sir, and congratulations.
- Thank you, but what for? - Look.
- Mr Guillaume Bussières, please. - Is he expecting you, Father?
You say the Vatican mentioned my conversion.
Yes, it was in the press release about your nomination.
Sit down, please.
A priest of Jewish origin set to become a bishop
where he was first baptised is a great story.
- Why do you say of Jewish origin? - Your parents are Jewish.
You should have asked before serving my life up like that.
- Aren't your parents Jewish? - As am I. Note this down.
Father Jean-Marie Lustiger affirms he is still Jewish.
What do you mean by that?
I haven't renounced anything. I am still Jewish,
like the Apostles and Christ himself.
Your fellow seminarians didn't know about your conversion.
Neither did your parishioners. I asked them.
Why not?
I didn't speak about it, but I didn't hide it either.
- I considered it a private matter. - Have you changed your mind?
Since you aired the matter, I demand a clarification.
The Church will be thrilled.
What did you say about your religious identity
- while campaigning for this? - I never tried to become a bishop.
- Do you think I'm a fool? - I didn't seek out this destiny.
- It simply befell me. - A case of divine providence?
This is what I can't stand about the Catholic press.
You make fun of dogma. You're ashamed of it.
You prefer the Little Red Book.
But I believe in providence. I believe in it completely.
And I'm sure this is God's will.
I'm a living provocation
who forces people to fully consider what Christ represents.
99...
And 100.
I've been churning over the problems of the Church for decades,
getting annoyed with those leaders who know nothing about modern life.
And now that it's my turn to lead, I'm terrified.
You know what they call you?
Sure. Lulu.
They call you Monsignor Bulldozer since you've attacked the papers.
- Bulldozer? - Bulldozer, yeah.
That's rather good.
How did they take the details of my origins?
They already thought you an eccentric,
so they weren't too surprised.
- You didn't forget our appointment? - Of course not, Fanny. Hi.
- This is Father Julien Cramiel. - Hello.
- Fanny is my cousin. - Ah. Nice to meet you.
Can you leave us, please?
Take the leaflets and put them out.
You have the same eyes.
- Father Julien is rather cute. - Be respectful. He's a priest.
It's my first visit to Catholic premises.
Fanny, I need your help.
Really?
Do you think you can convince father to attend my consecration?
He went to Orléans for your conversion.
The town is full of bad memories. And what different does it make?
- Is that why you called me in? - But it's a big day for me.
I'd like it to also offer the chance of a real reconciliation.
So that's what your declarations have been about?
"I'm Jewish. I'll always be Jewish."
I spoke from the heart, Fanny. I don't want to be an orphan.
I hate the fact that my father won't accept me.
Listen, your father pounces on any article about you.
Even if he won't show it, he's very proud of you.
Got to say you did quite well in your chosen field.
You couldn't resist saying that, could you?
- My nose... - Here. Look.
- May the Lord be with you. - And with your spirit.
We give thanks to God.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Amen.
- You'll always be in our hearts. - So will you.
- I'm so sad you're leaving. - You mustn't be.
- I hope you'll come back. - Yes. You'll come to Orléans?
Yes.
- May God accompany you. - Thank you. You too.
- What is it, Ludovic? - A present. A Renault 5.
- You bought me a car? - We all pitched in.
That's too much. I can't accept.
One can hardly have a bishop riding a moped.
And be sure to stay calm at the wheel, Monsignor Bulldozer.
First he has to learn how to drive, then we'll see about his temper.
- Stop making the Gospels Jewish! - Heretic!
Ask your people to recognise their role in Christ's death.
- Stop this and get out. - Lefebvre sends his regards!
Yes, yes. Get out!
Out! Out!
Get out. That's enough.
Out! Out!
Vroom vroom. Thank you for the car!
Hello. Thank you very much.
Orléans - 8th December 1979
"By our apostolic power
we name and create you Bishop of Orléans."
"Signed, John Paul II."
- What name have you chosen? - Jean-Marie.
Jean-Marie, what do you ask from the Church?
- Baptism. - Why?
I want to become a Christian.
It won't last, Charles.
At his age, I was celebrating my Bar Mitzvah.
"We choose you as bishop."
I baptise you in the name of the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit.
- Amen. - Amen.
Little man.
- Congratulations. - You've come to confess?
- You consecration was wonderful. - You think so?
Very impressive.
- I must say goodbye. - Aren't you staying for drinks?
Your father's tired. He wants to go.
He must always ruin everything.
He came, didn't he?
Do you know what I keep asking myself today?
Would I have become a priest if he'd been more tolerant?
Jean-Marie, the prefect would like to speak to you.
I'll be right over.
Don't forget us. You'll come see us in Paris?
Of course.
- Monsignor Lustiger? - Yes.
Hello, Monsignor Lustiger. I'm Father Brosolo.
His Holiness is waiting for you.
I was looking forward to meeting you, my son.
These shoes give me wings.
Sit down, sit down.
These Italian priests smelling of Cologne lack a sense of humour,
- don't you find? - The Pope's word is infallible.
Not yet, as far as they're concerned.
They're teaching me how to be Pope.
I'm sure you like pierogis, Jean-Marie.
My mother made them better than anyone else.
- I'm not walking too fast, am I? - No, no. I like it.
It's this way.
No, thank you. I couldn't eat any more.
But it was delicious. I've drunk enough.
Come on, come on.
You remind me of dear old Jerzy Kluger.
- Kluger? - My childhood friend.
We lived in the same building at Wadowice.
He often invited me round to celebrate the Sabbath.
Holy Father, did you make me a bishop because I'm a convert?
Your energy, your intellect, your liturgical inventiveness,
I was told all about them.
No-one can remain indifferent to you, Jean-Marie.
Yes, but you're not answering my question.
I'll answer you, then. Too bad for you.
I was going to have this conversation tomorrow,
when we'd know each other better.
I hoped a Jewish priest would cause a stir in France.
Not as much of a stir and not the kind of stir you provoked.
You nearly caused a schism with Monsignor Lefebvre.
"I'm still Jewish" is hardly provocative.
I didn't choose you so you'd cause mayhem in the Church of France.
If you wanted a doormat, you shouldn't have chosen me.
- What's a doormat? - A carpet you wipe your feet on.
You're confusing diplomacy with hypocrisy, Jean-Marie.
You must learn diplomacy,
because you must help me restore Jesus to those who have lost faith.
Do you have any idea
how powerful the press, radio and TV are?
Coming from Eastern Europe, I find it miraculous.
Hello, Father Brosolo.
French intellectuals consider a belief in God obscurantism.
Communists enjoy shouting that God is dead.
They worship only Reason, with a capital R.
The fools don't see "Reason" caused all the crimes of the 20th century.
Hitler and Stalin are symptoms of the same illness,
the absence of God.
Where reason has abandoned God, death has been unleashed
and man has suffered. This is true of Hitler and Stalin.
Those behind the Iron Curtain know this for a fact.
I caused a little scandal in the gardens of Castel Gandolfo.
Nothing can be changed at the Vatican and I need sports.
Swimming is excellent for health.
Look. There's the cause of the scandal.
I had it put in. A swimming pool costs less than a conclave
and it's in their interests to keep me alive, no?
Holy Father, no. The water's cold!
Not for a Pole, my son.
Here. Catch.
Let's race, my son. One, two, three... Go!
I've won!
You're a good swimmer, my son.
Write me a memorandum on the Church of France.
Me?
And for this job, you needn't be diplomatic.
Just this once.
The Church of France is going to perdition.
- That's a bit of a brutal start. - The Pope won't panic, believe me.
I've never known you so full of admiration.
His views completely match mine.
This is a Pope who embraces the world.
Human rights are at the core of his mission.
He's both simple and erudite, conservative and creative,
authoritarian but subversive.
He can't be pigeonholed. But we must prove worthy of him.
The Church of France will go to perdition
if it remains torn between it's Right Wing and Left Wing.
The progressives and fundamentalists?
Exactly. We must marginalise these two political tendencies.
But if you get rid of both factions, hardly anyone will be left.
Yes, but if we can't extricate the Church from these factions,
it'll disappear.
Our only truth, our only strength, Julien,
- is the message in the Gospels. - I thought our priority
- was to be human rights. - They're one and the same.
You'll have to explain that
to those who keep shouting "Down with the clergy"
and to the feminists, indignant about the Vatican's position
on abortion and contraception.
How will you reconcile saintliness with human rights?
By going back to basics, but changing our methods.
We'll no longer just be heard by the few who still attend Mass.
We're going to make them love us.
John Paul II is right, you know. We must join the media.
- OK. - Read it back to me.
Careful, go into first gear.
- There. - Do you realise that, last year,
27 priests in my diocese left to get married?
- You're in the middle of the road. - The rest are old enough to retire.
What's that arsehole up to? Call that driving?
If you're not careful, we'll get hurt!
- Do I turn left here? - Yes. Indicate first.
- Look in the mirror. - Why are there two of them?
One of them's for me. You must look in that one.
Oh, really?
Let's find out the results of the American elections.
The TV gets news to me faster than my nuncio in Washington.
Come.
Ronald Reagan and I have at least two things in common.
He hates the Communists and he was an actor.
A Hollywood star as President of the USA
and an ex theatre actor as Pope is unusual.
- Times are changing, Holy Father. - Lustiger has understood that,
don't you think?
His memorandum is a little alarmist.
The decline of the Church of France may not be imminent.
But it's a lively and interesting read.
The Bishop of Orléans is a good recruit.
He has ardour, panache, defiance.
And he wants action.
The strength of the convert is that he chose his faith.
I don't know him personally, but I've heard he's temperamental.
Monsignor Decourtray,
do you think the Church of France requires yet another doormat?
- Oh, shit. - It's a priest.
- Having problems, Father? - I've no idea what's going on.
We could give you a lift to the nearest petrol station.
I'd like that. Thanks.
- You wouldn't have a cigarette? - We've run out.
You're out of luck.
Wait, I saw you on the local news.
You're our bishop.
And I celebrate Mass every evening at 6pm. Will you come?
- They'll never let us in. - There are no more private chapels.
Everyone's welcome. So, will you come?
- What's your name? - Michel.
Do you believe in God, Michel?
- I'm not really a churchgoer. - Why not?
It's full of old people... I can't take it seriously.
You can't take it seriously.
But what if you were surrounded by young people
from all over the world, who'd come together to pray?
You're prepared to organise a kind of Woodstock?
- A Christian Woodstock, yes. - It'll be boring.
No, it wouldn't work. Shall we drop you off, Father?
The Bishop of Orléans.
- Lulu? - Have any fags?
No, but...
Wait, wait, wait.
What?
The Bishop of Dijon has been waiting for half an hour.
We finally meet.
I'll leave you.
- Forgive the state I'm in. - Please. It's my fault.
I should have warned you.
But the Holy Father, who did me the honour of using me as his messenger,
asked me to be very quick and very discreet.
- Tell me. I'm worried now. - There's nothing to worry about.
Jean-Marie Lustiger, the Pope has named you Archbishop of Paris.
I've been in Orléans only a year.
Cardinal Marty's succession is a delicate issue.
And by naming you, the Pope hopes to show the bishops
how interested he is in the Church of France.
- He has a lot of nerve. - He hesitated for a long time.
A long time?
The Pope is a man who hurries slowly.
He prayed a lot before making his decision.
Your nomination is the result of his prayers.
That's what he told me.
- Want a fag? - No, thank you.
Archbishop of Paris.
It's as though the crucifix suddenly bore the yellow star.
"I have asked only one thing of God,
to live in the house of the Lord each day of my life
to contemplate His beauty and visit His temple."
- Thank you for your visit. - We wish you luck.
See you soon. Goodbye.
- Chief Rabbi of France. - No longer.
This is my successor, René-Samuel Sirat.
How do you do? You're Father Julien, aren't you?
Welcome. Hello.
Please follow me. The Archbishop will see you now.
Want one?
Am I to understand, Rabbi Kaplan, this is your last official visit?
I am grateful you came.
This visit isn't about chance timing.
I didn't want to leave public life
without asking you, in the name of our community,
to stop proclaiming yourself both Jewish and a Christian
in every interview.
Thank you for seeing us, Your Grace.
Rabbi Kaplan, I am as Jewish as you are,
and as all the members of my family murdered in the Nazi camps.
One is either Jewish or Christian, Your Grace, never both at once.
I won't disown my ancestors.
I won't renounce my father and mother to make you happy.
I met your father when Paris was liberated.
The poor man was in despair over your conversion.
He asked me to help have it annulled.
Thank you for seeing us, Your Grace.
- You were born in Algeria? - Yes, in Bône. Currently Annaba.
So you're the first Sephardic Chief Rabbi of France.
I am the first Jewish Archbishop of Paris.
As pioneers, I hope we'll find common ground.
I am sure of it. I love debating.
For example, I don't think you're a pioneer.
I'd say you were an exception.
But I don't want to take up your time. Thank you for seeing us.
- How is he? - Same as yesterday.
The nurse will be here in half an hour.
- Speak later? - Yes.
- Have you been here long? - I just got here.
- What's so funny, Dad? - That joke about you.
- About me? - Yes.
Fanny told you?
Do you know why the Chief Rabbi is Sephardic?
No, why?
Because the Archbishop is Ashkenazi.
Jean-Marie.
It's not the name I gave you. It's the one you chose.
I didn't choose it to upset you.
Jean-Marie.
Will you bring me your mother's portrait?
She was beautiful.
Gisèle was taken away
before I could find a safe place for you.
I know, Dad.
She's the one who insisted on staying to look after the shop
while you were in Orléans.
You'd better rest, Dad. I know all this.
You know nothing at all.
After the war, when I wanted to stop you going to the seminary,
you accused me of only trying to save myself,
of abandoning your mother.
And you said you were still alive only thanks to the Christians.
Not thanks to your father. I haven't forgotten, you know.
I wasn't able to protect my wife and son. That's true.
I regret not dying instead of your mother every day.
I said all those things because I was young, because I was hurting.
Please forget them. I didn't really think that.
- You did a bit. - No, Dad.
I never believed in anything.
But I want to be buried as a Jew.
And I want my only son to recite the Kaddish for me.
Aaron, will you say the prayer for the dead for your father?
Congratulations on your promotion to editor.
I was going to write to you.
- You can take off your jacket. - I don't mind the heat.
I haven't asked to meet you as editor of my newspaper,
but as a representative of the Catholic press.
- Gosh. - I'll come straight to the point.
We feel you're usurping our role.
We know you've obtained a radio frequency.
Doesn't the diocese have better things to do than broadcast?
A word from the French clergy between Green Radio and Gay FM?
- Limit yourself to good deeds. - I will not neglect them.
But why limit myself to them?
Broadcasting is undergoing a radical transformation.
The state is loosening its monopoly on radio.
- I won't let the opportunity pass. - But you have no media skills.
True, just as you have no knowledge of Catholicism.
You won't stop me from doing this. I see it as my evangelical duty.
Or a manifestation of your devouring ambition.
- How far will you push things? - I'll do a weekly programme.
Tell me what you think.
I'll be grateful for professional advice.
Excuse me. I must give an interview for the "Morning Star".
Which is why we must ensure our priests are
in touch with the world.
Am I boring you? The training of priests is essential, you know.
It's your pacing up and down. I'm having trouble digesting lunch.
Fried food's my downfall. It's very bad for my cholesterol.
We lack priests,
but we must also be brave enough to admit
that our training programme is mediocre and obsolete.
What is it?
I must urgently speak to Monsignor Lustiger.
Your Excellency.
Bad news?
My father has died.
I hope you don't mind if we postpone this conversation.
- My condolences. - Thank you.
Was your father religious?
No.
Good.
Otherwise... his burial...
Given your position, you understand.
A shepherd can't be so different from his flock.
You already told me that.
I wish these were other circumstances.
I loved uncle Charles very much too.
- Who are those two men? - The police.
There was a bomb alert and now they won't leave me alone.
I saw no death notices in the papers. Did you not have time?
Recite the Kaddish, please.
You don't have minyan.
There must be at least ten men to recite the Kaddish.
Stop it, Fanny. In any case, Dad wasn't religious.
But you're religious.
Won't you recite the Kaddish for your father?
- I recited the Kaddish inwardly. - Hypocrite.
- Stop it. - Hypocrite.
- Don't make a scene. - Then get out of here.
Can't you try to understand me? I'm suffering too, maybe more.
You. You, you, you, you. That's all you think about.
You hurt your father until the very end.
I never want to see you again.
This is Radio Notre-Dame.
A coffee and find me the schedule for next month.
- Please, servant. - Heard back from CBS?
Where did you put the file we prepared for the Americans?
It's right under your eyes.
CBS want to send a team over next week, but I'd postpone it.
They want to film a success story, not a manic-depressive.
I'm in mourning, Julien. Do you know what that means?
Take a break, Lulu.
Go on a trip, take a few days off. You're making it hard on everyone.
Rome - April 1983.
Is it far, Karol?
Aren't you glad to get away from the synod for a few minutes?
I don't want you to get tired. You're not back to full health.
This South American tour is premature.
You're a real Jewish mother to me!
Come along.
- Look, little brother. - What on earth is that?
The Popemobile.
A marvel invented by great engineers
to allow me to see and be seen in all safety.
Bulletproof glass and armoured steel.
- Don't you think it'll look silly? - I may look like a clown,
but I'll no longer be the target in the shooting gallery.
Help me up.
You know, the little Turkish terrorist who shot me
was sent by the Communist secret service.
I suspected as much even before the results of the investigation.
I worry them enough for them to commit a crime.
- And this delights you. - Of course it makes me happy.
When Jaruzelski and his Bulgarian friends
show that they're panicking,
it means that I, as Pope,
and dear Lech Walesa, Nobel Prize winner,
are hurting them a lot.
There's no need for firearms or tanks.
With God's help, the Communists will soon fall like rotten fruit.
The Iron Curtain is but an accident of history.
Very comfortable, panoramic views. Do you have the keys, Karol?
- Of course not. - Shame.
I'd have liked to take it for a spin. Shall we go back in?
Wait.
I wanted to be alone with you to announce this.
I'm making you a cardinal, Jean-Marie.
And I'm taking you as my adviser.
Soon, I'll make you part of the Synod's General Council.
You'll become papabile.
Some day, perhaps, a Jew will act the clown in this silly car.
You're an exceptionally free man, spiritually free.
But you give me too much, Karol.
I know that what I give you
will be returned to the Church a hundredfold.
This is just good politics, my brother.
The Church proposes a realistic utopia.
John Paul II calls it "Civilisation of Love".
That was Cardinal Lustiger.
We will now be talking to our guest, Théo Klein.
This famous lawyer is the new president of CRIF,
the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France.
I'm delighted to meet you, Mr Klein.
I've sent you an invitation to a reception on Wednesday.
- It's our radio's anniversary. - I won't be around, unfortunately.
I know what you're thinking - I won't go to this convert's house.
Sir, take a seat, please.
If you're joining us now, I'm with Master Klein, our guest.
Jean-Marie, Mr Klein insisted on seeing you.
I had to clarify that terrible misunderstanding.
I've always felt man should choose according to his conscience.
Please sit down, Mr Klein.
Sorry. When I'm tired, I lose my temper easily.
You were talking about a civilisation of love.
John Paul II speaks of that. I still have to work on it.
I have nothing against Christians, you know. I married one.
Mazel tov.
- I need some advice, Mr Klein. - I'll try.
I've been asked to travel to Poland. Should I go?
I'd sworn never to set foot in a country which destroyed us.
Why are you asking me this?
You're the first Jew I've seen in a long time.
How can I go without going to Auschwitz, where my mother died?
Am I speaking to the Cardinal or to the Jew who lost his mother?
I am one and the same.
In France, some people are already questioning the Holocaust.
Faurisson says only lice were gassed in Auschwitz.
The deniers are garnering support.
So, yes, we must defend the memory of our dead.
Go to Auschwitz, cousin, but go there as a civilian.
- Why? - Go as a Jew who's lost his mother,
not as John Paul II's cardinal.
- It will be less complicated. - Nothing's complicated
between the Pope and me. Nothing.
Auschwitz - June 1983
- Switch off the music! - Lulu, don't scare the young man.
I wanted to come here on my own. Why did you have to insist?
Was that good, Lustiger?
You know what a Jew is?
- I think so. - Know any?
Maybe...
They're not men, they're rats!
Look.
We'll kill them all on midsummer night.
- All of them? - Obviously.
Men, women and children, or there's no point.
Now you know the great secret.
Here. You can touch this.
It's odd that the Jewish wing is locked, isn't it?
- Everything seems odd to me here. - Kristof, why do we need a guard
- to open this door? - Tours don't normally come here.
- We forgot to open it this morning. - Why don't tours come here?
Two thirds of visitors are Polish. They're not interested.
He brought the wrong key. He'll be right back.
- There's only one Jewish wing? - There's only one Belgian wing
and one Danish wing.
So you think their fates are comparable?
I think the Jewish wing was opened after the Danish one.
And when was it opened?
I don't know. The Communist authorities decided everything.
Maybe the Archbishop knows.
The Holocaust doesn't appear to preoccupy the Communist authorities.
What's the Holocaust?
You don't know what the Holocaust is?
Gisèle Lustiger, murdered in Auschwitz.
Gisèle Lustiger, murdered in Auschwitz on the 13th February 1943.
Aren't we going back to rest, Kristof?
I have to take you to church before dinner with Cardinal Macharski.
We can drop you off. You don't have to come.
I'm fine.
Your Eminence, the French want to catch the first plane to Paris.
- Why? - I don't know.
Lustiger hasn't said a word since Auschwitz.
- And Decourtray? - He didn't like the frescoes
in the chapel of St Maximilian.
He said we're still representing Jews as deicides.
I thought Lustiger was the convert.
I was looking for you. I'll miss my flight.
I'm the convert. Thank you for your welcome.
Albert, this trip was necessary.
- I'm glad to hear your voice. - My father was right.
This country is insane.
It's incredible that Kristof should know nothing of the Holocaust.
We should make a public statement about deniers in the government.
If I step into the breach about Auschwitz, as a Jewish Cardinal,
- it'll cause huge controversy. - So what?
I don't want to embarrass Karol. Poland is his country, Albert.
Hi. You got here early.
Where's the airport chapel?
- On the first floor, I think. - Come with me.
- What do you want to do? - Come with me.
It's the red one. Wait!
I know you're not my confessor.
But will you take my confession?
- I'm listening. - Bless me father,
- for I have sinned. - In the name of the Father, Son
- and Holy Spirit. - I ask for God's forgiveness.
I was unable to honour Him in Auschwitz.
I could not recite His prayer.
Why, my son?
My mother would have hated my honouring her memory that way.
I couldn't recite the Kaddish either.
Will my whole existence turn around having been a Jewish kid in 1940?
Explain.
I was always a son of immigrants, who knew he was Jewish.
Belonging to a community persecuted out of sheer spite.
But when I returned from Berlin in 1937, Father,
I knew the Nazis wanted to exterminate us. I was sure of it.
No-one believed a 12-year-old child
who'd been sent over to learn German.
- It does seem unbelievable. - But I couldn't sleep.
In Orléans, the lady who took me in didn't know how to reassure me.
And, like many Christians, she felt a duty to convert the terrified boy
entrusted to her.
- You felt forced to convert, then? - No, definitely not.
Sure, I was frightened.
I wanted to hide, to escape from it all.
And it's true she was delighted to see me embrace the Christian faith.
And yet I had a genuine spiritual experience.
I immediately knew I'd wound my parents deeply,
so I didn't undertake it lightly.
When you were 14? What spiritual experience was that?
How can I describe the sense of peace I felt
the first time I went into the Cathedral of Sainte-Croix?
I discovered the God of love at a time filled with hate.
When I converted, I felt more Jewish than any other Jew
because I'd recognised Israel's Messiah,
more Christian than any other because I'm Jewish, like Jesus.
And yet, in Auschwitz, Albert,
I could recite neither the Kaddish nor the Lord's prayer.
God, forgive me.
Thank you for coming. That's very kind of you.
- A girl or a boy? - It's a little boy. Bless him.
Oh, Jesus, who said, "If anyone wishes to come after me,
he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me."
He'll be annoyed if I disturb him during his prayer.
Given what I have to tell him,
he'll have good reason to be annoyed.
Join me in prayer, Albert.
I've come from Brussels. I had to talk to you. It's urgent.
What's wrong?
Do you know Aid to the Church in Need?
- Yes, it's very right-wing. Why? - They're launching an appeal
with a strange slogan.
"Your gift to the Pope, a convent in Auschwitz."
- A convent in Auschwitz? - The gift would be
to prolong John Paul II's efforts to beatify Edith Stein.
- A Carmelite gassed in Auschwitz. - A convert, Lulu. A Jewish convert.
That's where the shoe pinches.
The convent to Edith Stein is about the conversion of our lost brothers.
- That's their usual sales patter. - Keep reading, Lulu.
- There are eight nuns in Auschwitz. - The convent already exists?
Yes, it's been there for a year, where the Nazis kept the gas
with which to exterminate the Jews.
The Archbishop of Krakow didn't bother to warn Jewish associations
before agreeing to a convent being set up in such a symbolic place.
So I picked up the phone and called Rome.
- You spoke to the Pope? - He doesn't see the problem.
He said, "The nuns are praying for everyone."
It's a fact, Albert, they are praying for everyone.
A convent in a place that left you unable to pray for your mother
and you can't see the problem?
YOUR GIFT TO THE POPE, A CONVENT IN AUSCHWITZ.
Don't abandon me, Lord.
Don't abandon me.
I wrote to the Apostolic Nuncio months ago. No reply.
His silence is an outrage.
- It shows utter contempt for us. - No, it's embarrassment.
There's been such a fuss. Your anger is incomprehensible.
But you understand our anger, don't you?
- The nuns are praying for everyone. - I'll pray over your ashes.
There should be no convent, no synagogue, nothing.
Only the silence of a cemetery.
The sky was empty in that cursed place. It should remain so.
What do you want from me?
Thousands of petitions have been sent to the Vatican,
but there's been absolutely no response.
Your Eminence, the nuns must go.
And you have the Pope's ear.
I can try to arrange a meeting with the Holy Father,
but I warn you he refuses to meddle in the case of individual churches.
No meetings. No supplicant Jews.
Why should we beg when we're in the right?
Since 1979, Auschwitz has been a UNESCO's World Heritage site
- as a symbol of the Holocaust. - So what do you want from me?
Get the Pope to agree to negotiations between both parties.
- This must be resolved. - You don't mean it?
I do mean it. It's about time the Church took us seriously.
As you know, I went to Auschwitz.
The way the museum is set up upsets me much more
than a few nuns praying in a building by the firing range.
The Church did not have to add a further layer of whitewash.
If nothing's done, more and more Catholic symbols will spring up,
leading to a Christianisation of Auschwitz.
And soon no-one will even remember that Jews were murdered there.
Auschwitz cannot be both Jewish and Christian.
To use a bad pun, I'd suggest you chose a camp.
Julien.
Julien!
No, nothing. Go away.
The Polish government gave us permission for the convent.
- It's all legal. - Sorry for these unwelcoming signs,
- but we must discourage intruders. - Journalists almost daily,
some all the way from America.
And, sometimes, I'm sorry to say,
hostile demonstrations by foreign Jews.
Why does our presence offend Jews so much?
They don't have any special link to Auschwitz I.
They were in a different area.
In Birkenau, where the railroad is.
Our pharmacy is the result of international donations.
We hand the medicine out for free or the poor couldn't afford it.
Shouldn't medicine be free here?
You can't find medicine in a Communist country.
Hello.
What are you working on, my son?
He says he's fixing up the future sick bay.
He says you must help the nuns, Cardinal.
- The Jews are really hounding them. - Why are they doing it?
- Let's carry on with the visit. - No, wait. Please translate.
He's talking about the victims seeking damages.
He says the convent is just a pretext.
That the Jews have been sent by the Germans to cause us problems.
That it's all about business, about money.
Prayers cannot redeem this place
so long as you don't respect Jewish suffering.
Nobody contests the fact they suffered,
but they mustn't try to erase everyone else's suffering.
In Poland, the Holocaust is still a taboo subject after 50 years.
The Jews are the only ones sent here with their wives and children.
The only ones immediately sent to death and reduced to ashes.
Having to outline these horrors as a superior martyrdom makes me sick.
Jean-Marie, calm down.
If you could establish the number of Jewish victims in Auschwitz,
- we could consider... - Nine out of ten victims.
- It's in all the history books. - I'll make enquiries.
François, pack your bags and go to the Holy Land.
Go visit the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem.
There, you'll get a real idea of what the Jews went through.
- Poland has hidden this too long. - You're telling me what to do?
We can't do like the Communists and simply avert our eyes.
I want to see this memorial.
We owe God the truth.
Jean-Marie.
- Not too trying? - I'll tell you later.
- Is that the petition? - Yes. Shall we get a coffee?
No time. Lulu's on the next flight for Rome, in ten minutes.
I'll go check the gate.
Over a thousand Christians. Protestants, Catholics,
a lot of clergymen.
They've all signed this petition asking for the nuns to be moved.
Jean-Marie, here's your ticket. It's Gate B.
We obtained over 1,000 signatures in a very short time.
- Important people? - Absolutely. It will help a lot.
- Here are the papers. - Thank you.
But you'd better hurry.
- Maybe I should have come with you. - It's a bit late now.
I didn't back out, you know.
But Théo Klein went to you, understandably.
Our Church must ensure due respect is paid to the Jews and the Shoah.
It's what God wants. He'll accompany you, Lulu.
I'm off.
How would Catholics react if the Holy Sepulchre were a synagogue
- because it's in Israel? - Enough!
- I don't understand the problem. - Religious relations are at stake.
That's not my intention.
Otherwise, why would I visit the synagogue in Rome?
It's the first time a pope has been to a synagogue
since the first centuries of the Roman Church.
- It's hugely meaningful. - Children of victims
- will still be angry. - I must reclaim Auschwitz
- from the Communists. - You're taking it from the Jews.
- You understand nothing. - It's you I don't understand.
Listen.
The Communists passed a law
to make Auschwitz the symbol of Poland's suffering.
They made it the symbol of Polish patriotism.
It is at the centre of their propaganda.
They've been brainwashing children for 40 years,
obliging schools to visit it.
This camp is of huge strategic importance.
Why do you think I celebrated Mass there
the first time I returned to the country as Pope?
The subtleties of Polish politics are lost on the rest of the world.
Even other Christians are outraged by this convent.
This issue is like a bomb. You must defuse it.
Karol, the president of CRIF has suggested talks.
They may lead nowhere,
but the lines of communication will stay open and it'll soothe matters.
Fine.
All right.
But I want total discretion on the place
and reason for the meeting. Total.
Understood?
Nothing about it to the media.
No publicity. If there's a leak,
the Vatican must not be linked to the matter. Promise?
- I promise. - No obligation
to resolve this immediately. Don't rush into anything.
The Jewish delegation must consist of neither camp survivors
nor Polish Jews.
That way the conversation will be calmer and more discreet.
No Polish Jews in the Catholic delegation either?
What about me, Holy Father?
You'll keep me abreast of everything.
But you'll keep a low profile during negotiations.
Be invisible.
I don't want people to reproach me for choosing you as my adviser.
If you knew what I have to listen to.
The Catholic delegation will be headed by Cardinal Decourtray.
Poland can't be absent from the negotiations.
Give us Cardinal Macharski.
GENEVA - 1986
I'm worried that Macharski wasn't at the hotel earlier.
This meeting would be pointless without him.
- The Belgian cardinal has arrived. - I'm not blind, Julien.
It's not worth getting het up.
- Hello, Cardinal. - Hello.
Hello. Hello.
- Is Macharski here? - No.
Come in.
Albert, whatever happens, thank you for being who you are.
Welcome to the château de Pregny.
What a beautiful residence. Is this your home, sir?
No, this is the Swiss home of Edmond de Rothschild,
who has generously lent it to us.
Is Macharski not here?
Not yet. He'll be here soon.
Please.
Have you met everybody?
Mrs Puliasévi, professor Ali Steg
and the Rabbi of France, Samuel Sirat.
- I'm sorry. We're very late. - The main thing is you're here.
It's this way.
Heaven be praised, we're safe and sound.
François, you had us worried.
The turbulence was so bad we kept thinking we were going to die.
We had to stop off for the engine to be repaired.
Your aeroplane must have been like the Polish regime,
reaching its sell-by date.
Nice one. Nice one.
If we must postpone an agreement on the nuns' departure,
let us at least decide that work on the old theatre must stop.
- I'd like to say something. - We're listening.
The Germans didn't just impose a reign of terror in my country,
they also massacred our élite and destroyed our culture.
- What is your point? - The Polish tragedy
was the main purpose of Auschwitz during the first two years.
That's my point.
Having said that,
the great hall of the convent, which hasn't been renovated yet,
will remain unrenovated
to indicate the temporary nature of the convent.
François, do you realise what you've just said?
The convent was a mistake.
We must correct it.
The president of Yad Vashem welcomed me as a real compatriot.
He speaks Polish as well as I do. He's from Lodz.
François, thank you for going to Jerusalem.
I didn't know, Jean-Marie. I hadn't realised the extent of it.
I was profoundly upset by the enormity of the Shoah.
And all those trees planted in memory of the Righteous.
Peace on Earth to men of good will.
Eminence, would you like a herbal tea?
- How about something more festive? - The Holy Father can't drink.
Try not to tire him out.
Karol, I can see you tomorrow if you prefer.
No. Sit down.
- Well? - You won't have to intervene.
The delegates agreed the nuns should move to a centre of prayer
built a reasonable distance outside the concentration camp.
- When? - The nuns have two years to leave.
Are you happy?
The Cardinal of Krakow was amazing.
It's thanks to him things were resolved so quickly.
Macharski just called me.
He's been badly received by his auxiliary bishops
and the director of the Carmelites.
- He's in a very difficult position. - He'll go through a rough patch
then things will sort themselves out.
Macharski is a liberal.
He's in a minority in the Church of Poland.
And what's more, he's weak.
He has neither the means nor the guts
to implement the promises he made to the Jews.
But the Church can't perjure itself.
What's been said is said. The nuns must go.
Poland won't accept that.
- There will be an uproar. - On the Jewish side as well,
from all around the world, if the nuns don't leave Auschwitz.
Klein has already told the media about the Pregny agreement.
You promised me it would all remain a secret.
So long as an agreement hadn't been reached, but it has, Karol.
At a time when the Communist Antichrist is faltering,
all you care about is the approval of the rabbis.
They see you as an apostate, Jean-Marie.
They despise you and you know it.
You owe your allegiance to the Church and to your Pope.
- How can you doubt that? - I haven't finished, Eminence.
I'll turn the other cheek, then.
The agreement cannot be upheld.
Keep the Jews calm
for as long as the Vatican and Poland require it.
I've missed you, Fanny.
You look down. Is something wrong?
Books bring in more than buttons?
It's to pay the rent on your shop. Why don't you cash my cheques?
You kept my father's old counters?
Did you get married?
No, why do you ask?
But I am hungry. Take me out to lunch?
I won't ask you any questions, if you won't.
All right.
I'm glad to see you.
- This is my cousin. - How do you do?
How do you do?
Auschwitz - summer of 1988
It's the cross that was by the altar at the Papal Mass at Birkenau.
Our Pope's cross on the pit
over which the Nazis shot our freedom fighters.
No one will dare touch it. It would be a double sacrilege.
We'll put a sign at the foot of the cross
saying our martyrs died here.
Auschwitz -14th July 1989
Liars! Liars!
The Jews! The Jews!
Sister, call the police. Quick.
Liars! Shame on you!
We'll never forget!
- What are we going to tell them? - We must reassure them.
I don't feel reassured myself.
We can tell them the nuns will eventually leave.
Jean-Marie, the Church has agreed to this.
How I'd love to still believe in the word of the Church.
You can say that since the bishop's authority hasn't been contested,
we can plan their departure very soon.
The western wall of the theatre has been restored.
And as a final provocation, the kitchen garden.
The nuns never had the intention to leave.
These nuns are dripping with love for dead Jews
and utterly despise the living ones.
This cross was raised as an act of defiance
in what is a Jewish cemetery.
Imagine the pain of the families who've lost someone at Auschwitz.
I understand that, for Jews, a convent and cross in Auschwitz
represent a permanent act of aggression.
- We understand that perfectly. - Words are no longer enough.
Four cardinals gave us their word on behalf of the Church.
What will you do to oblige the nuns to leave next year?
We have a few administrative problems at the moment, Rabbi.
The Polish government has not yet granted certain authorisations.
There have been delays with the new building.
But why is renovation work ongoing at Auschwitz?
Why doesn't Cardinal Macharski object? He gave us his word.
He has come against Polish public opinion.
We may have to postpone the departure of the nuns.
I thought as much. It's enough to make one despair.
"You wearied yourself, but you would not say, 'It is hopeless'.
"You found renewal of your strength, and so you did not faint."
Isaiah, chapter 57.
Are you sure the discouragement Isaiah mentions isn't yours?
Are the Pregny agreements under threat?
We'll need another few months, Mr Klein.
The Church will keep its word.
- So the nuns will leave? - Yes, they will.
In Poland, the leadership of the Communist party has asked...
Don't blame the American Jews, blame the nuns.
They'd no intention of going.
They've handed the cardinal a golden excuse
to officially renege on his promise.
- What does your Pope have to say? - I've no idea.
- What do you mean? - He's no longer taking my calls.
They're talking about the convent.
Monsignor Glemp, the Primate of Poland, has made comments
which reflect the traditional anti-Semitism of that country.
According to Glemp, the Jews can rely on powerful media support...
- This is getting worse and worse! - Are you leaving?
Yes, I have things to do.
Hello, Mr Bulldozer.
Hitler is gaining a posthumous victory.
- Would you like a coffee? - You've played with fire, Karol.
Resurgent anti-Semitism in Poland, half a century after the Shoah.
I'll no longer be the Vatican's token Jew.
I'll no longer be a party to this through silence.
You are still confusing hypocrisy with diplomacy.
And you confuse the interests of Poland with those of the Church!
But everything's fine. Solidarnosc won the elections by a landslide.
The USSR now have perestroika.
They speak of glasnost, of transparency.
The Communists won't last long.
So why not get the nuns to move now? You're out of excuses.
You must make amends for this affront to the memory of the dead.
My father was right. Your behaviour is indecent.
You are stealing our dead, Karol Wojtyla!
Edith Stein wasn't a Christian martyr.
She wasn't gassed because she was a nun,
but because she was Jewish.
Jewish like Gisèle Lustiger, my mother!
Jewish like you?
Yes!
Like you and Jesus?
Yes.
I'm sorry to have made you suffer so much, my brother,
but it was necessary.
I dreamt, last night,
that the Berlin Wall was coming down.
God sent me this soothing vision.
The Wall will come down.
That's what God wanted me to understand before your visit.
You are right.
It is time to make amends to the Jews.
Come help me write the order for the nuns to leave Auschwitz.
Abraham Myer, deported to Auschwitz in 1942,
David Muller, deported to Auschwitz in 1943...
Bella Listein, deported to Auschwitz in 1944,
Jean Lodenberg, deported to Auschwitz in 1942...
Annette Lutrenzic, deported to Auschwitz in 1942,
Gisèle Lustiger, deported to Auschwitz en 1943,
Otto Ludvich, deported to Auschwitz in 1943.
See you soon, Théo.
- Look after yourself. - Thank you. You too.
Ma'am.
I'm touched that Charlotte came. Girls her age, normally...
I know. I'm lucky to have her.
I wasn't a good son.
I'd like to visit my father's grave. Do you mind?
Not at all.
I didn't dare recite the Kaddish for him,
but I'd like it recited at my funeral.
- You want to be buried among Jews? - I want the Kaddish
- and a Christian burial. - You managed to send the Pope
to the Wailing Wall, but now you're dreaming.
I wanted to be the one to reconcile Jews and Christians.
My whole life, I tried to reunite the two testaments, Fanny.
If you think Christians and Jews will follow you down this path...
They'll have to get along. It's my last wish.
I am God's half-caste.
10th August 2007.
"Outside Notre-Dame,
"the coffin
"of Jean-Marie Aaron Lustiger
"stood still for a moment.
"At the foot of the portal
"of the Last Judgement,
"where it had never before been heard,
"a young Jew
"recited the Kaddish.
"Once the Jewish prayer was said,
"Mass began."
SUBTITLES: RED BEE MEDIA FRANCE
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