A Moral Tightrope – January 9th, 2012 12:07am

In this most poignant scene from 1968’s “The Shoes of the Fisherman”, Cardinal Kiril Lakota finds himself under the spotlight, wading into deep philosophical/theological waters. During a brief respite from the papal conclave, the priest who had spent 20 years in a Siberian labour camp is asked how he reconciles the justification of violence with being a bishop of the very church Jesus Christ established. While his reply runs the risk of leaving many of his peers incredulous, possibly bearing the brunt of being ostracized, it actually serves to be the defining moment of his rise to the See of St. Peter… the moment when prisoner 103592R dons the Shoes of the Fisherman.