Original subtitles

I can't believe it.

They told me. I heard it. But I still can't believe it. What do you mean you

heard it? You're deaf.

He's coming.

Here.

Who's coming here?

The Pope.

The Pope.

He's coming to Rome.

He lives in Rome. No.

He's coming to this Rome.

Small town America, Rome.

When? Tomorrow.

Secret Service will be here at 3 o 'clock to go over security.

There'll be a parade.

And then I'm supposed to officially welcome him. Wait a second.

The Pope.

The Pope? The Pope -Pope.

When? He's coming here.

Tomorrow.

We will be providing the security, but we want to coordinate with your full

department. Can I meet him?

No. All we need to do today is seal the manhole covers on the parade route.

Tomorrow, I'd like your men also to man each and every garbage can along Main

Street. He'll be in a bulletproof vehicle, but we'll position a counter

team just the same.

What about when he speaks?

He'll do that from inside the bubble.

We haven't had enough advance to secure off the town, so there won't be any

mingling. May I speak after? No.

We apologize for the short notice and the inconvenience, but he very much

to visit an ordinary American small town.

And he chose here?

He thinks we're ordinary America?

I think because we're the town of Rome.

Pope John Paul.

Here? I saw a president once.

I saw Nixon, but to see a pope in person, especially this one? You gonna

the parade? Of course I'm going.

Isn't court in session?

Not anymore, it isn't.

Why can't I meet him?

Because you can't, Kenny, so stop being a pastor.

I'm assigned to security. I'm a lifelong Catholic.

Shouldn't I be allowed just to say hello?

You can say hello, but if you touch him, you could be shot.

I've dreamed of meeting the guy.

Me too.

You, you're Episcopalian.

I know, but when I was in my 20s, I went through this stage where I fantasized

about being with different men.

And the more remote the possibility, the greater the fantasy.

The Pope's about as remote as you could get.

You've had, you've had sexual fantasies about the Pope?

Well, not this particular Pope, just Popes in general.

That's sacrilegious.

He should burn forever.

Penny, he is a man.

I mean, what if I were standing next to him, wearing a nice perfume, smiled and

said hello? Max.

All I'm saying is, do you think it's absolutely impossible for the Pope to be

attracted to a woman?

Yes.

Popes are human.

Can I miss school?

They're going to close school at 11 o 'clock. Kimberly's going to come by and

get both you and Matthew.

Mom's going to be mad she missed this.

Well, that's what she gets for going to North Carolina.

You can tell her about it when she gets home, okay?

This is big, Dad, really big.

Oh, I know.

Could you get me a security clearance?

Hey.

Hello, Mr. Pope.

Can I shake his hand?

Yes.

Am I supposed to kiss it?

No, no, no.

What about refreshments? Should I offer him something to eat?

No, no.

After his address, he'll adjourn to his hotel. He's very tired.

And you don't need to be nervous at all.

He's a very friendly man.

All right.

Obviously, if anybody approaches the vehicle, you move in immediately, okay?

Maxine? The parade is expected to last 36 minutes. The address, 12 minutes. The

commute to his hotel, 7 minutes. They'll be taking the Rod Road route.

All those assigned to the hotel, get there now.

Any questions?

No, sir.

Well, let's go. Move it.

You actually believe he's coming?

It's a trick. Shut up.

I wish Garrett would have been here for this.

Father Barrett, he's dead. I know. Shut up. All right.

Hey, look in front. I can't see behind you.

Go ahead.

Hey, buddy, my father's the sheriff.

You see that?

Yeah. I can't believe I'm going to trash.

This is a plum assignment.

You know, trash cans are very big with terrorists.

Plum assignment? We're guarding rubbish.

We are making sure that no one puts a bomb in here.

Oh, my God.

have to admit, I'm getting goosebumps.

Me too.

Ah, Kenny, Max, in case you haven't noticed, this is it.

We're all secure here. Over.

I gotta call my mother. Remind me to call my mother.

So are you.

He shot himself! Please!

He's my boyfriend!

He's my boyfriend!

Please! He shot himself!

Let's get him back.

Get him back.

How

many

times do I have to go over it?

And did you know he brought a gun to the parade?

Of course not. You think I'm going to be near the Pope when the man who's got a

gun?

But you knew he was suicidal.

I knew he talked about it, but I certainly never... I can't believe this

happened.

Okay, tell us once again what he said before.

Just, I love you.

We were at the parade, watching it like everyone else.

He pulled out the revolver, said, I love you, and then pointed it at his head.

Did you grab it before or after it went off?

I don't know. I think it went off as

I grabbed it.

Apparently, he decided to do it at the parade as sort of a statement of

The deceased Mr.

Farham, we've been told, was involved in a homosexual relationship with Mr.

Spears. We've also been told that Mr. Farham was very angry toward the

Church, which may have something to do with his decision to end his life in

manner on this day.

We'll learn more. We'll keep you informed. Thank you.

His parents evidently disowned him when he came out of the closet.

They were strict Catholics. That made him want to kill himself?

Well, it says he was married and left his wife for Spears.

Well, so much for small -town visits.

Had to ruin it.

Could have taken your life anywhere, but you had to ruin it for all of us.

Pope will never come back.

Just give us the call, Carter.

Single gunshot wound to the temporal lobe, likely self -inflicted.

Ruined everything.

I was up all night with Zach.

How do you explain suicide to an 11 -year -old?

How do you explain it to anybody?

We, uh, we have a problem.

What? This is Bishop Cole.

He's traveling with the Pope.

Bishop Cole?

Hello. Won't you come in?

Yes, sir. Can I help you?

Sheriff, the incident yesterday was not a suicide.

The Spears fellow actually shot and killed Mr. Farrum.

It was murder.

You saw this?

Uh, no.

He did.

He who?

Pope John Paul.

He turned back to wave and he saw the man shoot.

the other man.

He didn't know you were calling it suicide until he read the account in

morning's paper.

But he said you've got it very wrong.

This is definitely a murder.

And we move for an immediate trial.

Absolutely no comment.

This was a suicide.

No comment. Absolutely no comment. The man took his own life.

You don't know what you're doing. He shot himself. This is insane.

Ben, come on. Come on. I'm going to stick to that. Such a tragedy.

Arresting people every time a gun goes off. This is supposed to be America.

Right. Just get on in there, Doug. I don't get it. I do.

Who's going to commit murder in front of thousands of people? That's ridiculous.

It would have to be a suicide.

That's what he wants us to think. He knew everybody would be looking at the

Pope. He just didn't count on the Pope looking back at him. Please, come on

No, Jimmy, listen.

They were standing here on the opposite sight line from everybody else, and

everyone's looking at the Pope in the bubble. It was perfect.

Okay, but why?

I talked to Farm's sister.

Who's Farm?

Dead guy.

Farm told his sister that if he ever wanted to leave Spears, Spears would

him. And the sister says he was going to leave Spears.

Oldest motive in the world.

Well... This is a local matter now, so... Hold it, hold it. We need his

statement. Who?

What do you mean, who? Him. Who?

He's our witness.

The Pope.

He saw the crime.

You're joking.

We've got a helicopter waiting to take him to Chicago. He's due back at the

Vatican. We can't make this arrest without his statement.

So you want me to...

Bring the Pope here to, what, identify a suspect out of a lineup? He is our only

witness here.

The key to this arrest.

And the trial.

He needs to testify in court.

Exciting times.

Quiet down.

All right, Judge. I can't hear anything if you all talk.

Your Honor, I'm Gloria Boer.

Counsel to the Vatican Embassy, with the greatest respect to our system of

jurisprudence, the idea of subjecting the Pope to this process is completely

untenable. Why? He witnessed the crime.

I understand, but he is... I want to hear from the Assistant Attorney

What I would submit is that we simply videotape the deposition immediately,

subject to cross -examination, and then we can let the pontiff resume his

travels. I object.

Why? My client has the right to confront his accuser and... You can do that in

the deposition.

We want to do it in open court.

Videotapes are only appropriate when the witness is not available.

Now he's here, Your Honor, and he's available.

And once he leaves the jurisdiction, I have no power to bring him back. So

do it now.

Tomorrow. What? Excuse me. It's a simple case.

One witness, it's a one -day trial.

We wouldn't even need voir dire. The Rosman jury's already impaneled on the

Tamrak robbery case.

We can switch them over, use them on this trial.

The defense offers no objection.

Counsel. You're not serious. We are talking about the Pope.

We're also talking about a defendant's right to confront his accusers in a

of law.

You promise to limit your cross -examination to half a day?

Absolutely. Your Honor. Judge. Then I see no hardship.

You cannot subpoena the Pope.

You have a case law that says I can't?

He's a head of state.

If he doesn't testify, then a murderer goes free.

Why don't you ask him what he wants to do?

That's not fair. You're exploiting his morality.

Opening argument's 10 o 'clock tomorrow.

Your Honor, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd like a lot of cameras in

courtroom. Forget it.

Agent Johnston, you can secure off the courthouse. I can't believe you're doing

this.

Wombo against the Pope.

Eventually it had to happen.

Are you crazy?

Keep your voice down.

Why wouldn't we prefer the videotape? He's the Pope, for God's sake!

I assume the man makes for a credible witness.

I would also think he holds quite a presence. I mean, the jury will be

spellbound to be in a room with him.

Ben! No!

This was stupid.

You just want to be able to have your moment. That's all this is.

How could my defense attorney want the Pope to appear against him in court? I

mean, it's ludicrous! If you can keep your mouth shut for two seconds, I'll

you my strategy.

Impersonal or a tape, it doesn't matter.

The Pope?

is the Pope.

What I wanted was the Rosner jury.

By using the Pope's unavailability to get an immediate trial, I got the Rosner

jury. What's so important about that?

Eight women, that's what.

Two were divorced, one had a child through in vitro, and one is a lesbian.

This is the jury we want for this trial.

What, you think they're anti -Catholic? It only takes one.

They'll never get a unanimous verdict, this I promise you.

What about his sister, if the death threat comes in?

It won't. I already suppressed it. How?

Hearsay. Your death threats don't come in.

Do I testify?

I don't know yet.

The Pope's demeanor doesn't scare me.

Yours does a little.

is a fabulous honor, Your Holiness, and we hope not to take up too much of your

time.

This is Sheriff Brock.

Hello.

Nice to meet you. This is my son, Zachary. He's desperate to meet you.

Last year I was astigmatic.

God came to me in my palm's blood.

That's cute.

Jimmy.

This is Spears' record.

He was convicted of extortion in 1986.

Served ten months.

Not an altar boy.

Hi.

Sheriff, can we go someplace more quiet?

How you doing? My office.

Come on, Mr. Pope. We'll show you to my father's office.

Would you stop sniffing me? I can't believe you.

Where are we?

No other witnesses. His sister's testimony was suppressed.

Put out a reward.

10 ,000 people. Somebody had to see it.

I hope so.

Otherwise, that case comes down to him.

The plaintiff is expected to take the stand sometime after 11 o 'clock as the

first and perhaps only prosecution witness.

Meanwhile, media attorney Sharon Donahue brought yet a third motion seeking

cameras to be allowed into the courtroom. But Judge Bone simply told

out.

Will he wear white or red?

What? The Pope.

What color team will he go with? Can you just eat your breakfast? It's getting

soggy. I like the green.

Can we just not make a big deal out of this, huh?

What?

Max, it's the Popemobile.

It's illegally parked.

Don't even think about it.

First you say suicide, now it's murder.

I never categorically said suicide. I said likely self -inflicted.

And then you change your medical diagnosis because the Vatican told you

Objection. Counsel. I factored into my original findings the statement of the

defendant. Upon that statement being impeached and a new eyewitness

modified my conclusion.

But the wound itself, it's consistent with suicide.

Consistent, yes, but no more likely than homicide.

Nice job, Carter, but you forgot to say amen.

What? Objection. Withdrawn.

Nothing further.

The witness may step down.

Call your next witness.

Thank you, Your Honor.

The people call...

The Pope.

Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,

help you God? I do. Be seated.

Your Holiness, could you please state your name and address for the record?

Pope John Paul II, Vatican City, Europe.

Your Holiness, I call your attention to Monday last.

Were you involved in a parade in the Commonwealth of Rome, Wisconsin?

Yes.

Do you recall if you saw anything unusual during the course of this

Yes. Could you tell what you observed?

This man points a gun at a man and shoot him.

That's right to the point. I admire that. Your Holiness, are you absolutely

it was this man?

This is the man.

I was waving at the crowd. I turned back over my right shoulder.

The people were waving and I was waving back.

And my eye caught a man pointing a gun.

Not at me, at another man standing next to him, holding it to the

side of his head.

And then suddenly the man turned, facing the gunman.

Boom. Boom? Boom.

The man went down.

Your Holiness, the defendant claims that the deceased turned the gun on himself

and that he, the defendant, tried to intercede. No, no, no, this is not true.

He had his arm extended with the gun.

May I show you?

Yes. Sit down.

His arm was at full length, and then the victim turned to see, and as he

reached up to push the gun, the gun was discharged, and it was more

like an execution.

Your Holiness, are you sure about this? That's what you saw?

As God is my witness.

And I am yours.

Thank you, Your Holiness.

I have nothing further.

Good

afternoon,

Your Holiness.

I would like to say first that our country...

is very honored by your visit.

Rome, Wisconsin is honored by your visit.

My client, well, not so honored.

I also hope you understand our system is adversary in nature, so I must be

adversary. So if I do or say anything despicable, it's not because I'm anti

-Catholic, it's because I'm a lawyer.

So nothing I say should be interpreted as disrespect to either you or your

prestigious position.

Thank you.

Wambaugh's being polite.

This is a bad sign.

You testified that you saw a murder take place.

And yet I'm curious.

You didn't tell anybody about what you witnessed until a day later.

This is true.

Because I saw the police apprehend the criminal and I mistakenly assumed that

they considered him to be the murderer until the next day when I saw the

newspaper. Oh, I see.

The police estimate that you were about 50 to 60 yards away at the time of the

shooting. Would that be fair?

Yes. 60 yards?

You're in a glass bubble which is moving.

You really recognize this man's face?

I did not see his face clearly.

What I saw was his outstretched arm with the gun.

Oh, well, forgive me. But earlier you testified that you clearly recognized

You pointed at him.

This is the man, I am sure.

But you didn't clearly see his face.

Objection. The defendant, by his own statement, says he was there.

Thank you, thank you. I'm just curious as how the witness can be so determined.

Now, I noticed in the newspaper account which you read that it referred to my

client as a homosexual.

Did this influence your decision to come forward? Objection. Goes to bias, Your

Honor. The objection is overruled.

Do you have bias against my client because he's a homosexual?

No. Are you more likely to consider a person capable of evil because he is a

homosexual?

Objection. Sustained.

Do you consider homosexual acts to be evil?

Objection. Sustained. I'm entitled to explore bias.

This is the Pope. Well, perhaps Your Honor would like to take a break and go

into chambers and genuflect. Objection. You are out of order.

Please, please.

Sit down.

I should like to answer on his charge of bias.

You may speak, Your Holiness.

The Catholic Church does not consider homosexuality to be evil. But the

homosexual act, that is sinful, isn't it?

A homosexual act is morally evil.

No, this is not a bias.

Any genital act outside of marriage is wrong. Oh, I see.

So if two homosexuals get married, sex would be okay.

No. Why not?

It is not permissible for homosexuals to marry.

Why not?

Your Honor, this is getting into religious debate. It has nothing to do

bias whatsoever.

I'm just trying to understand.

It's okay for heterosexuals to get married.

but not homosexuals. And yet he says that there is no bias.

It's because a Catholic marriage requires a recital of vows and a

of the union.

Yes, and?

It is wrong for homosexuals to consummate.

Why?

Because sex is morally wrong when there is no possibility of transmitting new

life. So what about sterile heterosexual couples?

Is it evil for them to have sex?

No. Why not?

Because it is still God's way.

Oh, but it isn't God's way for a homosexual couple. I object. I object. I

object. Now there's three objections.

Quiet. I think I got it.

No sex without marriage. No gay marriage whatsoever.

But there's no Catholic bias against gays.

Does that sum it up?

You're supposed to be a guardian of the judicial process.

What happened in there today was vile. It was blasphemy.

He has a right to cross -examine.

That had nothing to do with the truth.

It had nothing to do with evidence, and for you to allow it to continue, you

should be ashamed.

Get out.

We're not in a courtroom now. We're in a house.

My house.

Get out.

You wonder why people hate lawyers, hate the judicial process.

That was the Pope in that chair. Where's the decency to the system?

Get the client off.

Isn't there a canon of ethics that requires lawyers to conduct themselves

scintilla of dignity?

Nope.

You were guilty up there today, Henry.

You let it go on.

For what? To honor our system.

What a system.

What a great country we live in.

American justice at work.

How do homo sapiens have sex?

Homosexual, stupid.

Not homo sapiens.

Homosexual.

Eat your breakfast.

While only 21 % of non -Catholics would convict, 52 % of all Protestants think

he did commit the crime, but would nevertheless find reasonable doubt.

I say no.

Right now, the prosecution's entire case... is a coroner who says it could

suicide, and one eyewitness from 60 yards who I think we put a dent in. But

jury might want to hear from me.

That's true, but if you take the stand, your prior record comes into evidence,

and we don't want that.

But if I say nothing... Now, you listen to me, young man. If you make one

mistake up there, you'll be making license plates for the rest of your

Frankly, Ben, you don't come off so good.

And first impressions count big in trials.

And for what it's worth, I don't like you.

I recommend we don't testify.

Okay. Okay.

You heard Carter Pike.

He said it could have been self -inflicted.

What's that if not reasonable doubt?

Now, the Pope says he saw what happened.

He says he saw it with his own eyes.

But did he?

Well... It's easy to be blinded by his celebrity.

We've all seen him on the TV. Oh, bigger than life, his holiness.

But underneath the fancy outfits and holy hats, he is a man.

A 75 -year -old man with 75 -year -old eyes looking through a glass

bubble on the move with 10 ,000 people screaming at him.

Can he really be sure what he saw?

Beyond reasonable doubt.

10 ,000 people.

And he's the only one who says he saw what he saw.

The only one.

Reasonable doubt.

And like any man, especially older men, he comes with his predispositions,

doesn't he?

Prejudices?

I won't call them that.

But according to this witness, homosexual behavior.

is morally evil.

And according to this witness, divorce is evil.

So when the Pope picked up the newspaper and read about a homosexual divorced

man, maybe he was slightly more predisposed to think Ben Spears

was capable of evil.

And according to this witness, maybe some of you are morally evil too.

Well, I don't know.

Perhaps some of you had sexual relations outside of marriage.

Maybe you had sex solely out of lust.

Maybe some of you have been divorced.

Perhaps you used contraception or had a child through in vitro fertilization.

These are all morally evil acts according to that eyewitness.

Now, many Catholics don't agree with those positions, I know.

But the Pope, he's adamant. He's convinced he's right.

just like he's convinced of what he saw.

But maybe he's not right. Maybe this eyewitness clings to the unreasonable,

maybe this eyewitness sometimes sees what he chooses to see and blinds

to what he doesn't want to see.

So, ladies and gentlemen, if you can't trust the messenger, you must

reject the message.

Only one person out of 10 ,000, a person with a bias.

Reasonable doubt?

Of course there's reasonable doubt.

This case isn't about homosexuality.

It isn't about contraception or divorce or

Catholicism.

This is a murder case.

It is a murder case.

An eyewitness saw that man...

Point a gun at John Farham's head and commit homicide.

An eyewitness whose testimony stands uncontroverted.

The eyewitness is Pope.

Pope.

I know it seems... No matter how much evidence...

We have these days. It seems like it's very tough to get convictions.

But you have eyewitness testimony from the Pope.

Ex parte, Henry.

I'm honored at the invite. Don't you dare strut.

That closing argument was disgusting.

In 42 years on the bench, I've never seen anything more prejudiced than what

just did. Are you speaking as a Catholic? I'm speaking as a judge

the idea that what goes on in that room should still have a shred of integrity.

Then you're a naive judge.

I had a client out there charged with murder.

Now, if there's any distrust between races and religion, it is my job to tap

into it. It is not your job to inflame it. Oh, yes, it is.

Whatever I can legally do to get my client off, I do it, because that's the

American way.

And what about your religion, Doug?

Orthodox Judaism condemns homosexuality?

Why didn't you mention that?

The Pope is not Jewish.

What's happened to you?

A year ago, you worried that you'd only be remembered as a good lawyer.

That if you had to do it all over again, you'd be a good man.

And I told you, you were the best man I knew.

But that was last year.

Now I don't recognize you.

I don't recognize the person who brought a lawsuit against Carter Pike after his

house caught fire.

I don't recognize the man who made cruel jokes about his wife at their

anniversary party.

And I certainly don't recognize the man who's been in my courtroom the last two

days.

You've become mean -spirited.

Your core seems to be bitter, where it was always kind.

Great speech.

Maybe you should be Pope.

I'm the lawyer.

I don't have to win any popularity contests.

If I win, I'm accepted.

Your wife is gone.

You have no family.

It hurt when Kimberly Brock left.

Doug, if you're looking for affirmation in your win -loss record, you're looking

in the wrong arena.

There is no soul in lawyering.

There is no dignity in it, for the most part.

And there certainly is no redemption.

What you did in that courtroom just now was without honor and without

excuse.

I can no longer call you my friend.

Get out.

Will the defendant please rise?

Madam Foreman, has the jury reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor. What say you?

In the matter of the people of Wisconsin versus Benjamin Spears, on the count of

first -degree murder, we find the defendant guilty as charged.

Members of the jury, this completes your service.

I thank you.

Take the defendant into custody.

This matter is adjourned.

I can appeal, right? I can appeal.

Yes, you can.

State court of appeals. Then what? How high can I go?

We can appeal it to the highest authority.

No, I don't think he'd want to take it there.

Can I just say one thing to him?

He's a little anxious to leave town.

Father.

I just want you to know that Mr. Wamba wasn't speaking for this community.

And he wasn't speaking for me.

Nor me.

I know this.

Goodbye,

Mr. Pope.

Goodbye.

He winked at me.

Max. He's attracted to me, I could tell.

Max. Maxine. You saw him.

He's a flirt.

Max.

That's not a word.

It most certainly is.

Peckerhead is not a real word. It's a nickname.

Was it yours?

I'll show you. I don't give a damn what that book says.

I'm not giving you 27 points for peckerhead.

Pick another word.

Peckerhead.

What?

I'm sorry, Henry. I went home to my empty house, and I started thinking,

you know, though I'm a little old, to start, you know, to take up new hobbies.

So I try to distract myself from my loneliness. It helps.

Naturally, you know, a trial with the Pope.

Why, that's very good as distractions go. I'm in the middle of a Scrabble

Your courtroom, Henry, has always been one of integrity.

And I apologize if I compromised it. You did.

Well, as long as you win.

You must be doing something right, so you try to win at all costs.

But at the cost of our friendship, Henry, that's too steep.

So I came back to say I'm sorry and to ask you to forgive me.

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