Original subtitles

Female Narrator: Previously on 'Forgive Me':

Where's Christopher?

He's out and about, as usual.

How's he doing? Did he find a job?

He's an idiot.

Don't talk that way about my grandson.

When your mother almost burned the place down,

everybody got out.

She started a fire?

Yeah, well, by accident.

A drunken accident?

Yeah. She was drunk that year.

You'll probably make the news.

You think about that?

For having a daughter?

A priest with a secret daughter nobody knew about? Yeah.

I'm a politician.

I was your federal representative

if you live across the water.

Yeah, yeah, there it is.

I recognize your face.

The other priests, they do watch the news.

That's over too.

♪ 'Ave Maria' by Christopher Frances Mitchell ♪

♪ 'Ave Maria' by Christopher Frances Mitchell ♪

What's the matter?

I just-- I got a little dizzy.

Oh, good. It's you.

Hi, Celeste.

Sorry, I didn't know if I was um, supposed to knock

because um, at my last church there was a red curtain,

and so you could see the feet of the people confessing.

Which is, oh, why I suppose, I wore new shoes.

Oh, I appreciate the effort.

Well, wasted effort because you'll never see them.

No, but God sees all.

Gee, I wonder if God appreciates a kitten heel.

I don't know.

I think uh, Jesus predominantly wore sandals.

Well, it's all they had.

I'm sure if he were here today he'd be wearing wing tips

and his hair in a bun, tattoo sleeve--

No, no tattoos. Tattoos are a sin; Leviticus.

Oh.

In any event, it's a good idea to knock.

If nothing else, it'll wake me up.

Are you napping in here, Father?

Business is a little slow, so--

Shall we?

Hm.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

forgive me Father for I have sinned.

It's been a month since my last confession.

'kay.

Um, I yelled at my ex-mother-in-law.

Some things I wish I could take back.

Mmm hmmn.

Um, I, oh, I stiffed a guy out of a tip; I was sharing a cab

and I made a deal with a guy: he'd pay the fare,

I'd pay the tip, but I got out first.

Well, the cab let me out first and I forgot to pay the tip,

because we didn't even know the fare.

Anyway-- as he was driving away I thought,

ugh, another broken promise.

At least you took a cab, right?

You didn't try to drive home.

And I bought some black-market information about a councilman,

to destroy his career.

That's harsh.

Well, I need the conservative Catholic vote

and the adaptive Catholic vote.

And the traditionalists are going to vote for the sitting

councilman unless I let his secret indiscretions leak out.

Is that safe for you?

You're not exactly a blank slate yourself.

My sins are safe with you.

Can you not win on merit?

Merit's not a factor.

Ahh, I, I have enough of a brand name

that I can pull campaign financing from the developers.

Enough to put me on equal footing with Berberian.

Is that the property developers again?

That's where all the local campaign financing is.

You want to build a convention centre,

or a condo tower, hotel-- you need approvals,

and building permits and financing.

Election time is when they buy those approvals.

Developers pretty much pick the winner.

Because whoever has access to that money

can outspend their opponents quintuple, septuple.

But sometimes you have two opponents,

two candidates who are equally strong.

So, if you're going to donate 20 000 to one of them,

you donate 20 000 to the other one and then,

no matter who wins the election, you get your approval.

Why don't you just not do it?

You know, don't do it, don't take the money.

Don't take the money?

Yeah.

Oh, no.

That's not the moral dilemma, that's politics 101.

You don't think it's a sin to sell your political influence?

You're selling it off. Alright, I guess.

So, what's the dilemma?

The thing is, it's not illegal.

Very few sins are illegal.

Come on, we're going to try to hold ourselves here

to a higher moral threshold.

Here's the moral dilemma.

I don't want the job.

I could raise 120, 160 000 dollars, easily.

It's all lined up and I could put on a big campaign.

Sure.

Or I could put on a very humble campaign.

Throw the election, and keep the money.

Well, I would get to spend it then on things that I want.

On yourself?

Yeah, I'm gonna call that a sin.

Where does this power come from, exactly?

That you get to decide what is a sin,

and whether or not God forgives.

It's from the Gospel right, John:20.

God empowered Christ to forgive on his behalf,

Christ empowers his disciples.

And you're, you're a disciple?

A little bit lower on the chain than that, but--

What did this councilman, what'd he do?

You want me to tell you?

Is that gonna help you mete out my penance?

I don't know.

I think you're nosy.

You're asking me if it's a sin for you to reveal

the secret of your competitor, right?

But the secret-- I mean maybe, you're, you're ethically bound

to expose him, okay?

He's like stealing from the public purse,

or he's a murderer,

or it could just be that it's, something unpopular.

Something that doesn't affect his job,

but if people found out about it, it might cost him votes.

Like he's gay or he had an affair or whatever.

I don't know how I'm supposed to answer you if I don't know

what the secret is, that you want to reveal.

He had a kid.

A secret love child.

From an affair?

No, nothing so Schwartzeneggary.

Just, you know, just from his misspent youth.

An inappropriate tryst before he got married.

But, he's never made it public, swept it under the rug.

So it's not something that would impact his job performance.

No, but it certainly speaks to his character.

What does it say about his character?

Well, how he meets or doesn't meet, his responsibility

to people who are dependent upon him.

You know that he doesn't meet his responsibilities

to the child? You know this?

I don't know what he paid for.

I just know that he's never publicly acknowledged the child.

He's not named on the birth certificate.

This sounds like conjecture, it sounds like a lot of conjecture.

I know what I know.

I'm not careless with people's lives.

How do you know when, or if, he even knew about the child.

How do you know that, what goes on between the two of them?

Do you think this matters to the swing voter?

No.

An unacknowledged love child is a classic way

to bring down a politician.

Or a movie star.

Or anybody, because people don't like it.

They just don't like it.

It doesn't have anything to do with family values.

It's, you know, who doesn't acknowledge their own child?

He deserves what he's got coming

and if I really wanted that job, I would not hesitate.

If he deserves it, then why don't you leak the secret?

Well, I might want his job later.

Oh, oh my, you are just like a moral vacuum.

Did you consider the child?

Like how making an announcement of paternity might affect her?

It might ruin her life.

It's a boy.

Well, a young man almost.

Um... no. No, I didn't.

I suppose I just assumed that it would be something good,

for him, you know? Some sort of justice.

But I get your point, I do.

I don't really know that child's circumstances

or what he might stand to lose.

If the truth hurts, is it not still the truth?

No, it is. Yeah.

This has really helped me decide.

I am going to run and drop out and keep the money.

No collateral damage.

How do you get to keep the money?

Campaign finance rules state that a candidate

may earn a salary during the campaign.

Up to what they were making prior to the campaign.

And I was self-employed, I was making good money

before I got run outta town.

So I can draw ten, twelve thousand dollars a month.

The rest on expenses.

And not really run?

I'm gonna show up.

I'm gonna go to a debate.

I might even say some things that I wouldn't say

if I really wanted the job.

But, you know, I, I-- It's just, it's good exposure.

I'm gonna have a job lined up, before I drop out.

Before they print the ballots.

Sounds like you've really thought about this.

Contingencies are my specialty.

It sounds like fraud is your specialty

and that is a sin, by the way.

You know, a lot of people run in elections

they know they can't win.

Sure, sure, but they have a cause to champion, right?

Or they want to support the democratic process.

Isn't that what I'm doing?

You know I'm going to draw support from the incumbent,

I'm not gonna be pulling votes from the little guys.

You're defrauding people, right?

You're telling people that you're gonna run,

you know that you're not.

I might change my mind, I might. How do I know if I don't run?

Who are you trying to fool? Me?

No, I guess that's a little counterproductive

in a confessional booth.

Well, you're not the first person who's tried to lie to me.

But I'm getting good at it, I'm learning how to spot these lies.

Most people are just-- lying to themselves,

but you know yourself. You know yourself better than that.

Hmm.

Speaking of lying to yourself, how's that sobriety going?

Ouch.

Well I just, I mean, isn't that where these sins stem from?

Sober people sin.

Yeah.

What're you gonna do, Celeste, at the end of this,

like after this fake election campaign?

What are you gonna do?

Well... I dunno, I'm gonna, y'know, try the media game.

New market.

I, I don't know, I guess maybe I need,

maybe I need a little bit of time.

How come? Why do you need time?

To get myself together.

I'm not drunk now.

When was the last time you had a drink?

I-I had a drink last night. I had a couple of drinks.

Like, just a few, a few normal drinks.

Sure, sure. Who with?

I wasn't with anyone.

A few normal drinks on your own?

Oh. Is that a sin?

When it derails your life. Yeah.

When it- when it makes you come up with these diabolical plans

to buy yourself time by lying to everybody, literally everybody!

Except you.

Lucky me.

I drank every night last week and this week, not to excess.

How is drinking every night not excessive?

Well, I think it's what the doctors say.

Were you always an alcoholic?

No. Is every-- who is?

It's just, I mean not when you were a teenager?

No. I, I mean at parties--

but I-I didn't, I didn't really drink until I moved away,

until I moved to Ottawa. It was stressful.

I can imagine.

You don't think priests live under a bit of scrutiny as well?

And you have to be even better behaved than we do.

Im sorry, I'm not supposed to prompt you.

You don't think that the drinking is a sin,

it's fine, just don't confess it.

I'm not gonna pry it out of you.

But why do we do it?

It is a disease.

The priesthood, campaigns, political theatre.

The hash tags and the haters.

It drives me to drink.

Politics is a calling.

It's a call to serve, just like the clergy.

But you gotta remember who you're serving.

I hate them.

I have grown to hate them.

Maybe they can tell.

Maybe. My contempt for them.

I'm disappointed. I wasn't always... this cynical.

But... [sobs] people are very disappointing.

It's... little by little. You give up.

You... give up everything you believe in

just to conform to a system.

Just to do what you have to do, just to do your job.

And then you hate everyone who made you do it.

And that is everyone.

Everyone.

Yeah, everyone.

It's like a tsunami, a seismic shift.

It's all 'You're the... change and the dream

and everyone loves you' and then everyone hates you.

They all hate you...

and... that's not the surprise.

Not if you have followed every politician that came before you.

The surprise is, you hate them back.

You hate them for hating you.

Enough to steal from them?

Oh, you're good.

I'm a drunk and I hate the world

and that really is a sin.

God forgives you.

Oh my God, Oh my God,

I am heartily sorry for having offended you.

And I detest,

And I detest,

my sins, because of Your just punishment,

but most of all because they offend you,

my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love.

I firmly resolve, with the help of your grace...

to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.

Amen.

Amen.

Say as many 'Our Fathers' as is takes to feel better.

And if it doesn't?

You give it a chance.

Treat it like meditation.

I'll give it a try.

Alright.

Oh.

Goodnight, Father.

Hi.

You never come home anymore.

I hear the same about you.

You know Grammy. She hasn't changed.

Grammy didn't need to change.

I do?

You drunk?

Blood of Christ.

Where did you get that?

I used to be an altar boy too, I know where you keep it.

You raided the sacramental wine... a'right.

That's my brother.

What do you want?

I just miss you.

Really?

Why don't we hang out?

You want to hang out now?

Ever.

I don't know. It's weird.

It is weird.

I wonder, why a priest wouldn't want to be seen hanging around

with his alcoholic, petty criminal, ex-con brother?

I embarrass you.

I didn't say that. Did I say that?

You know what, you embarrass me.

Fuckin' priest, this day and age, it's ridiculous--

There you have it. - but you know what?

I don't care though, 'cause you're my brother.

Yes, and I miss you, but you're drunk all the time.

I'm not always drunk.

Yes.

Do you, do you get drunk to work up the nerve to come see me

or do you just decide to see me

when you're drunk? Which is it?

You're just like Mom.

No. Yeah.

No, fuck that

and fuck you for always blaming everything on her!

I don't blame her for anything.

You don't want to see me 'cause I remind you of her.

You're drunk, you're drunk right now so there's no point

in me trying to have this conversation with you.

I-I'm not doing this with you again,

I'm not going to do it, we do this every time!

I'm gonna come back, I'm gonna lock that door

and you better be gone.

You can keep the bottle, my gift to you.

Cheers! Yeah, goodnight.

Next time on 'Forgive Me':

We both have matters in our past

that we'd like to have handled delicately today.

You're negotiating with me.

I don't need to negotiate with you.

I'm trying to help you understand.

Trying to make you see that we're not so different.

That every sin, bears forgiveness,

every mistake, yours and mine.