‘It is the most disgusting anti-Catholic film I have seen in a long time,’ conservative commentator railed
Ahead of its Golden Globe win for Best Screenplay, Megyn Kelly lashed into Conclave, accusing the papal thriller of being “anti-Catholic.”
Kelly also blasted the the film’s ending, which concluded with a plot twist in which the newly elected pope (Diehz) reveals he is intersex.
“They make THE POPE INTERSEX! This is the big exciting twist at the end. I wish I had known so I wouldn’t have watched it,” the conservative commentator continued. “There are almost no redeeming characters in the movie – every cardinal is morally bankrupt/repulsive. The only exception of course is the intersex pope (who – surprise! – has female reproductive parts) & the cardinal who keeps her secret – (because) of course that kind of Catholic secret-keeping must be lionized.”
“What a thing to release to streaming just in time for Christmas,” Kelly said. “They would never do this to Muslims, but Christians/Catholics are always fair game to mock/belittle/smear.”
Kelly’s post generated over 56,000 likes and over 4.9 million views on X, with many of her followers siding with her criticisms.
“Think about how many levels of approval that had to go through and how much money they spent on it,” one person wrote, with another adding, “I took this as an attack on all Believers.”
“I’m not a Catholic and I was fiercely offended by the ending,” a third person fumed. “Once again, ‘they’ have made a mockery of one of the most revered rituals of the church. … More and more, it seems like almost nothing is held sacred any longer.”
But Conclave screenwriter Peter Straughan stood by the film after learning about Kelly’s comments.
Straughan called himself a “lax Catholic,” but said the film has a “spiritual core.”
“I think the core message of Conclave is about the Church always having to re-find its spiritual core, because it deals so much with power. That’s always been a careful, difficult balance,” Straughan said. “To me, that was a very central Catholic ideal that I was brought up with.”
“The audience will be asking themselves about the power within religion, about religious structures, and they should ask themselves about the value of the spiritual life and the value of having any kind of church,” Fiennes said.
“It’s a male-dominated hierarchical structure and that’s to be questioned,” the two-time Oscar nominee continued. “Surely, it’s to be questioned. Why do we continue to have a church where women are excluded to this extent. Those are questions that hopefully (audiences) come away asking themselves.”