Conclave: Catholicism, Church Politics, and Progressive Ideology

The article focuses on The Conclave, a Catholic political thriller, a best-selling novel by Robert Harris and its screen adaptation based on the Academy Award-winning screenplay by Peter Straughan. The ideological essence of the work, its theological and canonical validity, and its place in current socio-political discourse are examined. The author argues that, while not explicitly anti-Catholic, The Conclave offers a secularized reduction of intricate theological and spiritual issues and advances a progressivist agenda with the intent of transforming the Roman Catholic Church into one of modern liberal institutions where the Divine Trinity is replaced by Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion. Thus, the glorification of the film by Hollywood and American mainstream film critics is largely due not to its artistic merits, but as yet another propaganda tool for the ongoing culture war in the United States.

U.S. culture, literature and film studies, religion