Striving to outdo the controversy of suggesting Pope Pius XIII (Jude Law) was atheist, the eighth episode of HBO’s The Young Pope, which aired February 6, shows the Pope using God like a hit man to slay an unrighteous nun.
HBO portrays Sister Antonia like they would any Catholic nun: corrupt and gay. A Mother Teresa type, Sister Antonia founded the “Village of Goodness” in a poverty-stricken part of Africa. While the Pope performs a mass for the Village, he spots her sensually touching the hand of another nun. The Pope later learns from the town’s confessional priest that Sister Antonia “hides the water,” using it to “control the sick and nuns” and sometimes demanding “favors” which include “obscene acts and filth I [the priest] could never repeat.”
On the way back to the Vatican, the Pope asks the caravan to stop at the next gas station. He then kneels down, proclaiming, “O Lord, let us look each other right in the eyes. We can no longer put off this matter. We now need to speak about Sister Antonia.” He begins intensely praying, while Sister Antonia is shown back at the Village getting up for a glass of water before clutching at her chest and calling for help. She struggles across the floor, collapses, and dies.
Apparently this Pope who barely believes in God can somehow harness God’s power in order to slay the wicked.
The episode also includes an absurd scene where Cardinal Voiello makes a move on Sister Mary (Diane Keaton), but with a Pope who can perform lethal "miracles," the supposed sexual depravity of the Catholic Church seems trivial.
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