"Your Holiness, the little matter that brought me here to the furthest edge of your light on Earth is now settled." "And the Indians are once more free to be enslaved by the Spanish and Portuguese settlers." "I don't think I've set it in the right note." "Begin again." "Your Holiness, I write to you in this year of our Lord seventeen hundred and fifty eight... from the Southern continent of the Americas from the town of Asuncion in the Province of La Plata... two weeks march from the great Mission of San Miguel." "These missions have provided a refuge for the Indians against the worst depredations of the settlers... and have earned much resentment because of it." "The noble souls of these Indians incline towards music." "Indeed, many a violin played in the Acadamies of Rome itself has been made by their nimble and gifted hands." "It was from these missions the Jesuit fathers carried the word of God to the high and undiscovered plateau... of those Indians still existing in their natural state and received in return...martyrdom." "The death of this priest was to form the first link in the chain of which I now find myself a part." "Continue." "As your Holiness undoubtedly knows little in this world unfolds as we predict." "Indeed, how could the Indians have supposed that the death of that unsung priest would bring among them a man whose life was to become inextricably intertwined with their own." "Thank you, Father." "It was our territory." "Julien's and mine." "I sent him, Father." "I have to go up there myself." "Can you see him?" "No." "With an orchestra the Jesuits could have subdued the whole continent." "So it was that the Indians of the Guarani were brought finally to account to the everlasting mercy of God and to the short-lived mercy of man." "Who are you?" "So, you're hunting above the falls now," "Captain Mendoza." "We're building a mission here." "We're going to make Christians of these people." "If you have the time." "It's your brother." "Alonzo" "Alonzo, are they healthy?" "Excellent!" "Good." "Are there many above the falls?" "Yes." "Dangerous?" "Yes." "Not against powder and shot!" "No." "I've seen Jesuits there." "Above the falls?" "Yes." "Damn!" "The mission has been called San Carlos." "Captain Mendoza." "Alonzo!" "Alonzo!" "Take them away!" "Quickly!" "Quickly now!" "Well then, you should find yourself a good woman." "I have." "I have." "If you had, you wouldn't look so gloomy." "Maybe you're right." "About women I'm always right." "You know that." "How could I forget it?" "Because you forget everything." "Oh, I do, do I?" "You do." "Good." "Excellent." "Now take them off." "You distract too easily." "On the day the senorit can't distract my attention I'll become a monk." "On that day, Felipe... half the ladies in this town will become nuns." "Pure gossip." "Rodrigo is the ladies man." "Rodrigo here is this lady's man." "Felipe?" "I love him, Rodrigo." "Since when have you loved Felipe?" "Six months." "I've been trying to tell you..." "I have." "Yes, yes, you have been trying to tell me." "So me you do not love." "Not as I love Felipe." "Rodrigo, that's the love that I need." "And so" "I have no need?" "You need so much." "You deserve so much." "Rodrigo, you won't hurt him, will you?" "No, I won't hurt him." "Rodrigo" "Rodrigo" "Rodrigo, please." "You laughed." "I didn't laugh, my friend." "Most certainly you laughed." "Rodrigo, please." "At whom were you laughing?" "Rodrigo, don't do this." "Rodrigo" "Quarrel with me!" "So, how goes it with your mission above the falls?" "Insects and twigs, Father." "No converts?" "A few... and many near to it...thank the Lord." "Thank the Lord, indeed." "Do you know Rodrigo Mendoza?" "Yes, I know him." "Come with me." "I have a task for you, and I think you are the only one who can do it." "He's been here for six months, but he won't see anybody." "I think he wants to die." "So you killed your brother." "And it was a duel." "The law can't touch you." "Is this remorse?" "Leave..." "Priest." "Maybe you wish I was your executioner." "Perhaps that would be easier." "Leave me alone." "You know what I am." "Yes." "You're a mercenary." "You're a slave-trader and you killed your brother." "I know." "And you loved him." "Although you chose a strange way to show it." "Were you..." "laughing at me?" "Were you laughing at me?" "I'm laughing at you... because what I see is laughable." "I see a man running away, a man hiding from the world." "I see a coward." "Go on." "Go on." "So, is that it?" "Is this how you mean to go on?" "There is nothing else." "There is life." "There is no life." "There is a way out, Mendoza." "For me there is no redemption." "God gave us the burden of freedom." "You chose your crime.Do you have the courage to choose your penance?" "Do you dare do that?" "There is no penance hard enough for me." "But do you dare try it?" "Do I dare?" "Do you dare to see it fail?" "Father" "How long must he carry that stupid thing?" "God knows, Father." "Well, here!" "Thank you." "Father" "He's done this penance long enough." "And, well, the other Brothers feel the same." "But he doesn't think so, John and until he does, neither do I." "We are not the members of a democracy, father we're members of an Order." "No!" "No!" "No!" "Thank you" "Thank you, Lord," "for our food and all your other blessings." "Amen." "Spicy" "Did you cook this?" "Yes." "Did you put in all the chillis?" "I'm afraid I did." "I'm sorry..." "I was trained as a mercenary not as a cook." "This is true." "It's dreadful." "But the bread is good." "The bread's not bad." "Father, I want to thank you for having me here." "You should thank the Guarani." "How?" "Read this." "Though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains and have not love, I am nothing." "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned and have not love, it profiteth me nothing." "Love suffereth long...and is kind." "Love envyeth not." "Love vaunteth not itself is not puffed up." "When I was a child, I spake as a child," "I understood as a child..." "I thought as a child." "But when I became a man," "I put away childish things." "But now abideth faith, hope..." "love these three but the greatest of these is love." "They've agreed." "If you're going to become a Jesuit, you have to accept my orders as if they were the orders of a Commander in Chief." "Can you do that?" "Yes, Father." "Let us pray for our brother Rodrigo." "Christ our King you led Father Ignatius to renounce the snares of this world and to put on the livery of labour and humiliation." "Now we ask your blessing on Rodrigo as we welcome him with all our hearts into our Community." "Teach him to be generous to labour and not to count the cost." "To serve with no reward save the doing of your will." "Amen" "Welcome home, Brother." "This seeking to create a Paradise of earth how easily it offends." "Your Holiness is offended because it may distract from that Paradise which is to come hereafter." "Their Majesties of Spain and Portugal are offended... because the Paradise of the poor is seldom pleasing to those who rule over them." "And the settlers here are offended, for the same reason." "So it was this burden I carried to South America." "To satisfy the Portuguese who wished to enlarge their empire." "To satisfy the Spanish desire that this would do them no harm." "To satisfy Your Holiness that these Monarchs of Spain and Portugal would threaten no more the power of the church." "And to ensure for you all that the Jesuits here could no longer deny you these satisfactions." "I spend half my life waiting for Rome." "Stop playing with that!" "What time is it?" "Calm down." "It's ten to." "Let me see how the children are doing." "Okay" "Over there, please." "Those are Guarani?" "Yes, your Eminence." "Extraordinary." "What?" "It's very difficult to tell what they're thinking." "Have you found this, Senor Hontar?" "I have.I had exactly the same reaction when I first came here, your Eminence." "Pretty creature." "She'd fetch a lot of money in the streets of Lisbon." "Yes, but perhaps she doesn't want to go to the streets of Lisbon." "Perhaps not." "Well, your Eminence, as to the missions ...I take it we expect no political difference between the Papacy and Spain and Portugal?" "Why should there be?" "Between ourselves, Your Eminence,the Jesuits are much too powerful here." "Indeed." "Well, if you will excuse me, gentlemen." "Your Eminence." "By the way, gentlemen I myself was a Jesuit once." "So, I had arrived in South America my head replete with the matters of europe." "But I soon began to understand for the first time what a strange world I had been sent to judge." "Don Cabeza, how could you possibly refer to this child as an animal?" "A parrot can be taught to sing, your Eminence." "Ah, yes, but how does one teach them to sing as melodiously as this?" "Your Eminence this is a child of the jungle." "An animal with a human voice.If it were human an animal would cringe at its vices." "These creatures are lethal and letcherous." "They will have to be subdued by the sword and brought to profitable labour by the whip." "What they say, is sheer nonsense." "Your Eminence..." "Father Gabriel of the Mission of San Carlos from which the boy comes." "And that is where?" "That is here, your Eminence, above the falls, in Spanish territory." "No, that is territory which used to be Spanish, Father.Now it's Portuguese." "Surely that is what his Eminence is here to decide, your Excellency." "No, that is a State matter." "It was decided by the Treaty of Madrid and concluded by their Majesties of Spain and Portugal." "But surely the Missions will still remain under the protection of the Church?" "That is what his Eminence is here to decide, Father Gabriel." "Continue, Father." "Your Eminence, below the falls the jungle, if it has to be divided may be divided between the Spanish and the Portuguese as you have agreed." "But in reality, above the falls,it still belongs to God and the Guarani." "There's no one else there." "And they are not naturally animals." "They are naturally spiritual." "Spiritual?" "They kill their own young!" "That is true." "May I answer that?" "Every man and woman is allowed one child." "If a third is born, it is immediately killed." "But this is not some animal rite." "It is a necessity for survival." "They can only run with one child apiece." "And what do they run from?" "They run from us." "That is, they run from slavery." "Rubbish!" "It's true, your Eminence." "Your Eminence" "Rubbish" "Your Eminence" "Your Eminence" "In the territories covered by Spain there is no slavery." "That institution, however, is permitted in the territories of our excellent neighbours the Portuguese, and is, to my mind, much misunderstood." "But here, here in Spanish territory we conduct our plantation in strict accordance with the laws of Spain and the precepts of the church." "That is a lie." "That is a lie!" "I cannot and will not accept a challenge from a monk." "His cloth protects him." "My cloth protects you!" "In the name of the King,whose dignity irepresent, I demand an apology!" "I want an apology, now!" "Damn you, I won't stand for this!" "Your Eminence I think we have just seen a good example of Jesuit contempt for the authority of the State." "A member of your community, Father Gabriel?" "Yes." "Comply" "That was perfect." "What?" "That little flash of Jesuit temper was just the thing we needed his Eminence to see." "What d'you mean?" "Be patient, will you?" "All we need is a little patience." "He knows what to do." "You will apologise to His Excellency Don Cabeza." "But, your Eminence, what he said was a lie." "Silence!" "You will apologise." "Go now." "What was he before he joined you?" "A mercenary and a slave trader, Your Eminence." "Will he apologise?" "Yes, he will." "Your Eminence, you should know that the Spanish do have slaves here." "They buy them from the Portuguese, amongst others." "And Don Cabeza connives at this?" "Yes and profits by it, too." "Don Cabeza wants the Mission territories to be taken over by the Portuguese." "Now why?" "Because the Missions are the only sanctuary left for the Guarani." "Without the shelter we provide under the laws of Spain the Indians have no protection against slavery." "At the moment, they come to us of their own free will." "Truly?" "Ask them." "Ask the Guarani." "Nine tenths of what they earn goes back into the community into their lives." "Father Gabriel, what do you think is at issue here?" "I think the work of God is at issue here." "No, what is at issue here is the very existence of the Jesuit order both here and in Europe." "And I assure you, Father Gabriel that the courts of Europe are a jungle in comparison with which your jungle here is a well-kept garden." "But, Your Eminence, is that to stand in our way?" "Thank you." "But why must I apologise?" "Why?" "Because I order it." "Why?" "It was a lie!" "Nevertheless, I order it." "Don Cabeza hates the Jesuits and he hates the Indians." "The Portuguese are ruthless!" "Can't you see that?" "Of course I can see that!" "Then why must I apologise?" "Because what better excuse can we give them than that one of our Order, albeit a novice publicly insults one of them?" "Now, you will apologise." "Or are you no longer a Jesuit?" "Your Eminence, by order of holy obedience humbly and without reservation ...I ask Don Cabeza to pardon my presumption and my insolence." "Well..." "I accept." "Why not?" "But, as I said before I cannot accept a challenge from a priest." "True, which makes my insolence all the more insolent... and your pardon twice as gracious." "Your Eminence, I ask your pardon, too." "I ask the pardon of this assembly." "I ask for the pardon of my brothers..." "And I ask for your pardon for insulting His Excellency." "Thank you, that will do." "Well, that was most gratifying, Your Eminence." "Now do you think you could tell us something about your attitude to the transference of the Mission's territories?" "Precisely." "I have, of course, kept these matters in the forefront of my mind ever since I came here,but I don not think that I should make a final decision until I have seen these mission territories with my own eyes." "There are numerous missions that I should inspect." "But I decided that I shall begin with the oldest the Great Mission of Sam Miguel." "Your Holiness, a surgeon to save the body must often hack off a limb." "But in truth, nothing had prepared me for the beauty and the power of the limb that I had come here to sever." "Very impressive." "Perhaps I'm missing something." "I can't see any difference between this plantation and my own." "That is the difference." "This plantation is theirs." "Your Eminence this is another difference." "A runaway slave bought by a Spanish settler from a slave-trader." "I see." "Is that lawful?" "Supply and demand is the law of trade." "And the law of souls?" "What's a few cuts across the back compared with what you offer them?" "The torments of hell?" "Imprisoned souls?" "Think of that, Your Eminence." "Well, Father Ibaye, shall we continue?" "What was your income last year, Father?" "Last year, a hundred and twenty thousand escudos." "And how was it distributed?" "It is shared among them equally." "This is a community." "Ah, yes, there is a French radical group that teaches that doctrine." "Your Eminence it was the doctrine of the early Christians." "Well, I am inexpressibly impressed by your achievement, Father." "And will that save us?" "I hope it may, Father." "The Court of Portugal is atheistic, but you and I are Christian Catholics and additionally serve a Christian King." "Oh, come, come, Your Eminence, I also serve a Catholic King." "Effectively you serve the Marquis of Pombal who is insanely hostile to the church." "And unfortunately rules your King." "And I suggest that you and I together... advise your King to postpone the transfer of the Mission Territories until we get guarantees from the Portuguese for their survival." "And I suggest that we do this in the hope of heaven through the intercession of our merciful Redeemer." "In my opinion, and I say this in the hope of Heaven the work of the Missions is the work of the Devil!" "They teach contempt for property and lawful profit." "They are disobedient to the King's authority." "The paramount vow of a Jesuit, Don Cabeza, is a vow of obedience." "Then let them obey!" "Tell them, Your Eminence." "Your Eminence." "Am I disturbing you?" "I fear I have bad tidings from the Marquis of Pombal." "Between ourselves, I should like to express my personal regret." "He is determined to destroy the power of the Church." "And your Christian community is commercially competitive." "Yes... it's very prosperous." "Isn't that precisely why you want to take it over?" "You should have achieved a noble failure if you wanted the approval of the State." "There's nothing we like better than a noble failure." "It's deeply reassuring to a trading nation such as my own." "You're not going to read it?" "I don't need to read it to know what it contains." "So what will you do?" "As my conscience dictates." "What else?" "He's been in there five hours." "Come with me to my Mission in San Carlos." "There are so many distractions here." "It's hard to see anything clearly." "I think that there your prayers might meet with better fortune." "I think there God would tell you what it would be good to do." "And give you the grace and strength to do it whatever it cost you." "The garden of Eden." "It's a trifle overgrown." "Though I knew that everywhere in Europe States were tearing at the authority of the Church and though I knew well that to preserve itself there the Church must show its authority over the Jesuits here." "I still couldn't help wondering whether these Indians would not have preferred that the sea and wind had not brought any of us to them." "They say they don't understand what you mean." "They say they want you to speak more clearly." "What is it exactly that you want them to do?" "They must leave the Mission." "They say they don't want to leave the Mission.The Mission is their home." "They must learn to submit to the will of God." "Tell them." "They say it was the will of God that they came out of the jungle and built the Missions." "They don't understand why God has changed his mind." "I cannot hope to understand God's reasons." "He says how does he know you know God's will?" "He doesn't think you speak for God.He thinks you speak for the Portuguese." "I do not personally speak for God but I do speak for the Church, which is God's instrument on Earth." "He says why don't you speak to the King of Portugal?" "I have spoken to the King of Portugal." "He will not listen." "He says he is also a King." "He also will not listen." "He says they were wrong ever to have trusted us." "They're going to fight." "Well, then you must persuade them not to fight." "I have failed to persuade you to fight on their behalf." "If they do fight it is imperative that no one of you should even seem to have encouraged them to do so." "And therefore all of you will return with me to Asuncion tomorrow." "If anyone should disobey this, he will be excommunicated cut off...cast out." "Why must they fight?" "Why can't they return to the jungle?" "Because this is their home." "Did you know this was going to be your decision?" "Yes." "Then why did you come, Your Eminence?" "To persuade you not to resist the transfer of the Mission territories." "If the Jesuits resist the Portuguese then the Jesuit Order will be expelled from Portugal." "After Portugal, then Spain France, Italy, who knows?" "If your Order is to survive at all, Father£¬the Missions here must be sacrificed." "What were they saying?" "They said they didn't want to go back to the forest£¬because the Devil lives there." "They want to stay here." "And what did you say?" "I said I'd stay with them." "I want to renounce my vows of obedience." "Get out" "Get out, Rodrigo." "I won't listen to you." "Just you?" "No, it's Ralph and John, too." "What do you want, Captain?" "An honourable death?" "They want to live, Father." "They say that God has left them." "He's deserted them." "Has he?" "You should never have become a priest." "But I am a priest and they need me!" "Then help them as a priest!" "If you die with blood on your hands, Rodrigo, you betray everything we've done." "You promised your life to God and God is love!" "Soldier!" "Weren't you supposed to be on guard last night?" "Look what happened!" "Get back there with the others!" "They've taken three guns, gunpowder, pistols and I don't know what else." "Father, I've come to ask you to bless me." "No." "If you're right, you'll have God's blessing." "If you're wrong, my blessing won't mean anything." "If might is right then love has no place in the world." "If may be so, it may be so." "But I don't have the strength to live in a world like that, Rodrigo." "I can't bless you." "Rodrigo" "They're coming!" "They're coming!" "Bring up both the cannons!" "Quickly, quickly!" "The other cannon as well!" "Over there!" "Indians!" "Turn around!" "Turn around!" "Face them!" "Turn around!" "Indians!" "We'll have to move the cannon!" "Move the cannon!" "And that one!" "Over there!" "Get the priest!" "Get him!" "It's not our responsibility." "I'm not interested." "Take your positions." "Don't let the priest get away!" "Faster!" "The falls!" "Help!" "Back!" "Back!" "Take Back!" "Launch!" "And you have the effrontery to tell me that this slaughter was necessary?" "I did what I had to do given the legitimate purpose, which you sanctioned I would have to say...yes." "In truth...yes." "You had no alternative, Your Eminence." "We must work in the world." "The world is thus." "No, Senor Hontar thus have we make the world." "Thus have I made it." "So, Your Holiness now your priests are dead and I am left alive." "But, in truth, it is I who am dead and they who live." "For, as always, Your Holiness the spirit of the dead will survive in the memory of the living."