LITTLE MARY (cont'd) - It's funny, when I have seen this play done well (in NY production and in about half the readings), it is wonderful. When done badly, it is painful to watch. There is no doubt it is a polemic on overpopulation. Sometime about ten years ago I decided that among my comedies and twisted screenplay adventures, I had to write about things in the world I wanted to change. Some friends have told me that it a waste of time and to entertain people is enough as I will not be able to change them. Well, who knows. We do what we must. Here is Scene Three:
SCENE THREE
The vestry in a cathedral,
a few days later. Organ music-- the tranquil pre-mass sort, plays quietly from
outside the room.
Tivoli and Gian are
putting on garments for Sunday Mass.
TIVOLI
“That
would indeed be a great miracle, Christina.”
GIAN
I
have told you, Peter. My heart broke for her.
This
has clearly caused some imbalance.
TIVOLI
Then
why didn’t you say that?
That
it’s the voice of post-traumatic
stress
disorder.
GIAN
You
have spoken with her doctor yourself.
TIVOLI
The hymen is not always broken by the
first intercourse.
GIAN
She believes what she is telling us, Peter.
TIVOLI
Which
confirms that she’s traumatized.
Or
being influenced. She’s a wonderful, brilliant girl,
for
her to suddenly make this claim--
GIAN
It
is not my place to speak out on the matter.
I
am not a detective, this is not my diocese.
TIVOLI
Fifteen-years-old
and obliged
to
raise the children of her rapist,
who
is probably you know who--
and
I don’t mean Our Father.
GIAN
Christina
must bear the children, not raise them.
Hand
me my biretta.
(Tivoli
does so)
Why do you suspect her father?
TIVOLI
Jose?
I don’t trust him. He’s
irresponsible, self-serving—
Five
children from three mothers. And
everything I teach Christina, he
tries
to unteach.
GIAN
That makes him a fiend?
TIVOLI
Christina has no boyfriend, we keep
the young people as segregated as possible.
Jose would have had the best opportunity.
GIAN
But her father.
TIVOLI
Why
else would she keep running
away
from her house at night?
I’d like to hear what the police think.
GIAN
She hasn’t asked for an investigation.
TIVOLI
Of course not, if Jose is coercing her—
GIAN
Do not draw any more attention to the
mission, Peter. You’re in enough trouble in Rome
for
promoting your “reforms”.
TIVOLI
I
teach family planning because
in my heart I know that is what
Jesus would do. By raising awareness,
the birth rate among families we serve at the
Mission
has
dropped from 5.1 to 2.7.
GIAN
(beat)
Hand
me my sincture.
Tivoli straightens Gian
biretta.
TIVOLI
Be
fruitful and multiply.
GIAN
Yes.
TIVOLI
Even
if it kills us.
GIAN
“Be
fruitful and multiply”
is
not a slogan, Peter. It is the will of God.
TIVOLI
How
do you know? How do you know
the
will of God hasn’t changed?
GIAN
If
you feel that way, why remain in the church.
TIVOLI
I don’t want to leave the church, I want to
change it.
The world has changed.
We’re not serving man by refusing to change
with it.
GIAN
Our
calling is to serve God and teach the Gospel,
not
to make it up as we go along.
TIVOLI
Jesus
showed us there was salvation
in
self-sacrifice. St. Francis showed us
there
was fulfillment in self-denial.
GIAN
You are a born Jesuit.
TIVOLI
I
am a born enigma. The Arch Bishop
of unknown origins .The thorn
in
the Holy See’s crown.
GIAN
Abandoned by your parents, saved by me..
TIVOLI
Saved
by you.
GIAN
So
be more grateful... and humble...
and
silent.
Gian smiles, ready to
laugh. Tivoli smiles back. Gian ruffles Tivoli’s hair, like a father would do
to a young son.
GIAN
To
change things, Peter, you need power and
influence.
TIVOLI
I
know.
(beat)
I
suppose that’s why I press you
on
the population issue. 300 families look to me
for guidance. One point one billion look to Rome.
The word of Cardinal Gian-- The word of our next
pope--
GIAN
What?
Don’t talk such nonsense.
TIVOLI
You
know that you’re the next choice of the Sacred College.
GIAN
I
know nothing of the kind.
(Tivoli
looks at him, skeptical)
His
Holiness is very much alive.
(beat)
If
people think you’re going to be
the
next Pope, they stop inviting
you
places. They don’t want to appear to be currying favor.
(Tivoli
laughs)
If
you want the power to change things,
Bishop
Tivoli, keep silent. His Holiness will never
support
you, but the College of Cardinals might.
TIVOLI
Support
me how?
GIAN
The younger ones like you.
The
older ones will respect my wishes.
(pause)
Do
you understand?
TIVOLI
Yes, sir.
(beat)
But
if they support me, they must
support my cause?
GIAN
Your
cause is a myth. There
is
enough food and land for everyone.
That
mankind does not have the compassion
or
Godliness to distribute it....
TIVOLI
This
isn’t a question of opinions, Papa,
its
math. Have you read the reports I sent you?
GIAN
They
are on my desk.
TIVOLI
World
population has more than doubled in the last fifty
years. Consumption of resource has increased seven
fold--
GIAN
Any
report, I can show you contrary reports on the
same subject. The population is declining in
Europe.
TIVOLI
Pakistan,
Iraq, Ethiopia--
GIAN
Why
are you obsessed with this?
TIVOLI
Because
no one will do anything to stop it!
The
government won’t touch it, it’s too unpopular.
The
left doesn’t want their individual rights
infringed
upon. The right points to God.
GIAN
You
will not sermonize on this, Peter.
TIVOLI
I’m
sorry if I sound didactic--
GIAN
It
will not be part of your sermon today.
Or
ever.
TIVOLI
(pause)
This
is my cathedral, Papa.
GIAN
(beat)
Then
I will give the sermon.
TIVOLI
It’s
my cathedral.
GIAN
And
I am the Cardinal Dean.
The organ music rises in
volume and tempo, signaling that the procession is soon to begin.
TIVOLI
(pause)
Rumors
about Christina Naverez have already
spread
through the congregation.
What
will you say about it?
GIAN
I
have said all that I mean to say.
Lights fade to a spot that
Christina steps into.
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