| Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Unsplash
Part XXIX of the “Geopolitics” Series
The Shoes of the Fisherman starred Anthony Quinn, who played the role of a Russian pope. It is an excellent movie to watch again this Advent Season, and its working hours are relaxing. Yes, while also waiting for the decision of the Vatican and The White House on whether or not to send Pope Francis and President Biden to play Santa Claus in the Gaza Strip, as suggested by this column last Wednesday.
To remind both the Vatican and the Office of the POTUS of the movie plot (as gathered by this column’s editorial assistant, Mister Google), here is it: After spending decades in a Siberian Gulag labor camp, Roman Catholic priest Kiril Lakota (Anthony Quinn) is set free by Russian leader Piotr Ilyich Kamenev (Sir Laurence Olivier) at the height of the Cold War between Russia and China, which were then locked in a tense conflict. Following the pope’s death (Sir John Gielgud), Lakota ended up on the global stage when he was chosen to be his successor. As the pope, the humble Lakota becomes a compassionate advocate for ending world hunger and poverty. The rest is a beautiful history of peace and reconciliation.
Of course, the movie’s title was lifted from the Bible. As former students of Catholic schools (like this columnist who spent 12 years of studies under secular priests, SVD fathers, Benedictine monks, and Jesuits), it was mandatory to know what “Fishers of men” meant. According to our theological teachers, the phrase Greek ἁλιεῖς ἀνθρώπων, meant fishermen of men — and from ὁ ἁλιεύς, terms for seaman or fisherman, and ὁ/ἡ ἄνθρωπος, referring to man, human being or woman — is a phrase used in the gospel to describe the mandate given by Jesus Christ to his first disciples. Two brother-fishermen, Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew, were casting a net into the Sea of Galilee. As he commenced his preaching ministry, Jesus called them to follow him and told them that in doing so, they were to become “fishers of men.” The phrase is mentioned in Matthew 4:19 and Mark 1:17.
” … both leaders can ignore the calls for an overwhelming majority of peace-loving peoples all over the world to put an end to the ridiculous off-and-on warfare between Jews and Muslims for the past 75 years..”
Both Pope Francis and President Biden can win the Nobel Peace Prize if they choose to be “fishers of men” rather than unwitting witnesses to the bloody, immoral, and illegal acts of genocide being committed by Hamas terrorists and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) against the peace-loving civilians of Israel and Palestine. Suppose they succeed in brokering a permanent ceasefire and eternal peace in the Middle East. In that case, the duo may be canonized later as the modern versions of the apostles Peter and Andrew.
Or both leaders can ignore the calls for an overwhelming majority of peace-loving peoples all over the world to put an end to the ridiculous off-and-on warfare between Jews and Muslims for the past 75 years. Suppose they do nothing (especially this Christmas, whether of the Gregorian or Julian calendar). In that case, will history label them as “weak leaders” that look like dead fish left outside a refrigerator or freezer for several days?
Quo vadis, Pope Francis and President Biden?
By the way, this particular op-ed piece is inspired by the memory of this columnist’s friend, Francesco Quinn. He was the actor-son of Anthony Quinn, the late performer of Mexican descent that broke Hollywood’s glass ceiling for minority actors. Before Francesco died on August 5, 2011, he agreed to put up a Quinn Studio in Magallanes, a town in Sorsogon Province, Philippines, in 2012. Francesco would have played the roles of legendary Spanish 1519-1221 expedition leader Fernando de Magallanes and 1564-1565 expedition commander Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. And also as the pope in a Philippine version of “The Shoes of the First Filipino Fisherman,” which I was then conceptualizing. (More on the Quinn Studio venture in resuming this column series on the “Pueblo Filipino Project” in Colima State of Mexico.)
