Analysis: Penance Of Rodrigo

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Theology 2nd Trimester Paper
The penance of Rodrigo was where the movie started to get very exciting. This penance demonstrated that even the most hardened person can be changed. Rodrigo undertook the sacrament of reconciliation. A sacrament is a symbol of “Christ’s love made visible.” A symbol is something that contains the reality it signifies, and also captures a meaning difficult to explain with words. The bishops of Vatican II (according to the “sacraments” reading) said that “purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify men….” The penance of Rodrigo was a perfect example of a sacrament in action because Rodrigo was sanctified—he ceased to think that the natives were primitive people who should be enslaved. He realized the error of his ways. The bishops (again, according to the “sacraments” reading) also said that sacraments instruct. Another reason why Rodrigo’s penance was the perfect example of a sacrament in action was because through his penance and forgiveness, Rodrigo changed his thinking, which means that he was instructed on why his ways were wrong.
Since this sacrament deals with forgiveness, the sacrament being performed has to be the sacrament of reconciliation. The sacrament of reconciliation is a “return to grace” (according to the “reconciliation” reading) and a symbol of forgiveness. Forgiveness is something that can better be conveyed by an action rather than words. That is what makes the sacrament of reconciliation so powerful. The reading states that this sacrament was a return to grace—Rodrigo was returned to grace after the native cut his sack. Even though this is implied and not explicit, Rodrigo probably felt Christ’s love at that moment. His tears were probably those of joy. He was retur...

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...e way the world works. By saying this, the Cardinal does take responsibility for his actions, and the tone that he says this line in implies that he regrets his actions.
Had the Cardinal not held the high position of power he currently has, he would probably have been more inclined to side with the natives. This is because the less powerful he is, the less politics he deals with, so he does not have as many political constraints that prevent him from doing the thing that is morally right. However, despite all this, what the Cardinal did was still not right because he is still a servant of God, and a servant of God is supposed to what is morally right. This shows that the Catholic Church is portrayed by the movie as a cold, and unfeeling church driven by power and politics. Even past the Crusades, the Church still did questionable things, which shocked me.

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