The Young Pope: il papa cattivo

Abstract

The tv series “The Young Pope” (2016) is definitely different from what we have seen so far. Lenny Belardo, an American cardinal who was unexpectedly elected pope, is different because he is bad. And he is a bad character where you least expect him, because he is in the Vatican, at the head of the Catholic Church. But beyond this "being out of place" of the character, we have a pope characterized in a way that makes him much more like a Tony Soprano - protagonist of the well-known HBO series “The Sopranos” - than a a John XXIII ("the good pope" par excellence). Lenny Belardo is ruthless with his opponents, cold and sarcastic in verbal confrontations, does not manifest any form of empathy, and exercises his power in a cynical and determined way (in addition to supporting a strongly conservative vision of the Church).