In You’ve got Mail, Tom Hanks’s character says that all of life’s questions can be answered by reference to The Godfather. Not quite, but close. For instance, just ask yourself why in a supposedly Christian nation things are so decidedly unchristian. There is a scene in The Godfather: Part III which provides an answer.
The saga’s main character, Michael Corleone, is speaking with Cardinal Lamberto, who would soon become pope. They are in a courtyard standing by a small bird bath or fountain. The cardinal retrieves a pebble from under the water. “Look at this stone,” he says, holding it out for Michael to see. “It has been lying in the water for a very long time, but the water has not penetrated it.” He then whacks the rock on the side of the fountain, breaking it open to expose the inside. “Look,” he says, “perfectly dry.” The glistening water on the outside had not seeped in.
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