A penitent tells a priest of first being sexually abused at the age of seven. That abuse would continue over the next five years. The abusing priest is dead but the penitent wonders what point would exist in killing him even if he were alive. Killing a good priest, however – because you’ve done nothing wrong … because you’re innocent – is an action which, in contrast, would have a point. Calvary begins in a confessional and, there, a penitent tells his listener – one such good priest – that he is going to kill him.
Calvary refers to the site at which Christ was executed. As Christians began to reflect upon that crucifixion, various understandings of atonement would emerge. These understandings aspired to explain how the morale-crushing death of Christ could possibly be reconciling. As the narrative of Calvary unfolds, a similar question emerges: What possible good could come from killing a man of the calibre of Father James?
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