Some Thoughts about the End of the Film "SILENCE"

WARNING – this commentary definitely contains spoilers

I really loved the movie Silence.  I am generally a fan of Martin Scorsese’s work and this film did not disappoint.  I think that young Andrew Garfield is just beginning to blossom as an actor and I look forward to seeing his future work.  I found the movie a fascinating glimpse into the history of 17^th Century Japan and one perspective on the near complete failure of Christian missionary efforts to flourish in Japan.

But I found myself troubled by the ending. I have seen other comments of the internet expressing similar misgivings and explanations trying to explain why I should not be troubled.

My discomfort with the ending does not come because Rodrigues apostatizes. Scorsese is faithful to the book and I question my own ability to remain faithful in such horrible circumstances.  What I don’t like is that the Apostasy is presented as Jesus’ own idea (Christ breaks his silence and tells Rodrigues to apostatize for the good of the others) and as a virtuous act.  I suppose that if the story ended there, I would have been fine.  We would have been left to wonder how Rodrigues lived out his days.

But he is shown in his life after Apostasy and even to the end of his days where he is shown buried with a Crucifix that he has managed to hide during his remaining days.  Good, he really did harbor his faith all the days of his life and prevent others from suffering by crossing his fingers behind his back as he continued to reject his faith in writing until he died. But we are let in on the secret.  His wife made sure he was buried with a sign of what was in his heart.

Here are some of the problems I see with the story as it is laid out.

1.       1. Apostasy is a grave sin and a mortal offense against God.  Jesus would not council us to commit a grave sin even to achieve a good end.  The end of relieving someone else’s suffering would not justify the sinful means.  When warning his disciples about persecutions that would come because they had embraced the faith, Jesus admonishes his disciple to courage and then says, “Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.  But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.” (Matthew 10:32-33)  This text applies directly to the situation at hand precisely because Jesus is warning his brothers about the martyrdom they will face on his account.

2.      2. My second concern is with the fact that the one who apostatized to save others is later shown contributing to the catching of other Christians.  He helps the Japanese authorities find other Christians and identifies Christian symbols that may lead to the further persecution of more Christians.  This would seem to negate any “good ends” that might come from his the evil act he used to achieve that end.

3.      

3    3. I was praying today and this third objection came to me: St. Paul told the Romans: “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9)  This seems to preclude “secret Christianity.” The point of the Christian faith is not only that I would be drawn close to God, it is that I will witness to the faith by my life and my words that others can come to know the Grace of God too.  I think the Apostasy of Fr. Rodrigues is doubly sinful because he is a missionary who went to Japan to bring the Gospel.  His denial of Christ is the cause of grave scandal.  And again to reinforce that I read further in Romans 10.  Paul says: ““everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring [the] good news!” (Romans 10:13-15) Rodrigues is there so that others can hear the Gospel. His apostasy cannot be recast as virtue.  He cannot simply be satisfied to reserve his faith in his silent heart – he is called to profess it with his lips.  Faith that says one thing in the heart while professing the exact opposite with the lips is no faith at all.

4.      

      None of this is to say that Rodrigues cannot be saved in the end.  Throughout the story, he himself testifies to the power of God’s grace to forgive even the sin of apostasy as he continuously offers absolution to the cowardly Kichijiro each time he apostatizes.

I really do recommend this film, it is a beautiful work of cinematic art.  But I want Catholics and other Christians who see it to do so with a healthy dose of skepticism. Because even though it is written by a Japanese Catholic, and turned into a film by an Italo-American Catholic assisted by an American Jesuit, it does not present Catholic Teaching.