Ralph Fiennes Talks About Papal Thriller ‘Conclave,’ Women’s Ordination

“It does seem odd that the church sticks so forcefully to its tradition of male celebrants. I think the Church of England has proven that (having) women as priests is very effective,” Fiennes said, adding he didn’t “feel comfortable making pronouncements on the church” because he’s “too ignorant.”

“I know lots of Catholic women who would be curious to know what the future might be,” said Fiennes.

Berger said that, while his opinion was subjective, “I do think the movie explores a wonderful topic of femininity versus masculinity that is perhaps an interesting dialogue that could be the future of any religious organization, not just a Catholic one.”

Ultimately, Fiennes said, “What I like about the script is that I think it takes seriously the notion of who is the right person to be pope, who has the right spiritual integrity to hold that position.” He continued, “And what I love about it is that I feel we do have someone at the end of the film who has a profound spiritual essence to lead the church.”

This article originally appeared here.