Pope Leo - Failed Messiah

INT. A DIMLY LIT CHAPEL – NIGHT. A single candle flickers. JCJ sits across from John Travolta, his voice low but unwavering.

JCJ:
They keep calling me a shepherd, John. Like I’m some kind of messiah with a staff and a sacrificial lamb’s heart. But I’m not the good shepherd. I’m not here to lay down my life for the sheep. I'm not here to turn the Vatican’s golden tables over and pour the bank’s silver into the hands of the poor.

Travolta (blinking slowly):
That’s... not what they want to hear, JCJ.

JCJ (nods):
I know. But maybe it’s what they need to hear.

They speak of Pope Leo like he was a lion, roaring through the pages of history. But there’s only one Lion that matters—the Lion of Judah. Revelation 5. The scroll sealed with seven seals. The search across heaven and earth for someone worthy to open it.

Travolta:
And they think it’s you?

JCJ:
Some do. Some want a king. Others want a martyr. But I’m neither. I’m not breaking seals. I’m not spilling my blood. I’m not flipping the Vatican’s ledgers into loaves.

Travolta (whispering):
You’re not Jesus.

JCJ:
No. I’m not the lamb. I’m not the lion either. I’m just a man caught in the roar of both.
They think I’m cold because I won’t play savior. But the truth is, I’ve seen what happens to men who try.
They end up nailed to something—cross, pill bottle, or public opinion.

Travolta:
Then what are you, Joe?

JCJ (after a pause):
A witness. Maybe a prophet, if I dare say it. I came to warn, not to save.
The Vatican wants a miracle? They can sell their art.
They want justice? Open the vaults.
But me?
I’m keeping my blood. I’m keeping my life.

Travolta (sits back, slowly nodding):
That might be the most honest thing I’ve ever heard.

JCJ (staring at the candle flame):
Let the lion roar. Let the lamb bleed. I’ll stand between them, eyes wide open.