Nuns. You hate nuns.
-I hate stupidity.
-And the Church.
-I haven't said--
-The Church isn't on trial.
Deal with her without prejudice
or leave the case.
-This is my affair
-And mine.
-How dare you try to bully me?
-I only want you to be fair.
You expect applause for the way
you've treated this child?
She's not a child.
She should know the world is filled
with people who don't believe in God.
People who've never bent
their knees once, to anybody
People who fall in love
and have babies, and are happy
She has a right to know that,
but the Church has kept her ignorant.
Ignorance is next to virginity
Poverty, chastity and ignorance
I'm not a virgin, doctor.
I was married for 23 years.
I even have grandchildren. I was
a failure as a wife and a mother.
My children won't even
see me anymore.
They tell their friends that I'm dead.
I'm not making up for past mistakes,
Dr. Freud
-Then help her.
-I am.
Let her face the world.
Why? It's either prison or a nut house
and the differences are pretty thin
-There's another choice.
-What?
-Acquittal.
-How?
Legal innocence.
I know the judge wants any reason
to throw this case out of court.
-What do you need?
-Answers.
When would Agnes have
conceived the child?
Sometime in January.
Remember anything unusual
happening at the time?
Earthquakes.
-Visitors to the convent?
-Nothing.
-Do you have a daybook?
-Yes.
-Take a look at it.
-There's nothing here.
Was it full-term?
-Oh, dear God.
-What is it?
-The sheets.
-What sheets?
Oh, dear God. I should have guessed.
I should have suspected something.
Marguerite says you've been sleeping
on a bare mattress. True?
-Yes, Mother.
-Why?
In the medieval days,
nuns and monks slept in coffins.
-It's not the Middle Ages.
-It made them holy.
It made them uncomfortable.
The next day they were
cranky as mules.
Sister, where are your sheets?
Do you think a bare mattress
is like a coffin?
No.
Then tell me,
where are your sheets?
-I burned them.
-Why?
They were stained.
How many times have I told you
and your fellow novice...
...that menstruation is natural
and not to be ashamed of?
-Yes, Mother.
-Say it.
It is a natural process
and nothing to be ashamed of.
-Mean it.
-It is a perfectly natural....
Years ago, one of the sisters came
to me in tears, seeking comfort...
...because she was too old to have
children. Not that she wanted to.
But once a month she'd been reminded
of the possibility of motherhood.
Dry your eyes, Sister,
and thank God for that possibility.
It's not that, it's not that.
-What do you mean?
-It's not my time of month.
-Should you see a doctor?
-I don't know what happened.
There was blood on the
sheets, but I don't know why.
I don't know what I did wrong.
I don't know
why I should be punished.
-For what?
-I don't know, I don't know.
That was the beginning,
the night of the conception.
When was that?
The 23rd of January.
One of our elder nuns passed.
-Sister Paul?
-Yes.
I don't know where Agnes was.
I was needed in the sickroom.
His Excellence expresses his
gratitude for the care you're taking.
-She shouldn't return to the convent?
-No.
You're probably right.
It can't help Sister Agnes
to have this investigation continue.
I never called it an investigation.
Your mother was a resident
of Saint Catherine's.
-What does--?
-Your sister died in a convent.
-Who told you this?
-Do you still go to church?
-What business--?
-We wonder if you can be objective.
Look, just because I don't
subscribe to your beliefs--
Your beliefs make no difference
to us whatsoever.
But they do to Agnes.
-You expect me to just condemn her?
-Someone's got to suffer for this.
You've got to be merciful and quick.
Excuse me.
Agnes, I want to help you.
-I'm not sick.
-You're troubled, aren't you?
Because you keep reminding me.
Let me forget.
-You're unhappy.
-Everyone is, aren't you?
-Agnes--
-You never answer me.
Sometimes, yes.
Your