Harry O (TV Series)

Mortal Sin (1974)

Laurence Luckinbill: Fr. Paul Vecchio

Quotes 

• Paul Vecchio : This man's very, very disturbed. Maybe that's why he seemed to be warning me, seemed to be begging me to try and stop him. Maybe that's why without realizing it he gave me a clue. It was some kind of a verse or poem. "Cherry-lipped lads and girls besides, like adulterous cooks, come to the tides."

  Harry Orwell : That's wrong. "Golden lads and girls all must, as chimney-sweepers, come to dust." Shakespeare. I used to go with a very poetic girl. She was intelligent, but a light sleeper.

• [first lines] 

  Paul Vecchio : [knocks on door]  Harry!

  Harry Orwell : [Harry is asleep in bed. His voiceover narration:]  Being a sound sleeper can be either a blessing or a curse. It's a curse if someone yells "fire." It's a blessing if you sleep with someone who snores. I'm not a sound sleeper. A girl once said I'd awaken at the sound of a twinkling star. The girl was a poet. Some days I don't wake up all that easily. A man shouldn't be too consistent.

• Paul Vecchio : Breaking the seal of the confessional is a mortal sin.

  Harry Orwell : So is murder, Father.

• [last lines] 

  Harry Orwell : Go with God, Paul.

  Paul Vecchio : I'll try, Harry. You too.

  Harry Orwell : [voiceover narration]  Pilgrim's Progress. He wasn't running so desperately. And maybe he was gaining some ground.

• Harry Orwell : Paul, I like you as a man. I'm finding it very difficult to have sympathy for you as a priest.

  Paul Vecchio : Yes, but I am a priest, Harry. It's not just a label; that is my identity. Sometimes I think that's my only identity. The Church. The Church sent me back to school to study psychology. That's where I learned all about the irrational basis of religion. So now I have doubts. I'm still a priest, Harry! I gave my word! Alright, maybe I'm failing as a a priest. That just means I've failed myself, not God.

• Paul Vecchio : I reject the priesthood! I've failed! That's the only certainty I have.

  Bishop Monaghan : A crisis of faith isn't unknown these days. You'll fight it.

  Paul Vecchio : How?

  Bishop Monaghan : With faith. Head on.

  Paul Vecchio : I have faith. I have faith in what I see. Napalm. My Lai. War. Hunger. Murder.

  Bishop Monaghan : Paul, listen to me. It never comes easily, except maybe to fanatics or fools. The soul has always been a battleground. It's not a conflict you can avoid. Faith, faith is a true gift from God. Accept it or reject it.

  Paul Vecchio : Or you lose it.