Doubt: A Parable

“Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty,” states the beloved parish priest Father Flynn, expounding on the topic of uncertainty in the sermon that opens Doubt.

Elsewhere, Sister Aloysius, the principal of a Catholic school in the Bronx where Father Flynn teaches, and a nun with the Sisters of Charity, is writing at her desk. Young nun Sister James enters, and the two Sisters discuss a few problem students. Sister Aloysius has a cynical view about the relationship between teachers and students, believing that children should not be coddled, and the chain of discipline in the church system should be utilized frequently. The more soft-hearted Sister James has done her best to handle her students herself, without subjecting them to formal disciplinary action. Sister Aloysius provides Sister James an extensive review of her teaching, reminding the young nun not to “perform,” to not permit the use of ballpoint pens, and to tone down her love for history, among other