He refuses to hear the confession of the whisky-priest, and hasn't the guts to bless a child who has to be buried. However there is a paragraph: "He stood outside himself and wondered whether he was even fit for hell. But then he remembered the gift he had been given which nobody could take away. That was what made him worth of damnation- the power he still had of turning the wafer into the flesh and blood of God." (page 29) Although the reader feels an incredible sad feeling and pity towards the hopeless and helpless buffoon of a priest, he somehow has got some dignity left to get on with his life. This is another religious theme of the writer: his conception of the Power of God, the overwhelming significance of the sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church and the presence of grace in the temporal world.
Then there is of course the lieutenant who succeeds in his private mission to extinct all Roman Catholics and specially the representatives, the priests. Compared to the priest he is strong minded, full of principles, and very compassionate with the children in his country. The priest on the contrary, shows many weak traits, giggles and often wants to show card tricks. Nevertheless in the end when he has reached his goal, the lieutenant feels empty and aimless.
What could you say about the tone of the book.
The reader (I) endures a range of feelings in this story. In many situations one gets feelings of pity, for example with the pathetic Padre Jose, who has lost almost all his dignity in abjuring his faith and his profession, by the contempt of the children, by the dominance of his wife, etc. .
Also when the priest visits Concepcion where he meets the woman and his child. A hopeless future for the girl and her mother. The tone of the book is also very much influenced by death, which is also a strong theme in the whole story. The priest is very aware of his coming execution and almost seems to look forward to it.