Jack Bauer and the Pope

[There are spoilers in this post.]

24 isn’t the first thing most people would think of when looking for a pop-culture representation of papal guidance, but if you’ve been watching 24 this season, you’ve seen a taste of what Pope John Paul II meant by “the genius of the feminine.” You’ve seen the complementarity of men and women at work.

During Monday night’s show, that Port Authority officer was not that innocent, having agreed to help a supposed electronics-smuggling ring (tempted by the extra money it would bring his family, with twins on the way). Seeing his regret once he knew the stakes–that he was aiding another terrorist attack on the United States–Jack Bauer couldn’t let him die if it was within his power to keep him alive.

At a remarkable moment in Monday night’s episode, Jack had the choice of keeping his word to have the guy’s back or (defensibly and understandably) sacrificing him. He chose what was probably the reckless option. But by doing so, Jack not only saved this man’s life but also affirmed his commitment to human dignity on another day when he was driven to do things he really didn’t want to, for the good of the country, in defense of freedom.

We saw this same compassionate side of Bauer at the White House a few hours ago, when he was locked in a safe room with the president: The president pleaded with him as a parent, playing on his love for his daughter, to let her save her daughter from torture (this is 24, so I mean that literally).

During these latter hours of the day, Jack has been under the influence of Renee Walker. Renee is an FBI agent who appreciates that desperate times call for desperate measures. As a necessarily rogue agent, Jack has broken rules of civility. I won’t defend all he’s done and he has made clear that he will take responsibility for every bit of it. But it’s hard not to notice that being around Renee, and the female president, has had an effect on him.

Renee, too, has done things she didn’t want to do. She was shaken not just by the near death of the president’s husband on their watch, but by the fear of the young mother and child she had to terrify in order to help locate the woman’s treasonous husband.

In a message to an international congress on “Life, Family, Development: The Role of Women in the Promotion of Human Rights,” at the Vatican this past weekend, Pope Benedict XVI said: “Given the distinctive influence of women in society, they must be encouraged to embrace the opportunity to uphold the dignity of life through their involvement in education and their participation in political and civic life.”

He said of women: “Because they have been gifted by the Creator with a unique ‘capacity for the other,’ women have a crucial part to play in the promotion of human rights, for without their voice the social fabric of society would be weakened.”

You have seen that concern for the other in Agent Walker throughout the season. You’ve have seen that concern for the other in the president all season.

That is not to say that David Palmer was self-interested. (President Charles Logan was another story entirely.) But a woman brings something out in a man (the reverse is true too, because we complement one another) and you’re seeing that on 24. In its way, it’s a little pop-culture clarity in a land of confusion.