The corrupt priest and the good priest

I noticed something others probably didn't; the subtle comparison of the corrupt priest - one of the major supporting characters - and a good priest who was mostly a background minor character that was sometimes seen but not heard.

The corrupt priest was so over-the-top but it was clearly an indictment of the Church and possibly Roman Catholicism in France of the times. But all is not lost. Later in the movie, a group of disadvantaged children are publicly displayed for charity and aid. One of their chaperones is a long-haired priest who has sharp facial features and is never seen smiling or even speaking. But it's very clear this background priest takes his spiritual vocation and ministry seriously. He is helping the children and is dedicated to their cause. I quickly noticed this and it helped restore my faith in the movie that it wasn't totally anti-religion or anti-Christian. Besides, the quick-witted and sharp-tongued corrupt priest (who should never have been a priest in the first place) outsmarted himself by talking himself out of the king's favor, whom only seconds previously the priest had impressed. Such is justice accomplished. It's not shown but assumed the corrupt priest would now have to leave the royal French court in disgrace and live the rest of his life in obscurity. Historically, Europeans of good family standing frequently sent one of the younger sons - never the eldest - into a priestly vocation, hoping the young man might rise to the rank of bishop, archbishop, and then cardinal. But compelling young men into a religious ministry for which they felt no spiritual calling was bound to lead to corrupt religious figures as depicted by the corrupt priest in RIDICULE.