Saints & Sinners: The History of the Popes

Why did the Christian Church collapse in Jerusalem and how did Rome become its new centre? This program attempts to answer these questions. Plus, it examines the early church in the imperial capital from Nero's persecution of the apostles Peter and Paul to the triumphs of Christianity becoming the official religion of the Roman Empire.

This program focuses on the developing role of the papacy as a religious and political force, as well as the conversion of Europe to Christianity. Often thugs, bandits and womanizers, the popes of the ninth and tenth centuries led the papal institution to a state of moral decadence, encouraged by the outrageous Pope John XII who was "elected" at the ripe age of eighteen.

New forces of reform swept through the church in the West in the tenth century, cleansing, renewing and freeing Christianity from corruption, bribery and abuse. Instigated by Pope Gregory VII, reform created conflict with the Holy Roman Empire, leading to the age of the Inquisition and the Crusades as well as the conflict between Christianity and Islam.

Corruption reared its ugly head again during the Renaissance. Under such notorious figures as Pope Alexander Borgia, the church simultaneously reached a pinnacle of cultural greatness and a pit of spiritual degradation. Then came a reformation led by an unknown monk named Martin Luther. Determined to fight back, the Catholic Church led the Counter-Reformation, plunging Europe into religious wars.

The French revolution inaugurated a new series of challenges for the Popes, forcing them to accept a new, secular, liberal state in favor of a pluralist society. This episode focuses on the denunciation of these secular values by Pope Pius IX and the subsequent attempts of Leo XIII to lead the church into the 20th Century in a spirit of progress, realistic diplomacy and conciliation.

At the dawn of the twentieth century, the fortunes of the papacy reached an all-time low as the spiritual power of the pope grew to dizzying heights. This power would be challenged time and again by the modern world and the values of the century. Following the death of Pope John Paul II, time alone would determine how Pope Benedict XI and the heirs of Saint Peter would leave their marks on history