Saints & Sinners: The History of the Popes

Why did the Christian Church collapse in Jerusalem and how did Rome become its new centre? This programme attempts to answer these questions and 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 programme focuses both on the developing role of the Papacy as a religious and political force and also on the conversion of Europe to Christianity. Often thugs bandits and womanisers, the Popes of the ninth and tenth centuries led the Papal Institution into a state of moral decadence, typified by the outrageous Pope John XII -who was "elected" at the ripe age of eighteen.

From the tenth century onwards, new forces of reform swept through the Church in the West, cleansing, renewing and freeing Christianity from corruption, bribery and abuse. Reform brought with it conflict with the Holy Roman Empire, instigated by Pope Gregory VII. There followed the age of the inquisition and the crusades, giving rise to confrontation 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 cultural greatness and a pit of spiritual degradation. Then came the reformation led by an unknown monk -Martin Luther. The Catholic Church was to fight back with the Counter Reformation and plunged Europe into religious wars

The modern era, ushered in by the French revolution, inaugurated a new series of challenges for the Popes, forcing them to accept a new "secular" liberal state in favour of a "pluralist" society. This programme 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.

At the dawn of the twentieth century, the fortunes of the Papacy seemed at an all time low. Paradoxically, the spiritual power of the Pope had grown to dizzying heights. This power would be challenged time and again by the modern world. We conclude by reviewing the challenges facing the Papacy both inside and beyond the Catholic Church following the death of Pope John Paul II.