Secret Files of the Inquisition
Season 1
TV-PG
Describes the western world's most potent religion, Catholicism, and its determination to maintain power at any cost in medieval France, 15th century Spain, Renaissance Italy and even into the 19th century. Historians, experts and Church authorities advise on the handling of this controversial subject matter.
4 Episodes
- Root Out Heretics
E1Root Out HereticsIn 1308 Pope Gregory IX enlists the Dominicans to root out and destroy a sect know as the Cathars which renounce all the rituals of the Catholicism in favor of simple spiritualism. This simple faith had great appeal to illiterate villagers who had little understanding of the Roman Catholic Church they belonged to. Thus begins the Inquisition. - The Tears of Spain
E2The Tears of SpainSpain 1468 - A land where Christians, Muslims and Jews have lived in tolerance for centuries. That time is ending. A young King and Queen proclaim themselves Catholic Monarchs and start an Inquisition. Jews who had converted to Christianity are accused of secretly sabotaging the Christian faith. They become the pawns in a game of chess with dire consequences. Thousands perish in a ritual called the act of faith. In Zaragossa, the inquisitor is assassinated - setting off a wave of reprisals. Mothers will die to protect their children - and the highest in the land will pay the ultimate price. It is the beginning of the Spanish empire and a long dark night that will last for centuries. - The End of the Inquisition
E4The End of the InquisitionIn his conquest of Europe Napoleon encounters and abolishes the Inquisition and its ongoing atrocities in France, Spain and northern Italy. But with Napoleon's fall from power the Inquisition returns with vengeance. Despite causing substantial public relations damage to the Catholic Church in the modern era it is not substantially curtained until the Church is conquered by the newly unified nation of Italy.
