EPISODE 1 - THE LAND OF ERROR - In the 12th century, an upstart Christian sect called Catharism challenges Church doctrine and the absolute power of the Pope. Pope Innocent III declares a Holy War to kill these people. The remote French village of Montaillou is the last stronghold of the Cathars. One man, Bishop Jacques Fournier, becomes one of the most skilled interrogators of the Holy Inquisition. EPISODE 2 - THE TEARS OF SPAIN - Fernando and Isabel proclaim themselves the Catholic Monarchs. In the war to drive the remaining Muslims from the south of the Kingdom their scapegoats become the Conversos, Jews who have converted to Christianity and who are now accused of being traitors and heretics secretly trying to undermine the Church. The Spanish Inquisition is born and a campaign of terror begins. EPISODE 3 - THE SWORD AND THE SHIELD - In 16th century the rise of Protestantism weakens the Church's spiritual control and its political influence. To protect the Roman Church from these threats, Pope Paul III establishes the Roman Inquisition to hunt down all the heretics. Cardinal Giovani Carafa appears unstoppable in his quest to protect the interest and morals of the Church. EPISODE 4 - THE END OF INQUISITION - In 1858, Pope Pius IX orders the Inquisitor of Bologna to take a six-year-old Jewish boy, Edgardo Mortara, from his family after he learns that the boy had been secretly baptized. In the political turmoil that follows, the Pope becomes a virtual prisoner in the Vatican and the once powerful Holy Roman Empire is reduced to just one hundred acres.
—Anonymous