Secrets of the Vatican 1x84

Pope Benedict made history when he announced his resignation, becoming the first pope to step down voluntarily in 600 years. In his wake, he left a bitterly divided Vatican mired in scandals. Is Benedict’s successor,Pope Francis, taming the forces that helped destroy Benedict’s papacy? Is he succeeding in lifting the church out of crisis?

Nearly a year in the making, this special FRONTLINE goes inside the Vatican—one of the world’s most revered and mysterious institutions—to unravel the remarkable series of events and sexual abuse scandals that led to the resignation that shook the world. Through interviews with those at the very heart of what happened—cardinals, priests, convicted criminals, police, prosecutors, andwhistle-blowers—Secrets of the Vatican gives a first-hand account of the finaldays of Benedict’s papacy and illuminates the extraordinary challenges facing Pope Francis as he tries to reform the powerful Vatican bureaucracy,root out corruption, and chart a new course for the Catholic Church and its 1.2 billion followers.

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