Original subtitles

♪♪

Narrator: IT'S ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS,

HISTORICAL AND RELIGIOUS SITES IN THE WORLD,

BUT WHAT SECRETS DOES THE VATICAN REALLY HAVE?

IN RECENT DECADES, IT'S BEEN ROCKED BY SCANDAL AFTER SCANDAL,

THE VATICAN BANK, CHILD ABUSE

AND MORE RECENTLY,

SERIOUS ACCUSATIONS

AGAINST POPE BENEDICT XVI

AND HIS NUMBER TWO, CARDINAL BERTONE.

SO WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON BEHIND CLOSED DOORS,

AND WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR THE VATICAN?

Picknett: HIDDEN IN THE VATICAN,

THEY HAVE A HUGE AMOUNT OF SECRETS.

IT IS POSSIBLE THEY WOULD HAVE THE ARK OF THE COVENANT.

NOBODY KNOWS WHERE IT WENT.

Gough: THE HERETICAL PIECES OF ART, MUSIC, DOCUMENTS,

THAT'S THE BORING STUFF.

THE REAL SECRETS, THOSE ARE RELICS,

THINGS THAT WOULD CAUSE HISTORY TO BE REWRITTEN.

Walters: THERE'S BEEN NO DOUBT THAT THE VATICAN,

DESPITE PROMOTING KINDNESS TO ALL MEN AND CHRISTIANITY,

ALSO HAS ITS DARK SIDE.

Dickie: OVER THE CENTURIES, THE CHURCH HAS ACCUMULATED

DONATIONS AND BUILDINGS.

NOBODY KNOWS HOW MUCH MONEY THE CHURCH HAS GOT,

LEAST OF ALL THE CHURCH.

Howells: CORRUPTION AND PEDOPHILIA HAS LEFT SUCH A MARK

ON THE CREDIBILITY OF THE CHURCH.

I THINK THE VATICAN BANK COULD

ACTUALLY BRING DOWN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: HAS THE VATICAN COVERED UP SECRETS FOR CENTURIES,

OR IS IT ALL JUST NOISE CREATED BY ITS MANY CRITICS?

THE VATICAN FIRMLY SAY IT'S THE LATTER.

BUT ARE THEY TELLING THE TRUTH?

Man: TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN WORLDWIDE

HAVE BEEN ABUSED SYSTEMATICALLY

FOR YEARS WITHIN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

Woman: THE VATICAN FINANCES STEM FROM CENTURIES OF INTRIGUE,

MYSTERIOUS DEATHS, AND INFLUENCE.

Man #2: REVEREND GABRIELE AMORTH MADE HEADLINES AROUND THE WORLD

RECENTLY WHEN HE SAID THE DEVIL WAS PRESENT IN THE VATICAN.

♪♪

Narrator: FOR DECADES NOW,

THE VATICAN HAS BEEN UNDER CONSTANT ATTACK

FROM NEWSPAPERS, AUTHORS, HISTORIANS, AND CRITICS

WHO CLAIM THAT IT'S CORRUPT

AND RIDDLED WITH TWISTED PRIESTS

WHO LIVE IMMORAL

AND SINFUL LIVES BEHIND ITS WALLS.

ALTHOUGH IT VEHEMENTLY DENIES IT, OVER THE YEARS,

IT'S BEEN ACCUSED OF STORING NAZI GOLD BULLION,

LAUNDERING MAFIA MONEY, CHILD ABUSE,

AND EVEN RUNNING SLAVE-LABOR INSTITUTIONS

WITH PROSTITUTES

AND SINGLE MOTHERS IN IRELAND

AT SO-CALLED MAGDALENE LAUNDRIES.

SOME HAVE EVEN ACCUSED IT OF HARBORING SATANIC WORSHIPERS,

INDULGING IN BLACK MAGIC, AND HIDING RELICS,

SUCH AS THE BODY OF JESUS ITSELF.

IT MIGHT SOUND A LITTLE FAR-FETCHED,

BUT ITS ACCUSERS ARE ADAMANT.

♪♪

THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT THE VATICAN HAS

AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF SECRETS

BECAUSE THE SIMPLE REASON IT'S BEEN AROUND

FOR HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF YEARS

AT THE NEXUS OF POLITICS, RELIGION.

IT'S THE CENTER OF SO MUCH OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR OVER THAT TIME,

AND THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT THERE HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW,

MORE THAN ITS FAIR SHARE OF FINANCIAL SCANDAL,

MORE THAN ITS FAIR SHARE PERHAPS OF ABUSE.

THERE'S A LOT ABOUT THE VATICAN THAT NEEDS CLEANING OUT.

Felix: I MEAN, ON THE OUTSIDE, YOU LOOK AT THE VATICAN.

IT LOOKS A VERY AUSTERE, VERY RELIGIOUS, FANTASTIC PLACE.

BUT TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, IT'S NOTHING BUT THE HOUSE OF FUN.

EVEN BEFORE IT WAS BUILT, STILL UNDERNEATH,

THERE ARE BATH HOUSES, BROTHELS,

AND THE SAME THING APPLIED WITH THE VATICAN.

Narrator: ONE OF THE GREAT MYSTERIES OF THE VATICAN IS

JUST WHAT IS INSIDE ITS INFAMOUS SECRET ARCHIVES

THAT WAS NOT REVEALED

WHEN THEY WERE OFFICIALLY OPENED A DECADE AGO.

PHILIP WILLAN HAS BEEN A VATICAN INSIDER

FOR OVER 30 YEARS.

HE'S REPORTED ON THREE POPES, NUMEROUS SCANDALS

AND KNOWS THE HOLY SEE LIKE THE BACK OF HIS HAND.

BRITISH INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER JAMIE THEAKSTON

WENT TO MEET HIM.

♪♪

SO, PHILIP, WHAT IS IN THE SO-CALLED SECRET ARCHIVE?

THE SECRET ARCHIVE IS BASICALLY THE POPE'S PERSONAL ARCHIVE,

SO THE DOCUMENTATION THAT'S GENERATED

IN THE COURSE OF RUNNING THE AFFAIRS

OF THE INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL CHURCH.

Gough: FOR A START, THE VATICAN LIBRARY,

THIS SECRET LIBRARY, WAIT FOR IT,

53 KILOMETERS OF DOCUMENTS.

NOW, THEY SAY THE OLDEST ONE GOES TO THE 8th CENTURY.

ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE THAT, REALLY?

53 KILOMETERS OF SECRET DOCUMENTS,

IMAGINE THE TRUTHS THAT ARE HIDDEN IN THOSE.

Walters: OF COURSE, THIS SOUNDS SO EXCITING

TO CONSPIRACY THEORISTS

BECAUSE THEY GO, "WOW, A SECRET ARCHIVE!

WHAT'S IN THERE?"

NOW, YOU'VE GOT TO, FIRST OF ALL, THINK,

THE VATICAN SECRET ARCHIVE IN LATIN

HAS THE WORD "SECRETUM" IN IT,

WHICH IS TRANSLATED BY SOME "A SECRET."

YOU CAN JUST TRANSLATE THAT AS "PRIVATE."

AND ACTUALLY, THAT IS A MORE ACCURATE TRANSLATION

OF THE LATIN WORD "SECRETUM."

IT MEANS IT'S THE VATICAN'S PRIVATE ARCHIVE.

♪♪

Dr. Papadopoulos: NO ONE REALLY KNOWS WHAT'S IN THE SECRET ARCHIVES,

BUT CERTAINLY ONE WOULD ASSUME

THAT THERE'S SOMETHING TO DO THERE

WITH THINGS LIKE THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

OR THE RAIDING BY THE TEMPLARS OF KING SOLOMON'S MINES.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALWAYS CONTENTION

AROUND JESUS' BLOODLINE.

ONE WONDERS IF THERE'S SOMETHING IN THERE AROUND THAT.

SO CERTAINLY, ALL OF THOSE KIND OF KEY THEMES

THAT THE CHURCH IS BASED ON,

ALL OF THE STORIES THAT HAVE BEEN TOLD,

PEOPLE WONDER, AND IT'S NOT SURPRISING.

PEOPLE WONDER IF THERE'S ANYTHING

IN THOSE SECRET ARCHIVES

THAT MIGHT GO AGAINST WHAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT

AND TOLD ALL THESE YEARS.

♪♪

Narrator: JAMIE'S NEXT STOP IS A SIT-DOWN WITH THE EDITOR

OF "THE HERETIC MAGAZINE," ANDREW GOUGH,

WHO HAS STUDIED THE HISTORY OF THE VATICAN FOR MANY YEARS.

HE BELIEVES THAT THERE IS A BASIC PROBLEM

AT THE HEART OF CHRISTIANITY

THAT HAS AFFECTED ALL ITS ACTIONS

FOR WELL OVER A MILLENNIUM,

THAT PERHAPS IT'S ALL NOTHING MORE THAN A MYTH.

♪♪

Theakston: I'VE HEARD ALL THE DIFFERENT RUMORS.

BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK IS HIDDEN

IN THE SO-CALLED SECRET ARCHIVE?

THERE'S BASICALLY TWO CAMPS OF SECRETS.

THERE'S THE CONVENTIONAL ONES,

WHICH ARE INTERESTING, YOU KNOW,

SORT OF THE LETTER FROM HENRY VIII

REQUESTING AN ANNULMENT FOR HIS MARRIAGE,

THE LETTERS ABOUT GALILEO AND HIS HERESY.

BUT THERE'S ALSO GOING TO BE RELICS, YOU WOULD THINK.

THAT COULD BE THE TREASURE OF SOLOMON, THE MENORAH,

BUT HOW ABOUT THE ARK OF THE COVENANT?

HOW ABOUT THE HOLY GRAIL?

YOU KNOW, WOULD YOU WANT THAT STUFF EXPOSED?

MAYBE, MAYBE NOT.

THEY PROBABLY HAVE THEIR REASONS.

Narrator: WHAT SECRETS ARE HIDDEN DEEP

WITHIN THE VATICAN'S SECRET ARCHIVES?

WHY IS ACCESS TO WHAT'S THERE SO RESTRICTED,

AND ARE THE VATICAN'S CHRISTIAN WORSHIP SITES

REALLY BUILT ON ANCIENT PAGAN TEMPLES?

COMING UP NEXT WHEN "FORBIDDEN HISTORY" RETURNS.

♪♪

Narrator: FOR DECADES NOW, THE VATICAN HAS BEEN UNDER ATTACK

FROM NEWSPAPERS, AUTHORS, HISTORIANS, AND CRITICS

WHO CLAIM THAT IT'S CORRUPT AND RIDDLED WITH MEN

WHO LIVE IMMORAL

AND SINFUL LIVES BEHIND ITS WALLS.

SOME HAVE ACCUSED IT OF HARBORING SATANIC WORSHIPPERS,

INDULGING IN BLACK MAGIC, LAUNDERING MAFIA MONEY,

AND HIDING CONTROVERSIAL

HOLY RELICS UNDERNEATH THE VATICAN.

BRITISH INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER JAMIE THEAKSTON IS ON THE HUNT

TO UNCOVER THE SECRETS AND MYSTERIES OF THE VATICAN

AND REVEAL JUST WHAT IS HIDDEN INSIDE

THE SO-CALLED SECRET ARCHIVES.

HE MEETS WITH ANDREW GOUGH,

THE EDITOR OF "THE HERETIC MAGAZINE,"

WHO HAS STRONG VIEWS ON WHAT COULD BE LOCKED AWAY.

♪♪

Theakston: SO YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT THE ARCHIVE

IS NOT A REFERENCE LIBRARY TO ILLUMINATE.

YOU THINK IT'S A DEPOSITORY FOR HIDDEN ITEMS.

IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? -YOU COULD ARGUE.

IF IT'S ANYTHING THAT'S DEFLAMATORY THAT WOULD BE

NOT IN THEIR BEST INTEREST IF IT WAS BROUGHT TO LIGHT,

THEN WHY WOULDN'T YOU DESTROY IT?

BUT IT'S PRIVATE, IF IT'S SECRET,

THERE'S PROBABLY AN EVEN STRONGER CASE FOR KEEPING IT

BUT KEEPING IT REALLY LOCKED UP.

WE'RE TALKING, YOU KNOW, REAL BIGGIES.

LIKE, LOOK AROUND HERE.

EVERY CHURCH, EVERY BASILICA IN THIS CITY,

BENEATH IT, YOU HAVE PAGAN TEMPLES.

♪♪

Picknett: PERHAPS THE VERY EARLIEST PEOPLE

WANTED TO SHOW THE PAGANS, "LOOK, WE'RE IN CHARGE NOW.

WE'RE BUILDING ON TOP OF THE RUINS OF YOUR RELIGION."

OKAY, SO THAT'S AS FAR AS MOST TRADITIONALISTS WOULD GO,

BUT MAYBE THERE'S ALSO AN ELEMENT OF,

"WE ARE ABSORBING THE POWER."

IT'S BELIEVED BY MANY PEOPLE, FOR EXAMPLE,

THAT CHURCHES WERE BUILT ON POWER LINES OR LEY LINES,

AND THESE IN THEMSELVES HAD POWER IN THE LAND.

Felix: THIS WAS THE CRAFT OF THE WISE.

WE BELIEVED IN MOTHER EARTH, AND WE GO BACK TO MOTHER EARTH.

IT'S NOT REALLY A BAD THING AT ALL,

AND THEY NICKED ALL OF THE IDEAS

THAT ALL OF THE PAGAN SITES AND CHRISTIANIZED IT

AND SPLASHED HOLY WATER ON IT

AND NICKED ALL OF THE RELIGIOUS RELICS

AND THINGS THAT WERE INSIDE.

AND I WOULD IMAGINE THEY'RE PROBABLY STILL TUCKED AWAY

SOMEWHERE UNDERNEATH THE VATICAN.

♪♪

Gough: THE CHURCH IS NOT A HOLY, BENEVOLENT ORGANIZATION.

IT'S ACTUALLY SATANIC, AND THERE'S BLACK MASSES

AND RITUALS, AND THEY SITUATED THEIR CITY

AND THE COUNTRY ABOVE PAGAN TEMPLES BELOW,

AND IN FACT, THEY'RE STILL VENERATED.

ISIS BECOMES MARY MAGDALENE.

YOU HAVE OSIRIS BECOMING JESUS AND SO ON.

SO THE FACT IS, IT'S A REALLY, REALLY DARK PLACE.

♪♪

Narrator: THIS IS SAN CLEMENTE CHURCH IN ROME, RUN TODAY

BY AN IRISH ORDER OF DOMINICAN MONKS,

AND HOUSES ONE OF THE LAST REMAINING ENTRANCES

DOWN INTO THE ANCIENT

PRE-CHRISTIAN REMAINS OF THE CITY.

VATICAN HISTORIAN AND LOCAL GUIDE ROB ALLYN

IS AN EXPERT ON SUBTERRANEAN ROME AND AGREED

TO SHOW THE REMAINS OF A 2,000-YEAR-OLD TEMPLE,

WHICH, IN ITS DAY,

WAS ACTUALLY AT GROUND LEVEL.

THE AMAZING THING IS THAT WE'RE WALKING DOWN

TO THE FIRST CENTURY A.D. NOW,

AND WE'RE WALKING IN TO A HOUSE OF BRICK THAT,

A HUNDRED YEARS LATER AFTER IT WAS BUILT,

WAS MADE INTO WHAT WAS KNOWN AS A MITHRAEUM,

OKAY, FOR THE CULT OF THE PAGAN GOD, MITHRAS.

Gough: WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT MITHRA?

BORN ON DECEMBER 25th,

DIED, WAS RESURRECTED 3 DAYS LATER.

HE WAS CALLED THE SAVIOR.

HE PERFORMED MIRACLES DURING HIS LIFETIME.

HE HAD 12 APOSTLES. DOES THAT SOUND FAMILIAR?

BUT THAT WAS WAY BEFORE CHRIST.

SO THEY'RE KIND OF SUPPRESSING THAT

BECAUSE IT WAS A BIT DARK.

YOU KNOW, THEY'D SLAUGHTER BULLS.

THERE WAS A SEXUAL ELEMENT TO IT.

SO CHRISTIANITY KIND OF CLEANED IT UP

AND POLISHED THE MYTH AND TOLD US IT WAS TRUE,

AND I THINK THAT IS A BIGGIE,

THAT THEY'VE LIED ABOUT THE STORY

BECAUSE IT'S ALLEGORICAL.

IT'S NOT REAL.

♪♪

Allyn: NOW WE'RE GOING TO BE GOING INSIDE

WHERE THEY HAD THE RELIGIOUS PRACTICES OF THE MITHRAEUM.

♪♪

MITHRAEUM WAS A PAGAN CULT.

IT WASN'T A STATE CULT.

IT WAS A MYSTERY CULT.

SO THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW OF ITS EXISTENCE,

BUT PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW OF ALL THESE IMPORTANT RITUALS

ABOUT HOW TO GET INVOLVED IN THIS KIND

OF SECRET SOCIETY CULT,

A CULT THAT WAS EXCLUSIVELY FOR MEN,

FOR SOLDIERS, FOR ADMINISTRATORS.

AND HERE IS A CULMINATION OF THE LIFE OF MITHRAS,

THIS GOD RIGHT HERE.

YOU SEE THE GOD MITHRAS AND HIS PHRYGIAN CAP.

ALL RIGHT.

HE IS A REPRESENTATION OF THE SUN,

AND HE IS SLAYING A BULL,

WHICH IT IS CONSIDERED THAT IT IS THE MOON.

OKAY?

DO YOU SEE THAT HE'S-- HE WOULD HAVE BEEN IN FRESCOS.

WE SEE HIM PAINTED WHITE.

OKAY. SO IT'S LIKE A CRESCENT MOON.

YOU CAN EVEN SEE HIS TAIL.

IT'S RIGHT AT THE MOMENT THAT HE'S BEING KILLED,

AND HE HAS THESE CREATURES THAT ARE ACCOMPANYING HIM

BECAUSE THIS IS ALL AN ALLEGORY TO A REBIRTH.

SO YOU HAVE HERE-- IT'S HARD TO DECIPHER,

BUT WE HAVE A DOG.

WE HAVE A SERPENT.

AND RIGHT WHERE THE KNIFE IS STABBING,

THE BLOOD IS POURING OUT, THEY'RE DRINKING OF IT.

AND ALSO, YOU HAVE A SCORPION STINGING HIM

IN THE TESTICLES BECAUSE THIS IS ALL...

THEY'RE TAKING THE LIFE FORCE OUT OF THE BULL.

SOMETIMES, IT'S EVEN DEPICTED THAT THERE ARE CORN HUSKS

COMING FROM HIS TAIL.

Gough: YOU KNOW, FOR DECADES -- NO, HUNDREDS OF YEARS,

THERE'S BEEN RUMORS FROM PRIESTS, FROM CARDINALS,

FROM REPUTABLE PEOPLE

THAT THERE'S A SMALL SORT OF SECT WITHIN THE CHURCH --

MAYBE NOT SO SMALL --

WHO CONDUCT SACRIFICES

AND RITUALS THAT ARE VERY, VERY DARK INDEED.

SO YOU HAVE TO WONDER THEN, IS IT ANY ACCIDENT

THAT THEY'VE SITUATED THEIR CAPITAL

AND THEIR COUNTRY RIGHT ON TOP OF THESE TEMPLES?

I THINK NOT.

Narrator: WAS VATICAN CITY

DELIBERATELY BUILT ON TOP OF PAGAN TEMPLES,

AND IF SO, WHY?

DID THE CHURCH IN ROME USE THESE SITES

TO CONDUCT ANCIENT NON-CHRISTIAN PRACTICES,

AND IS THERE EVIDENCE OF THIS HIDDEN AWAY

IN THE VATICAN'S SECRET ARCHIVES?

MORE REVELATIONS WHEN "FORBIDDEN HISTORY" RETURNS.

♪♪

Narrator: THE VATICAN HAS BEEN UNDER ATTACK FOR CENTURIES

BY ITS CRITICS

WHO ACCUSE IT OF HARBORING IMPORTANT ANCIENT RELICS,

DOCUMENTS, AND SECRETS DEEP WITHIN ITS ARCHIVES.

SOME EVEN CLAIM THAT THE DOCTRINE AT THE HEART

OF CHRISTIANITY ITSELF IS A LIE

CONJURED UP TWO MILLENNIA AGO

FOR THE PURPOSE OF POWER AND CONTROL.

BRITISH INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER JAMIE THEAKSTON IS IN ROME

AND HAS DISCOVERED THAT THE HOLY CITY

WE SEE TODAY

WAS BUILT RIGHT ON TOP OF ANCIENT PAGAN TEMPLES,

WHICH DATE BACK WELL OVER 2,000 YEARS.

SOME SAY THAT THESE OLD WORSHIP SITES STILL PLAY A SECRET

BUT IMPORTANT ROLE AT

THE VERY HIGHEST LEVELS OF THE CHURCH TODAY.

Walters: THE VATICAN, LIKE SO MANY OTHER CHRISTIAN SITES,

WAS BUILT ON AN EXISTING PLACE OF WORSHIP.

IT'S THE FORM OF THE CHURCH SAYING,

"WE'RE IN CONTROL OF RELIGION NOW,

SO YOUR PAGAN SITE NOW BECOMES A CHRISTIAN SITE."

YES, THERE ARE REMNANTS OF OLD RELIGIONS THERE

THAT WERE PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT DARKER

THAN WHAT CHRISTIANITY IS SUPPOSED TO BE,

BUT THE IDEA THAT THE LEADERS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

WITHIN THE VATICAN ARE A BUNCH OF SATANIC OCCULTISTS

IS NONSENSE OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

Felix: THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, OR SHOULD I SAY CHRISTIANITY

IN GENERAL, HIJACKED PAGANISM.

THAT WAS, BEFORE THEM, THE TRUE RELIGION, IF YOU LIKE,

AND THEY JUST NICKED ALL OF THE SITES,

ALL OF THE IDEALS,

THE IDEOLOGY BEHIND IT,

AND TOOK IT ON FOR THEMSELVES.

Dr. Papadopoulos: THESE SITES HAD SOME SORT OF POWER,

AND, YOU KNOW,

THEY WANTED TO BE CO-OPTED BY THIS NEW RELIGION.

AND IF YOU LOOK AT MOST MONOTHEISTIC SOCIETIES,

THEY MORE OR LESS SAY ALL THE SAME THINGS,

KIND OF LIKE A SMORGASBORD OF WHAT'S GONE ON BEFORE,

WHICH IS WHY YOU SEE, YOU KNOW,

WHETHER IT'S PAGANISM OR CHRISTIANITY,

THESE KIND OF SAME THINGS

BEING ENACTED OVER AND OVER AGAIN TO THE POINT

THAT EVEN SOME OF THE NAMES ARE SIMILAR.

♪♪

Narrator: AUTHOR ROB HOWELLS HAS BEEN STUDYING AND RESEARCHING

THE VATICAN AND ITS SECRETS FOR OVER TWO DECADES.

HE BELIEVES THAT IT DOES PROTECT VERY IMPORTANT OBJECTS,

DOCUMENTS, AND OTHER SECRETS.

SO, ROB, WHAT IS THE VATICAN KEEPING SECRET?

THE ENTIRE TIME THAT THEY'VE EXISTED,

THEY COLLECTED MANUSCRIPTS AND RELICS

AND ITEMS FROM EITHER CAMPAIGNS OR CRUSADES,

NOT ONLY FOR THEIR OWN RESEARCH AND TO SUPPORT THEIR IDEAS,

BUT ALSO TO PREVENT ANYTHING COMING OUT,

BECAUSE THEY NEED TO CONTROL THE INFORMATION

AROUND BIBLICAL ISSUES AND BIBLICAL DOGMA.

THEY CAN'T ALLOW ALTERNATIVE VIEWS TO BECOME PUBLIC.

WHAT KIND OF THINGS EXACTLY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

IN TERMS OF DOCUMENTATION, THEY'VE GOT 52 MILES

OF SHELVING, OF BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS ALONE,

SO THAT WOULD BE EVERYTHING

FROM EARLY 1st-CENTURY FRAGMENTS

TO POTENTIALLY ENTIRE ALTERNATIVE GOSPELS.

THERE WERE ALSO IDEAS THAT THERE'S A BOOK OF Q.

THE ACADEMICS HAVE TURNED A BOOK

THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE SOURCE MATERIAL

FOR THE MAIN GOSPELS OF MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, AND JOHN

BECAUSE THE MAIN GOSPELS ARE WRITTEN LONG

AFTER THE TIME OF CHRIST.

SO IF THEY'VE GOT SOMETHING LIKE A BOOK OF Q,

THAT WOULD UNDERMINE EVERYTHING ELSE.

IT HAS SECRET ARCHIVES, AND PEOPLE SAY, "OH, WELL,

THE WORD SECRET JUST MEANS 'PRIVATE.'"

WELL, TECHNICALLY, IT DOES, BUT LET'S BE HONEST.

IT MEANS SECRET WITH KNOBS ON.

THEY ARE NOT LETTING THE AVERAGE PERSON LOOK AT THEM.

YOU CAN'T PHOTOCOPY ANYTHING.

I'VE HEARD IT ON VERY GOOD AUTHORITY

THAT THERE'S SAID TO BE THE VATICAN WITHIN THE VATICAN,

WHICH IS, THEY HAVE

ENORMOUS PILLARS, ENORMOUS PILLARS.

YOU CAN GET, YOU KNOW, QUITE ALMOST LIKE

BALLROOM-SIZED PILLARS,

AND IN THERE ARE THE SECRETS OF THE SECRETS

SAID TO BE THE VEIL OF VERONICA AND ALL SORTS OF RELICS.

♪♪

Gough: THE HERETICAL PIECES OF ART, MUSIC, DOCUMENTS,

THAT'S THE BORING STUFF.

THE REAL BIGGIES, THE REAL SECRETS,

THOSE ARE RELICS, DEVICES,

THINGS THAT WOULD CAUSE HISTORY TO BE REWRITTEN.

LIKE WHAT?

WELL, THE FACT THAT THE CHURCH IS BASED UPON PAGAN ORIGINS,

NOT HOLY FOUNDATIONS.

THAT'S THE BIGGEST SECRET.

♪♪

TRADITIONALLY, ARCHIVES ARE KEPT TO ILLUMINATE,

YOU KNOW, TO SHOW PEOPLE DIFFERENT THINGS.

YEAH.

IN THIS CASE, IT SEEMS DIFFERENT.

YEAH. YOU'D EXPECT AN ARCHIVE TO BE A PUBLIC RECORD

THAT'S MADE AVAILABLE,

BUT BECAUSE THERE'S THE POTENTIAL

FOR CONTROVERSIAL MATERIAL, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED ACCESS.

YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THE SECRET ARCHIVE

IN THE VATICAN ONLY IF YOU KNOW EXACTLY

WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.

NO ONE'S ALLOWED TO BROWSE.

AND THERE IS THIS OTHER ISSUE THAT THEY HAVE POTENTIALLY

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOCUMENTS

THAT ARE STILL UNCATALOGED

BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE AN ARMY OF RESEARCHERS IN THERE.

THEY'VE GOT A FEW LIBRARIANS, SO THERE COULD BE DOCUMENTS

THEY'VE GOT NO IDEA OF THE IMPORTANCE OF

THAT THEY'VE JUST GOT STORED.

♪♪

AND IS IT JUST DOCUMENTS,

OR ARE THERE RELICS AND OTHER OBJECTS IN THERE?

THERE'S DEFINITELY RELICS.

WE KNOW THAT, FROM THE HOLY LAND,

CERTAIN ITEMS WERE RETURNED,

SOME QUITE EXTREME ITEMS.

THE FORESKIN OF CHRIST IS ONE OF THEM

THAT'S SAID TO BE IN THE VATICAN.

EVEN THE UMBILICAL CORD WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN KEPT.

WHETHER THEY'RE REAL OR NOT IS VERY QUESTIONABLE,

BUT MANY, MANY ITEMS WERE RECOVERED

SUPPOSEDLY AND RETURNED

TO THE VATICAN AT VARIOUS POINTS IN HISTORY.

PEOPLE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT CONSPIRACY THEORIES

AND HOW THESE ARE REALLY FAR-FETCHED,

BUT ACTUALLY, IF YOU LOOK AT THE ARCH OF TITUS IN ROME,

IT DOES DEPICT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE SORT OF PILLAGING PLACES

LIKE JERUSALEM BRINGING BACK RELICS.

SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S TO SAY IN EFFECT

THAT THOSE RELICS AREN'T SOME OF THE THINGS

THAT THESE CONSPIRACY THEORISTS ARE

SAYING THAT ARE UNDER THERE,

WHETHER THEY'RE CHALICES OR SHROUDS OR WHATEVER THEY ARE?

Walters: NOW, OF COURSE, BECAUSE THERE'S THIS HUGE DISTRUST

ABOUT WHAT SO MANY FORMER POPES AND SENIOR FIGURES

IN THE VATICAN HAVE GOT UP TO, THEREFORE,

A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK THERE MUST BE ALL SORTS

OF SORT OF EVIL STUFF LURKING IN THERE

OR INDEED FANTASTIC STUFF

LIKE THE HOLY GRAIL AND THE ARK OF THE COVENANT.

I MEAN, THIS IS JUST CLEARLY NONSENSE.

YOU KNOW, IF THE VATICAN HAD THE ARK

OF THE COVENANT KICKING AROUND,

"OH, LOOK. WHAT'S THAT?"

YOU KNOW, OF COURSE, THEY'D DISPLAY IT.

SO I THINK THERE'S SOME FANCIFUL THEORIES ABOUT

WHAT'S IN THIS ARCHIVE,

AND I THINK THEY'RE LARGELY BUNK.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: VERY FEW PEOPLE TODAY

ARE AWARE OF THE VATICAN'S TRUE HISTORY.

THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL POPE OF MODERN TIMES WAS PIUS XII,

WHO TOOK OVER IN 1939

AND WAS LABELED HITLER'S POPE

BY THOSE WHO ACCUSE HIM OF TURNING A BLIND EYE

TO REPORTS OF THE HOLOCAUST.

FURTHER BACK, THERE WAS POPE LEO XIII,

WHO IN THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE 19th CENTURY,

DASHED FLEDGLING HOPES OF RECONCILIATION

BETWEEN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

AND THE CHURCH OF ROME BY DECLARING

THAT ALL ANGLICAN ORDINATIONS WERE NULL AND VOID,

A JUDGMENT WHICH STILL STANDS.

♪♪

IN THE 9th CENTURY, POPE STEPHEN VI

DECIDED TO EXHUME THE CORPSE OF HIS PREDECESSOR

BUT ONE FOR MOSES SO THAT IT COULD,

WAIT FOR IT, STAND TRIAL.

DRESSED IN THE PAPAL VESTMENTS,

IT UNSURPRISINGLY OFFERED NO ADEQUATE DEFENSE

AND WAS CONDEMNED TO BE MUTILATED

AND THROWN INTO THE TIBER.

IN FACT, OVER A THOUSAND YEARS LATER,

RUMORS AND ACCUSATIONS STILL SWIRL AROUND THIS HOLY CITY.

IN 2003, THE SO-CALLED MAGDALENE LAUNDRIES

CAME TO LIGHT

WHERE IT WAS PROVED THAT SINGLE MOTHERS

AND PROSTITUTES

WERE FORCED INTO SLAVE-LABOR HOUSES IN IRELAND,

OVERSEEN BY CATHOLIC NUNS.

A $43 MILLION SETTLEMENT WAS PAID TO SURVIVORS.

IN 2009, IT WAS REVEALED THAT THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BOSTON

HAD COVERED UP THE SEXUAL ABUSE

OF THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN BY 70 PRIESTS.

THAT FIGURE HAS NOW INCREASED TO OVER 3,000 CATHOLIC PRIESTS

AROUND THE WORLD ACCUSED OF

ALLEGEDLY CONDUCTING SYSTEMIC ABUSE

OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN.

Dan Rather: THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS FACING SCANDALS

AND BEING FORCED TO PAY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

Man: ...IS ACCUSED OF MOLESTING AND RAPING BOYS

AS YOUNG AS FOUR YEARS OLD OVER A PERIOD OF 34 YEARS.

Woman: TWO-THIRDS OF BISHOPS PROTECTED PRIESTS

ACCUSED OF SEXUAL ABUSE.

Woman #2: LAWYERS FOR VICTIMS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

MAY SUE THE VATICAN FOR ACCESS TO MATERIAL

THEY SAY MAY SHED LIGHT ON THE DIALOGUE

BETWEEN ROME AND AMERICAN BISHOPS

TO SEE IF THERE WAS ANY OFFICIAL HUSH POLICY.

Theakston: DO YOU THINK THAT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HAS KNOWN

FOR SOME TIME ABOUT THE PROBLEMS

THAT THEY HAVE WITH CHILD ABUSE

AND HAVE BEEN RELUCTANT TO COME OUT WITH IT?

OH, ABSOLUTELY.

THEY'VE BEEN COVERING IT UP FOR YEARS.

THERE WERE CASES OF PRIESTS BEING CAUGHT

AND BEING FOUND GUILTY INTERNALLY WITHIN THE VATICAN,

BY THEIR PEERS AND BEING MOVED TO OTHER LOCATIONS

BEFORE A SCANDAL COULD BREAK.

SO THERE HAS BEEN A HISTORY OF COVER-UPS,

AND THE COVER-UPS HAS JUST DONE MORE DAMAGE

BECAUSE, AS SOON AS THEY'RE DISCOVERED,

IT'S NO LONGER AN ISSUE OF ONE PRIEST ACTING ON HIS OWN.

IT'S THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION GETS CALLED INTO QUESTION

FOR BEING THAT CORRUPT.

♪♪

Narrator: HAS THE VATICAN BEEN COVERING UP

CHILD-ABUSE SCANDALS FOR YEARS?

JUST HOW MUCH EXORCISM DOES THE CHURCH

IN ROME SANCTION EVERY YEAR?

AND INVESTIGATIVE AUTHOR JOHN DICKIE EXAMINES

THE MURKY WORLD OF VATICAN FINANCES

COMING UP WHEN "FORBIDDEN HISTORY" RETURNS.

Narrator: FOR DECADES NOW,

THE VATICAN HAS BEEN UNDER CONSTANT ATTACK

FROM NEWSPAPERS, AUTHORS, AND HISTORIANS

WHO CLAIM THAT IT'S CORRUPT AND RIDDLED WITH PRIESTS

WHO LIVE IMMORAL AND SINFUL LIVES BEHIND ITS WALLS.

IN RECENT DECADES, IT'S BEEN ROCKED BY SCANDAL AFTER SCANDAL,

CHILD ABUSE,

THE MAGDALENE LAUNDRIES, AND MORE RECENTLY,

SERIOUS ACCUSATIONS AGAINST POPE BENEDICT XVI

AND HIS NUMBER TWO, CARDINAL BERTONE.

BRITISH INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER JAMIE THEAKSTON

IS IN ROME TO EXAMINE

JUST WHAT'S REALLY BEEN GOING ON

BEHIND THE VATICAN'S CLOSED DOORS.

♪♪

Picknett: THIS IS AN EVIL EMPIRE.

WHENEVER THEY COME ACROSS OR ARE MADE TO FACE UP

TO YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF CHILD ABUSE,

FIRST OF ALL, THEY ALWAYS DENY IT.

SECOND OF ALL, WHEN FORCED TO ACCEPT IT, THEY SAY,

"OH, WELL, IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW,

THE ODD ROTTEN APPLE IN A BARREL."

THERE'S AN AWFUL LOT OF ROTTEN APPLES.

THERE IS OBVIOUSLY A NETWORK.

Walters: THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT, THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY,

THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF BAD APPLES IN THE VATICAN.

THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT THERE ARE CATHOLIC PRIESTS AT ALL LEVELS

OF THE VATICAN HAVE DONE BAD THINGS.

YOU KNOW, WE'VE SEEN IT IN IRELAND,

SO MANY CHILD-ABUSE CASES

CARRIED OUT BY CATHOLIC PRIESTS,

BUT I DON'T SEE THE VATICAN AS BEING IN ITSELF

THIS KIND OF CENTER OF EVIL THAT, YOU KNOW,

IS RESPONSIBLE FOR BAD THINGS HAPPENING IN SOCIETY

THROUGHOUT THE AGES.

I SEE IT AS BEING AS VENAL AND CORRUPT AS ANY OTHER FLABBY,

OVERLY-LARGE INSTITUTION

THAT'S NOT REALLY HELD ACCOUNTABLE.

♪♪

Narrator: ONE OF THE MORE BIZARRE SERVICES

OFFERED BY THE VATICAN

IS THE REMOVAL OF DEVILS AND DEMONIC SPIRITS,

OR EXORCISM, AS IT'S MORE COMMONLY KNOWN.

FOR CENTURIES NOW, VATICAN-TRAINED PRIESTS

HAVE GONE OUT TO COMBAT EVIL

AND RID ITS FOLLOWERS OF SATANIC FORCES

ARMED ONLY WITH A CRUCIFIX,

A BIBLE, AND SOME HOLY WATER,

AND IT'S STILL GOING ON TODAY.

IN FACT, THE VATICAN'S HEAD EXORCIST FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS,

FATHER GABRIELE AMORTH, RECENTLY DIED.

HE CLAIMED TO HAVE OVERSEEN OVER 180,000 EXORCISMS IN HIS LIFE.

HE FAMOUSLY HATED THE HARRY POTTER NOVELS

AND EVEN YOGA, SAYING,

"PRACTICING YOGA IS SATANIC.

IT LEADS TO EVIL, JUST LIKE READING HARRY POTTER."

♪♪

Howells: IT IS INTERESTING THE VATICAN

DOES WHOLLY BELIEVE IN DEMONS AS AN ENTITY,

AND THEY'VE GOT MORE EXORCISTS NOW THAN EVER.

PRETTY MUCH EVERY DIOCESE HAS AN ASSIGNED EXORCIST

WITHIN THEIR REGION THAT THEY CAN CALL UPON.

THEY PERFORM THE RITE OF EXORCISM,

WHICH IS A HUGE KIND OF DOCUMENT FULL OF LITANIES AND LATIN

AND INVOKING THE SAINTS

AND BASICALLY TRYING TO EXPEL THE DEMON.

Picknett: THERE ARE NOW OVER 200 OF THEM

EMPLOYED BY THE VATICAN.

THEIR JOB IS TO CAST OUT DEMONS THAT POSSESS THEIR FLOCK

THAT TAKE THEM OVER BODY AND SOUL.

AND THIS, OF COURSE, GOES BACK TO THE NEW TESTAMENT AND EARLIER

WHERE YOU READ ABOUT JESUS CASTING OUT DEMONS.

AND, OF COURSE, THIS IS VERY MUCH IN THAT TRADITION.

IT SEEMS EXTRAORDINARY THAT, EVEN TODAY, YOU KNOW,

RELATIVELY WELL INTO THE 21st CENTURY,

THAT THE VATICAN IS STILL HAS

SOME OF ITS PRIESTS PERFORMING EXORCISMS.

IT SHOWS THAT THERE IS STILL THIS HUGE BELIEF

IN WHAT WE'D ASSOCIATE WITH BEING VERY ANCIENT IDEAS

OF EVIL SPIRITS AND DEMONS.

THESE HAVE GOT A BIBLICAL CONCEPT, YOU KNOW,

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT.

♪♪

Narrator: PADRE CORTEA FROM MADRID IN SPAIN

IS ONE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH'S

MOST PROLIFIC EXORCISTS.

HE SAYS IT'S ALL VERY REAL.

Cortea: I BELIEVE THERE ARE EVIL SPIRITS,

AND THOSE EVIL SPIRITS

MATCH PERFECTLY WITH THE CHARACTERS

THAT APPEAR IN THE BIBLE AS DEMONS.

I CAN SAY BY MY OWN EXPERIENCE THAT I RECEIVE PEOPLE EVERY DAY

AND FROM ALL AROUND SPAIN.

EVERY YEAR, TWO NEW CASES OF PERFECT DEMONIC POSSESSION

WERE DISCOVERED.

Dr. Papadopoulos: THE CHURCH PREDICATED ON THE BELIEF

THAT THERE'S GOOD AND EVIL,

AND YOU CAN'T HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER,

AND IF YOU BELIEVE THAT,

THEN IT'S NOT SURPRISING THAT YOU WILL BELIEVE,

YOU KNOW, IN DEMONS AND EVIL SPIRITS.

THE CHURCH HAS ALSO PREDICATED ON THE IDEA

THAT NOTHING EVER CHANGES, RIGHT?

SO IT IS SO STRONG, IN A WAY,

BECAUSE NOTHING IS EVER QUESTIONED.

THEREFORE, THE EXORCISMS BECOME PART AND PARCEL

OF THIS UNDERSTANDING.

Gough: THE INTERESTING THING IS THE CHURCH DOES NOT DENY

THAT THERE ARE DEMONIC ENERGIES.

THE FACT THAT THE RITE OF EXORCISM

AND THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE TRAINED IN THAT

IS ACTUALLY INCREASING YEAR ON YEAR,

AND THAT'S NOT AN ARBITRARY SORT OF RITUAL.

THAT'S AN 84-PAGE LATIN DOCUMENT THAT SAYS,

"THIS IS HOW WE DO IT."

SO THE FACT THAT THEY ACKNOWLEDGE EVIL

JUST MAKES THIS SORT OF RUMBLINGS ABOUT THE FACT

THAT THEY ARE EVIL MUCH MORE INTERESTING.

Cortea: EXORCISM IS ONE OF THE FEW ONES

THAT WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR DEMONS

WHO ARE SPEAKING THROUGH A HUMAN PERSON.

THEY SPEAK MOST OF THE TIMES WITH A VERY UGLY VOICE,

SOMETIMES WITH A LOT OF INTELLIGENCE OR A GREAT,

GREAT KNOWLEDGE OF THEOLOGY.

WE KNOW SOMETIMES THERE IS A DEMON THERE

BECAUSE, FEW TIMES,

WE HAVE THE PROOF THAT THAT PERSON

WILL NOT KNOW A LITTLE PART OF THE BIBLE

OR THE THEOLOGY.

SEVERAL TIMES, I WAS SURPRISED THEY KNEW

PERFECTLY WELL SOMETHING.

IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE.

Felix: THERE'S NO SUCH THINGS AS DEMONS.

BASICALLY, THE CHURCH INVENTED THE DEVIL.

BECAUSE THERE WAS GOOD, THEY HAD TO INVENT EVIL.

BECAUSE THERE WAS PLUSES, THEY HAD TO INVENT MINUSES,

AND DEMONS BECAME LITTLE DEVILS

AND POSSESSED PEOPLE,

AND ANYONE THAT WAS HEARING VOICES IN THEIR HEADS,

PERHAPS A LITTLE BIT MEDIUMISTIC OR SENSITIVE,

"OH, NO, IT WAS A DEMON WHISPERING IN THEIR EARS,"

AND IT NEEDED EXORCIST TO GET RID OF THEM.

BEGONE, EVIL DEMON.

♪♪

Woman: RUMORS OF BANKING SCANDALS HAVE SWELLED AROUND

THE VATICAN FOR YEARS.

TODAY, THE HOLY SEE SAW THREE ARRESTS.

Woman #2: FIVE PRIESTS HAVE BEEN INDICTED

OVER AN EMBEZZLEMENT CASE

IN THE NORTHWESTERN CITY OF SAPONA.

Man: VATICAN DEPARTMENTS

HAD ALMOST FREE HANDS WITH THE FINANCES.

Man #2: CHURCH'S MONEY SCANDALS STRETCH BACK DECADES.

Narrator: FINANCIAL SCANDALS HAVE SWIRLED AROUND THE VATICAN

EVER SINCE THE DEATH OF ROBERTO CALVI IN 1982

ROCKED THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TO ITS CORE.

CALVI WAS HEAD OF THE VATICAN BANK

AND WAS FOUND HUNG UNDER BLACKFRIARS BRIDGE IN LONDON.

JOHN DICKIE IS AN INVESTIGATIVE AUTHOR

WHO HAS LOOKED LONG AND HARD

INTO THE SECRET WORLD OF VATICAN FINANCES.

HIS BOOKS HAVE INCLUDED "COSA NOSTRA," "DARKEST ITALY"

AND "BLOOD BROTHERHOODS."

ACCORDING TO DICKIE, VAST SUMS OF MONEY HAVE BEEN STOLEN

AND MISAPPROPRIATED BY THE CHURCH IN RECENT YEARS.

THE FINANCES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ARE AN ABSOLUTE LABYRINTH

BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT ONE POT

OF CASH UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE POPE.

YOU'VE GOT PARISHES, DIOCESE.

YOU'VE GOT THE HOLY SEE,

WHICH IS LIKE THE POPE'S MISSION TO THE WORLD.

YOU GOT THE VATICAN CITY, WHICH IS A MINI COUNTRY,

AND YOU'VE GOT THE CHURCHES OF ALL OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES,

AND THEN YOU'VE GOT ALL OF THE DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS ORDERS.

NOW, OVER THE CENTURIES, ALL OF THESE BODIES

HAVE ACCUMULATED DONATIONS

AND BUILDINGS AND CHURCHES,

AND NOBODY HAS KEPT TABS ON THIS STUFF.

NOBODY KNOWS HOW MUCH MONEY THE CHURCH HAS GOT,

LEAST OF ALL THE CHURCH.

Howells: FOR CENTURIES, YOU WOULD HAVE ONE POPE

WHO WOULD SPEND EVERYTHING INTO THE COFFERS,

AND THE NEXT POPE WOULD COME IN AND TAX

AND REBUILD AND PUT ALL THE MONEY BACK IN.

AND THE NEXT POPE WOULD COME IN AND START

BUILDING LAVISH WORKS AND BUILDINGS.

AND THAT STILL APPEARS TO GO ON.

AND THE CURRENT POPE IS VERY HUMBLE,

AND HE'S VERY AGAINST SPENDING AND LIVES

WITH A SENSE OF HUMILITY.

THE PROBLEM THE VATICAN HAS GOT ITSELF INTO,

WHICH IS ONE OF THE REASONS

I THINK THEY CHOSE THE CURRENT POPE,

IS IT HAS BECOME COMPLETELY INCONGRUENT

WITH CHRISTIAN VALUES,

BASIC CHRISTIAN VALUES OF HUMILITY AND LOVE AND POVERTY

AND WHY JESUS ACTED AND BEHAVED.

HE NEVER KEPT ANY MONEY.

HE GAVE EVERYTHING TO THE POOR, AND THEN YOU LOOK AT THE VATICAN

AND THE BILLIONS OF POUNDS WORTH OF WORKS OF ART,

THOSE STATUES AND DOCUMENTS, ALL THIS WEALTH AND LAVISHNESS.

SO WHAT ARE WE TO MAKE OF THAT?

♪♪

Narrator: AUTHOR JOHN DICKIE REVEALS THE HUGE IMPACT

AND DAMAGE OF THE VATICAN FINANCIAL SCANDALS

AND HOW THE CHURCH IN ROME IS NOW

BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ITS ACTIONS.

AND WE EXPLORE WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR THE HOLY SEE

AND HOW IT WILL CHANGE OR NOT

TO FACE THE 21st CENTURY,

COMING UP IN THE FINAL PART OF "FORBIDDEN HISTORY."

♪♪

Narrator: FOR YEARS NOW, THE VATICAN HAS BEEN ACCUSED

OF ALL MANNER OF SINS, LIES, AND COVER-UPS.

SOME OF IT THEY HAVE ADMITTED TO AND APOLOGIZED FOR,

BUT MUCH, THEY HAVE NOT.

THE RESULT IS A HOLY SEE UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT AS NEVER BEFORE

AND A TESTING TIME FOR THE POPE

AND HIS SENIOR CARDINALS.

♪♪

Dickie: POPE FRANCIS IS UNDOUBTED.

HE CAME IN ON A BRIEF

TO INTRODUCE FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY,

AND HE'S CERTAINLY DONE THAT AT THE CENTRAL LEVEL,

PARTICULARLY AT THE LEVEL OF THE VATICAN BANK --

THE I.O.R. -- WHICH FOR A LONG TIME,

WAS LIKE AN OFFSHORE BANK.

YOU KNOW, THERE WERE POLITICAL BRIBES BEING LAUNDERED

THROUGH THE VATICAN BANK, IN THE 1990s,

MAFIA MONEY -- SCANDALOUS.

AND A LOT HAS BEEN DONE

TO MAKE THE VATICAN BANK MUCH MORE TRANSPARENT,

BUT POPE FRANCIS HAS GOT A BIG, BIG JOB AHEAD OF HIM.

IT WOULD PROBABLY TAKE 10 REFORMING POPES

AND NOT JUST ONE TO REALLY GET TO THE BOTTOM

OF ALL OF THE MEANDERING

UNDERGROUND RIVERS OF MONEY

WITHIN THE CHURCH IN THE BROAD SENSE.

Gough: EVERY NEW POPE, INCLUDING THE CURRENT ONE,

CLAIMS THAT THEY ARE GOING TO REFORM THE CHURCH.

YEAH, RIGHT.

THIS IS THE WEALTHIEST INSTITUTION THAT'S EVER BEEN.

THEY ANSWER TO NO ONE.

THERE'S NO TRANSPARENCY ABOUT THEIR ACTIONS,

SO I LIKE THE FACT THAT HE'S TRYING,

BUT GOOD LUCK TO HIM.

♪♪

Narrator: SO TODAY, THE VATICAN IS STILL FACING

SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS ON A NUMBER OF FRONTS

AS IT HAS FOR MUCH OF ITS THOUSAND-YEAR EXISTENCE.

IN EACH CASE, THE VATICAN HAS BEEN FORCED

TIME AFTER TIME TO APOLOGIZE

AND PAY HUGE FINES IN COMPENSATION,

YET CONTINUES TO COURT NEW CONTROVERSY.

HOWEVER, WHAT IS STILL UNCLEAR IS WHAT WAS NOT DISCOVERED

OR NOT REVEALED

IN THE VARIOUS ARCHIVE OPENINGS.

MANY CONTINUE TO BELIEVE

THAT THE HEAVILY-GUARDED VAULTS UNDER THE VATICAN

CONTAIN HERETICAL MATERIAL,

INCLUDING ALTERNATIVE CHRISTIAN GOSPELS,

CAPTURED GOSPELS FROM OTHER COMPETING RELIGIONS,

AND EVEN CORE RELICS

SUCH AS THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

AND THE HUMAN REMAINS OF JESUS HIMSELF.

STRICTLY NO BROWSING IS ALLOWED IN THE SECRET ARCHIVES.

YOU'RE ONLY PERMITTED ACCESS TO THE SPECIFIC DOCUMENTS

OR OBJECTS THAT YOU ASK TO SEE

AND THAT THE VATICAN HAVE CONFIRMED

THAT THEY ACTUALLY HAVE.

SOME HAVE ACCUSED THIS AS BEING THE PERFECT WAY

TO HIDE ANYTHING THEY LIKE.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT TODAY IS THAT IT IS SLOWLY ENTERING

INTO THE 21st CENTURY

IN WHICH IT'S BEING HELD TO ACCOUNT MORE.

I THINK PEOPLE ARE MORE CYNICAL.

THEY ARE LESS TRUSTING,

AND EVEN PEOPLE WHO ARE DEVOUT CATHOLICS

LOOK AT THE VATICAN AND GO,

"IS THIS REPRESENTING WHAT I WANT IN AN INSTITUTION

THAT IS THERE TO PROMULGATE AND FURTHER MY FAITH?"

AND THESE ARE REASONABLE QUESTIONS TO ASK.

Dr. Papadopoulos: THERE'S A LOT ABOUT THE VATICAN THAT'S REALLY,

WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT, QUITE ARCHAIC.

IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THIS FEEDS INTO

ONE OF THE CORE NOTIONS OF RELIGION IN GENERAL.

YOU DO NOT CHANGE.

YOU KNOW, YOU GOT IT RIGHT, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE MESSIAH CAME

AND SAID THIS IS HOW IT WAS, AND YOU DON'T QUESTION

AND YOU DON'T CHANGE, BECAUSE IF YOU CHANGE ONE THING,

THEN EVERYTHING BEGINS TO BE QUESTIONED.

AND I GUESS THIS IS VERY MUCH WHAT THEY LIVE BY.

Felix: THE WHOLE JESUS STORY IS MADE UP,

AND EVERYTHING FROM THE 10 COMMANDMENTS,

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS, FOUR MORTAL SINS, PURGATORY,

HELLFIRE, DAMNATION,

BEELZEBUB, BAPHOMET, BAAL, THE DEVIL, DEMONS,

THE ANTICHRIST, AND WITCHES

ARE ALL MADE UP TO KEEP US UNDER CONTROL THROUGH FEAR.

Gough: THERE'S NO DEFENDING THE CORRUPTION IN THE VATICAN

FROM A FINANCIAL DEALINGS

TO THE VERY, VERY PUBLIC CHILD MOLESTATION,

BUT THAT HASN'T STOPPED THEM.

I THINK THEIR DAYS ARE NUMBERED.

IMAGINE A TIME BOMB.

A WHISTLE-BLOWER IS GOING TO EMERGE,

THE EQUIVALENT OF EDWIN SNOWDEN,

AND THE WHOLE THING IS GOING TO BE EXPOSED --

NOT A FEW DOCUMENTS THAT A PRIEST LEAKS

TO THE MEDIA -- EVERYTHING.

IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME

BEFORE THE WHOLE THING TUMBLES DOWN.

Narrator: IT'S BEEN MIRED IN SCANDAL AFTER SCANDAL

FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS OR SO --

MONEY LAUNDERING, THEFT, BULLYING, CHILD ABUSE.

NO MATTER HOW MUCH IS THROWN AT THE VATICAN, IT SHRUGS IT OFF

AND SEEMS TO REMAIN AS STRONG AS EVER.

ITS CRITICS HAVE WRITTEN IT OFF FOR DECADES,

PREDICTING ITS COLLAPSE,

AND YET, IN SOME PARTS OF THE WORLD,

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS ACTUALLY GROWING.

THE NEW POPE, FRANCIS, IS SAID TO BE CLEANING UP,

BUT WHETHER HE WILL SUCCEED, IT'S TOO EARLY TO SAY.

ONE THING IS FOR CERTAIN --

THE NEXT CHAPTER IN THE VATICAN'S HISTORY

IS GOING TO BE AN INTERESTING ONE.