pope

Hitler's Pope is the previously untold story of the man who was arguably the most dangerous churchman in modern history: Eugenio Pacelli, Pius XII, Pontiff from 1939 to 1958 and long controversial as the Pope who failed to speak out against Hitler's Final Solution. Here is the full story of how Pacelli in fact prompted events in the 1920s and '30s that helped sweep the Nazis to unhindered power.

"Nearly a billion believers consider Pope John Paul II to be God's mouthpiece on earth. He wields extraordinary influence as a world statesman. Thus it was a real coup when Tad Szula, author of 18 books and once a reporter for the New York Times, obtained unprecedented interviews with the pontiff and his associates, as well as access to private documents. Here is Szulc's unauthorized, yet sympathetic biography. Szulc discloses how Eastern bloc communists helped Karol Wojtyla (the polish pontiff's given name) climb to the papacy, then later plotted to neutralize him as Pope. We also learn that John Paul II, while he was Cardinal Wojtyla, drafted Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae vitae on contraception. Now, as the next millennium approaches, is the Pope presiding over one of the Catholic Church's deepest periods of crisis? "Vital reading about one of the most important figures of our time.".

A fascinating profile of one of the most influential leaders of our lifetime: Pope John Paul II. Reported by NBC News' Keith Morrison. Includes rare archival footage. A bonus extra includes "The Sistine Chapel Restored." Also, "The Making of a Saint.".

Was John Paul I murdered? He may have been.

Relates the life of the Polish priest, Karol Wojtyla, who rose through the Catholic Church to become Pope John Paul II.

A rare glimpse inside the secret archives and private chapels of the Vatican.

Tells of the farm boy who became Pope. He has been called the "Pope of little children" as he changed the requirements for First Communion so that young children as early as 7 years old could receive the Holy Eucharist.

The story of a wise and compassionate man that never loses sight of the man beneath the robes.