It was a reign of terror that would endure for more than 600 years. At the dawn of the second millennium, the Roman Catholic Church reigned supreme throughout the kingdoms of Europe. But by the 13th century, emerging Christian sects like the Cathars were challenging the Pope's authority. To counter their influence, the Church unleashed a new weapon: the Inquisition. This $3-million-plus international co-production was filmed in High Definition on location in Italy, France and Spain. It was produced and directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker David Rabinovitch, and features narration by actor Colm Feore (Trudeau). Said Alberta Nokes, VisionTV's Director of Independent Production: “ Secret Files of the Inquisition is one of the biggest and most ambitious productions with which our network has ever had the privilege to be associated. It is a dramatic examination of religious intolerance and the drive to crush dissent and independent thought – historical themes that also have great resonance for us in the here and now.” Established by Pope Gregory IX in 1233, the Inquisition was charged with enforcing Catholic orthodoxy and stamping out heresy. Inquisitors pursued their mission with a vengeance, subjecting countless thousands across Europe to arrest, torture, secret trial and public execution. They also bureaucratized the business of terror, writing manuals on torture and keeping meticulously detailed files on their activities for centuries. Some scholars say the Inquisition exists to this day, in the form of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a Vatican office that was headed until recently by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger – now Pope Benedict XVI. For centuries, the Church kept the records of the Inquisition under lock and key. But in 1998, the Vatican opened the archives to scholars for the first time – on a limited basis. Drawing on these documents and on historical research, the Secret Files series tells its tale through painstakingly detailed recreations of pivotal events – from the Inquisition's all-out war on the Cathars in 13th- and 14th-century France, to its last determined effort to maintain power in the face of the 19th-century's rising democratic tide. The four-part series is at once epic and intimate, focusing attention on compelling characters in this 600-year drama , from the ruthless architects of the Inquisition to its helpless victims. Each episode features first-person testimonies taken directly from the files: verbatim accounts from nobles and peasants alike, as they defend themselves and often their families against accusations of heresy – literally arguing for their lives. The Secret Files series also includes insights from some of the world's foremost experts on the Inquisition, including Medieval scholar David Gitlitz , historian Stephen Haliczer , novelist Charmaine Craig , acclaimed author of The Good Men , which was inspired by historical accounts of the Inquisition, historian David Kertzer , author of Prisoner of the Vatican and The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara , and theologian Rev. Joseph A. Di Noia , the Vatican undersecretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Secret Files of the Inquisition was produced by Inquisition Productions in association with VisionTV, France5, Insight, New Atlantis and Beyond International. David Rabinovitch is Executive Producer, and Kirk Shaw is Co-Executive Producer. The four-part series was written by David Rabinovitch, Colin King, Lauren Drewery and Michael Alcock. The production design is by award-winning feature film art director Gumersindo Andres (The Monk). Secret Files of the Inquisition – Creator David Rabinovitch David Rabinovitch is the creative force behind the four-part docudrama mini-series Secret Files of the Inquisition . As Executive Producer, he assembled the international consortium that backed the C$3.5-million project. And as filmmaker, he directed the series on location in Europe. David Rabinovitch, the producer/director of Secret Files of the Inquisition, has written an article about the "behind-the-scenes" and "making of ..." process for the Jan. 26 issue of the UK trade magazine Broadcast. Click here to read the article. Rabinovitch has three decades of film and television production experience in Canada and the U.S. He has produced for broadcasters such as CBC, CTV, Discovery Channel, TLC, A&E, The History Channel, PBS, FOX, NBC and CBS, and has created co-productions with international partners such as Carlton, TWI, NHK, France5, C4, FilmAustralia, Beyond International and Alliance Atlantis. Rabinovitch began his career with CBC-TV in Toronto, writing and producing programs such as Take 30 , Adrienne at Large and Hard Times . After moving to Los Angeles in 1977, he produced the Emmy Award-winning magazine series Here & Now for CBS. In 1978, Rabinovitch created a documentary unit at San Francisco-based NBC affiliate KRON, where he produced Shanghai Shadows (1980), the first American documentary filmed in China. He later became a partner with Moving Images Production Group, a California-based company specializing in high-end documentaries. Rabinovitch has produced episodes for such series as Frontline (PBS), Investigative Reports (A&E) and Ancient Mysteries (A&E), and has contributed to the network magazine programs Front Page (FOX) and Dateline NBC . He was also Series Producer for the three-hour PBS mini-series Crime & Punishment in America , the hour-long documentary Minidragons: Korea (PBS) and the 26-part syndicated series Hollywood Babylon with Tony Curtis. From 2000-2003, Rabinovitch was Vice President for Production at KCTS/Seattle, one of the leading public television stations in the U.S. During his tenure, he oversaw productions such as The Perilous Fight: America's World War II – in Color , Perfect Illusions: Eating Disorders and the Family , Stranded Yanks and The Rohna Disaster . Since leaving KCTS, he has represented Detroit Public Television as its National Production Consultant. As a producer, director and writer, Rabinovitch has received many honours, including two Emmy Awards, 4 CINE Golden Eagles, the Peabody Medal and the Gold Medal from the New York International Festivals. Rabinovitch also develops feature films and television movies based on true stories. From 1988-1990 he was an executive with Blum-Ganz Productions (Disney Studios), where he developed feature film projects and supervised writers.

Secret Files of the Inquisition – Episodes Note: All characters and their words are drawn directly from transcripts of the Inquisition. Root Out Heretics The rise of the dissident Christian movement known as Catharism in southern France during the 13th century poses a growing threat to the power of the papacy. In 1233, Pope Gregory IX charges the Dominican Order with the task of wiping out heresy. It is the birth of the Inquisition. The Inquisitors ruthlessly hunt down the Cathars, turning those few who escape their grasp into desperate fugitives. Finally, in 1308, they descend upon the remote French village of Montaillou, the last stronghold of the Cathars, and take the entire community prisoner. Years of interrogation and condemnation, suspicion and fear will follow. Among those caught in the terrifying grip of the Inquisition are Beatrice de Planisoles, a beautiful noblewoman, and village priest Pierre Clergue, her secret lover – and betrayer. The Tears of Spain Until the late 14th century, Spain is a land where Christians, Jews and Muslims live together peacefully. But this will soon change. Attacks from Catholic zealots lead many Jews to convert in the name of self-preservation. But as these “conversos” prosper, emerging as a new urban middle class, they find themselves again the target of increasing resentment. Then, in 1478, the monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella – who dream of uniting all Spain under the Catholic faith – pressure Pope Sixtus IV into launching the Spanish Inquisition. Under the merciless leadership of Dominican priest Tomas de Torquemada, the Inquisition zeroes in relentlessly on conversos, tearing the community asunder.

The Spanish Inquisition will become notorious for its cruel practices – in particular, the auto-da-fe (“act of faith”), a ritual of public penance whose punishments include burning at the stake.

This episode recalls some of those who fell victim to the Spanish Inquisition, like the respected judge Jaime de Montessa, and the young wife and mother Cinfa Cacavi. It also dramatizes the vicious reprisals that follow the assassination of one Inquisitor (dozens of alleged conspirators were burned alive), and re-enacts Torquemada's horrifying final solution for the conversos: the expulsion of all Jews from Spain in 1492. The War on Ideas Venice in the early 1500s is a major centre for trade, the publishing capital of Europe, and the conduit through which the teachings of dissident German monk Martin Luther make their way into Italy. In Rome, the decadence of the papal court fuels the fanaticism of Bishop Giovanni Carafa, who becomes obsessed with reforming the Church through the extermination of heretics. By 1542, he succeeds in convincing Pope Paul III to establish an Inquisition. In the years that follow, the Palace of the Inquisition will become Rome's most feared address, while the growing climate of terror will stifle the free exchange of ideas in Venice. When Carafa himself becomes Pope Paul IV in 1555, the Inquisition emerges as the Church's most powerful institution. Under Paul IV, its most notorious acts will include the targeting of Jews – who are stripped of their rights and property and forced into ghettos – and the issuing of a list of prohibited books, which will remain in place until 1966. This episode memorializes forgotten victims like Baldo Lupetino , the Franciscan friar who spends the last 14 years of his life in solitary confinement for teaching Protestant ideas, and Pomponio Algerio , the freethinking student who is boiled alive for his beliefs. It recalls also the wild celebrations that rock the streets of Rome when the hated Paul IV, architect of the Roman Inquisition, dies in 1559. The End of the Inquisition Napoleon's conquest of Europe and the spread of Enlightenment ideas mark the beginning of the end for the Inquisition. In 1808, Napoleonic forces occupy Madrid and abolish the Spanish Inquisition. The artist Goya depicts for the first time its cruelties, while an insider, Father Juan Antonio Llorente , publishes the first written history of the Inquisition, giving voice to its victims and severely damaging the reputation of the Church. By 1809, Napoleon strips the Pope of his authority and orders the Vatican archive shipped to Paris, hoping to use the contents to undermine and humiliate the Church. With Napoleon's defeat in 1814, the Inquisition makes a resurgence – but its reign will be short-lived, as the rise of the Italian unification movement sees the Pope's temporal kingdom steadily diminished. This episode chronicles events from the dying days of the Inquisition: the kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara , a young Jewish boy, and his father Momolo's long struggle to reclaim him from the Church. This strange case, which brings international condemnation, will mark one of the last times in 600 years that the Inquisition manages to exert its once-great power. Secret Files of the Inquisition – Narrator Colm Feore Colm Feore is one of Canada's most versatile and respected actors. Born in Boston, he moved to Ottawa with his family at the age of three. He went on to attend the National Theatre School in Montreal and then joined the prestigious Stratford Theatre Festival, becoming Associate Director in 1981.

During his 13 seasons at Stratford, Feore played almost all of Shakespeare's leading men, from Richard III to Iago, as well as characters from many other classic and contemporary plays. In 1993, Feore won acclaim for his performance in the lead role of the feature film Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould . Since then, he has made notable appearances in many films, including Face/Off, City of Angels, The Red Violin, The Insider, Pearl Harbor, The Chronicles of Riddick and Chicago .

On television, he has landed many roles, including guest spots on series such as War of the Worlds, Due South, La Femme Nikita, The West Wing and Boston Public. In 2002, he earned a Gemini Award for his performance as Canada's most flamboyant and controversial Prime Minister in the CBC mini-series Trudeau .