During building work in the crypt of St Peter's Basilica in 1939, an ancient pagan cemetery on the slope of the Vatican Hill was discovered. A shrine, datable to AD 165, and some bones were found on the site where Constantine had built the original, 4th-century Christian Basilica that was the forerunner of the current St Peter's.
In 1965, Pope Paul VI declared the bones to be the relics of St Peter, thus adding an element of seemingly irrefutable documentary and scientific evidence to the Catholic Church's teaching on Petrine succession, namely that "This Church of Christ constituted and organised in the world as a society subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter . . ." (Lumen Gentium, Vatican Council II).
All Catholics, then, know or should know that the Pope in Rome sits on the "seat of Peter" and that when he celebrates Mass at the high altar of St Peter's he re-establishes the direct link of unbroken worship and teaching that goes all the way back to Peter - "the rock" upon which Christ built his Church. All of that seems fine and clear except that, Paul VI nothwithstanding, there are in fact no reliable accounts either of Peter's later life (in Rome) or indeed of the manner or place of his death. Nor did Peter found the Church in Rome since there were Christians there before him, while the claim that Peter and Paul established a line of bishops to carry on their work in the city seems difficult to sustain since there was no single Bishop of Rome or "Pope" figure for nearly a century after the deaths of the apostles.
The claim that many of the seemingly solid outlines of Petrine succession seem to "blur and dissolve" on closer examination is just one of many intriguing views aired by Saints And Sinners, The History Of The Popes, a six-part series coproduced by RTE, SC4 International (Wales) and by La Cinquieme (France) and due to start on RTE 1 next Thursday (10.10 p.m.). By the way, the programme does conclude that, despite the lack of hard evidence, there is no reason after all to reject the ancient tradition that both Peter and Paul were put to death in Rome during the Neronian persecutions of the mid-60s AD.
At a press viewing in the Irish Franciscan Church of San Isodoro in Rome this week, RTE executive producer Kevin Dawson said he hoped this ambitious series will prove "substantive" yet "accessible". Judged on Episode 1, Upon This Rock, the series will prove all of that and more besides.
Beautifully shot and carefully narrated, (Prof Eamon Duffy of St Mary Magdalene, Cambridge wrote the script, while background research was entrusted to a small group of historians including Prof Jerome Murphy O'Connor of Jerusalem and Father Leonard Boyle, formerly prefetto of the Vatican Library) this series intends to tell the story of the popes, "warts and all". The title itself refers to the fact that some of John Paul II's colourful predecessors were more "sinner" than "saint".
Take John XII, who was Pope from 955 to 964. Only 18 years old when he assumed office, he is alleged to have run a harem in the Lateran Palace, to have gambled with pilgrims' offerings, to have rewarded his many lovers with sacred chalices and to have kept a stud of 2,000 horses. In his day, women were warned not to enter the Vatican if they valued their honour - Pope John XII was always on the prowl, it seems. Little wonder that monasteries and convents spent whole days and nights praying for his death.
Then, too, there were some dodgy Borgia Popes in Renaissance times. Pope Alexander VI (1492 to 1503) kept a mistress, poisoned his cardinals and promoted his illegitimate offspring. Pope Leo X (1513 to 1521) based his pontificate on the motto, "God has given us the Papacy, let us enjoy it" and he did, often holding 65-course banquets which included delicacies such as nightingale breast pie, peacocks tongues with cloves and lamprey fins in Cretan wine sauces.
It would be easy, but cheap, to produce a series which concentrated only on the above "colourful" Popes. Judged from Episode 1, this series runs no risk of falling into such an obvious trap. In its attempt to tell the story of the Popes, the series inevitably recounts the story of the Christian Church (and Churches) themselves, thus providing not merely personal anecdote but an overview of the Catholic Church as institution. IN this regard, Episode 6 should make for interesting viewing since it concentrates on "a review of the challenges facing the Papacy both inside and beyond the Catholic Church as it prepares to enter the third millennium". Accompanied by a splendidly illustrated volume, Saints And Sinners by Prof Duffy (Yale University Press), this series is sure to prompt lively debate amongst biblical scholars, Church historians, Catholic theologians and the faithful alike. Take for example the claim in Episode 1 that Peter was not a poor "fisher" but rather an upper-middle class entrepreneur with a thriving business on the Sea of Galilee. Argue with that and other claims, if you may, but if you have even a mild interest in either Christianity or the Catholic Church, then watch this series.