Second Second Vatican Council (Vatican II). Luciani "totally absorbed Vatican
Council II. He had the council in his blood. He knew the
documents by heart. Further, he implemented the documents."
p.21.
On June 23, 1963 Pope John XXIII died.
Pope Paul VI, the new pope, enlarged the Pontifical Commission
of the Family set up by his predecessor. There was majority
sentiment to change the church's stand on birth control.
In 1968, Luciani was asked to write a report on artificial
contraception for the pope's consideration. His conclusion was that
the pope should approve an anovulant pill developed by Professor
Pincus - that this should become the Catholic birth-control pill.
Humanae Vitae published July 25, 1968. Although not an
"infallible document," the position of the church remained
unchanged against artificial contraception. Only abstinence and
rhythm acceptable.
Luciani was appointed Archbishop of Venice, December 15,
1969.
In 1972, Banco Cattolica del Veneto (called the "priests' bank"
because it made low interest loans to the clergy), in which the
Vatican Bank owned 51 percent interest, was sold by Vatican Bank
President, Paul Marcinkus, to Roberto Calvi of Banco Ambrosiano
in Milan. Luciani's investigation of Marcinkus and Calvi led to
another name, Michele Sindona, a Sicilian banker, headquartered in
Milan. Sindona had met Pope Paul VI when the pope was
Archbishop Montini of Milan. When Montini became pope,
Sindona became a lay financial advisor to the Vatican. Luciani
learned the sale of the BCDV had been an illegal transaction done
to profit the three principals involved. The bishops and clergy of
the Veneto were incensed, but nothing could be done as Marcinkus
and Sindona were very close to, and protected by, the pope. The
pope noticed and appreciated Luciani's loyalty in not making a huge
stink over the sale of the BCDV. pp. 35-40, 127-128, 143-145.
In 1973, Pope Paul VI made him a Cardinal (of Venice), and
Luciani published Illustrissimi, a series of letters on moral points,
addressed to various literary and historical characters. These first
appeared as magazine and newspaper articles.
On Aug. 6, 1978. Pope Paul VI died.
On Aug. 27, 1978 Luciani (not a front runner) was elected pope
on the fourth ballot. He took the name of his two predecessors,
becoming John Paul I.
Cardinal Jean Villot, Pope Paul's Secretary of State, is asked to
stay on temporarily for the new pope and to begin an immediate
investigation into the financial operations of the Vatican - with
particular emphasis on the Istituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR)
aka Vatican Bank.
Aug. 31, 1978. Il Mondo (economic periodical), in an open letter
to the new pope, makes an appeal to clean up the Vatican Bank.
The Curia began immediately to falsify Pope John Paul I's true
stand on birth control. This was done to make it more difficult for
him to re-open the Humanae Vitae dialogue.
At the top of the list of reforms the new pope wished to make
were "altering radically the Vatican's relationship with capitalism
and alleviating the suffering that had stemmed directly from
Humanae Vitae." P. 170. (See his 1941 doctoral dissertation.)
In Sept. 1978, Mino Pecorelli, a journalist and disgruntled P2
member ran an article, "The Great Vatican Lodge, " giving names
of 121 alleged Masons. The list was largely comprised of cardinals,
bishops, and high-ranking prelates. The names of Jean Villot, his
Secretary of State, Paul Marcinkus, head of the Vatican Bank, and
Pasquale Macchi, his personal secretary were all on the list. The
pope learned that Jean Villot had been among those strongly
favoring a relaxation of the canon rule that any Roman Catholic
who became a Freemason was automatically excommunicated.
On Sept. 27, 1978, Pope John Paul I made the decision to once
again give Cardinal Cody of Chicago the opportunity to resign due
to ill health (to save face). If he refused, he was to be assigned a
coadjutor. No protesting; this time; it was to be done!
On Sept. 27, JPI asked Cardinal Baggio to take the position he
vacated in Venice. Baggio refuses. (Baggio's name was on "The
Great Vatican Lodge " list of Freemasons.) Pp.208-209.
On Sept. 28, JPI discusses the Vatican Bank situation with his
Secretary of State, Jean Villot. Villot has already submitted a
preliminary report. The pope made it clear that he had no intention
of leaving Marcinkus in Vatican City, let alone the Vatican Bank.
Marcinkus was to be removed immediately - the following day! A
suitable post was to be found for him in Chicago once the Cardinal
Cody problem had been solved. Pp.210-211. On the same day, Villot learns that he is to be replaced as Secretary of State.
Sometime between 9:30 p.m. Sept. 28 and 4:30 a.m., Sept. 29,
Pope John Paul I was (according to Yallop) murdered. He had
been pope for 33 days. (The only other pope to serve less time was
Pope Leo XI who served for 17 days and was also probably
poisoned.)
The probable method of murder was tampering with the Pope's
medications - either his liquid Effortil or Cortiplex injections (both
taken for low blood pressure). Security around the pope was very
lax.
The time of death was never established. An autopsy was never
performed. The death certificate (which was not signed) indicated
heart failure as the probable cause. Embalming (in which no blood
was removed) was performed within 14 hours of finding the body;
Italian law specifies it is not to be done within 24.
THE SIX PRINCIPAL SUSPECTS:
Paul Casimir Marcinkus (nickname: The Gorilla)
He was born January 15, 1922 in Cicero, Illinois, and ordained a
priest in 1947. He received a Doctorate in canon law from
Gregorian University, Rome and was posted to the English section
of the Vatican Secretary of State's office, Rome.
After tours of duty in Canada and Bolivia, in 1959 he was
appointed to the Secretary of State's department, Rome.
In 1964 he became the bodyguard to Pope Paul VI, acquiring the
nickname, "The Gorilla." After accompanying the pope on several
trips he had become also a personal translator and security advisor.
Marcinkus became personal friends with the pope's secretary,
Father Pasquale Macchi.
Several years later, he was made a bishop by Pope Paul VI and
immediately made secretary of the Vatican Bank. Marcinkus had
no previous banking experience! Pp. 102-105.
In 1973 he was investigated by the F.B.I. for direct involvement
in money laundering of mafia money through the Vatican Bank.
On Sept. 28, 1978 Marcinkus found that he was to be replaced as
head of the Vatican Bank by Msgr. Abbo on September 29.
Sept. 29. 6:45 a.m. Marcinkus in the courtyard near the Vatican
Bank is told that Pope Jean Paul I had been found dead.
Marcinkus's residence was not inside the Vatican; it's a 20 minute
drive away. He was not known to be an early riser. His presence in
the Vatican at that hour was never explained.
On Sept. 28, 1981, Pope John Paul II promoted Marcinkus to
archbishop and pro-president of the Pontifical Commission for the
State of Vatican City (a virtual governorship). He retained his post
as head of the Vatican Bank.
Despite motive and access, Yallop does not place Marcinkus high
on the suspect list.
Michele Sindona (nickname: The Shark)
He was born May 8, 1920 in Sicily, where he received a law
degree from Messina University. During WWII, he bought food on
the black market in Palermo and smuggled it (with Mafia aid) to
Messina.
In 1946 he left Sicily for Milan with letters of introduction from
the archbishop of Messina. In Milan he worked for a business
consultancy and accounting firm; his specialty was working through
Italy's complex tax laws. He had Mafia clients and was trusted as a
Sicilian. According to Yallop, Sindona was, himself, a Mafia
member. P.308.
In 1957, Sindona was approached by the Gambino family and
their Sicilian cousins, the Inzerillos, to launder money they were
beginning to make in heroin. Shortly after this meeting, Sindona
bought his first bank. Through the 1960's, Sindona continued to
buy up banks, to launder money for the Mafia, and to forge close
financial links with the Vatican. Pp. 106-113.
Chosen by Pope Paul VI to act as a financial advisor to the
Vatican and to move some of the Vatican money out of Italy (for
tax and public relations reasons). In 1973, Prime Minister
Andreotti hailed Sindona as "the savior of the lira," and the U.S.
ambassador named him "Man of the Year."
In 1974, Sindona's house of cards began to fall apart with bank
failures in Europe and the U.S. (Franklin National Bank of N.Y.
being the most spectacular), and massive losses for the Vatican
Bank. An arrest warrant is issued for Sindona, but warned by his
friends, he fled to Geneva (where he became a Swiss citizen). Pp.
134-140.
In 1974, Sindona turned up in the U.S. where a long battle for
his extradition began. He retained the John Mitchell (of Watergate
fame) law firm to represent him, and was found guilty in absentia
on 23 counts of misappropriating funds. A Milan court sentenced
him to 3-1/2 years in prison.
Sindona put out a contract on the life of Assistant U. S. District
Attorney, John Kenney, the chief prosecutor in his extradition
hearings (never carried out), as well as on former employees who
knew too much (contracts that were carried out).
On July 11, 1979, Giorgio Ambrosoh, an attorney who had been
investigating Sindona and accumulating evidence against him for 5
years was assassinated. Within 10 days, two other men closely
associated with the investigation were also gunned down.
In August, 1979, Sindona arranged a phony kidnapping. He
returned to New York on Oct. 16. The apparent purpose of this
staged event was the transfer of monies for the "ransom." Mafiosa,
including the Gambino family were involved. Pp.282-283.
In February 1980, Sindona finally went to trial on charges
stemming from the collapse of the Franklin National Bank. On
Mar. 27, Sindona was found guilty on 65 counts, including fraud,
conspiracy, perjury, false bank statements, and misappropriations of
bank funds. While awaiting sentencing, he attempted suicide by
slashing his wrists and taking a dose of digitalis. However, he
recovered and on June 13, 1980 was sentenced to 25 years in
prison and a fine of $200,000. He was given an additional 2-1/2
years for arranging his own kidnapping.
In January 1982, an indictment is issued from Palermo, Sicily, in
which Sindona and 65 members of the Gambino, Inzerillo, and
Spatola mafia families are charged with running a $600 million a
year heroin trade between Sicily and the U.S.
In view of everything he stood to lose, and his demonstrated
disregard for human life, Sindona is high on Yallop's list of murder
suspects.
Licio Gelli
He was born April 21, 1919 in Pistoia, Italy, and had no formal
education beyond his mid-teens. He was not a Catholic.
He fought with Franco's army against the Communists in Spain,
and had a lifelong hatred of Communists.
He was an Oberleutnant in the SS in Italy and worked for the
Nazis as a "liaison officer" during WWII. He played both sides of
the fence, sometimes helping the partisans.
Gelli hired out to anyone who could afford him. After the war,
he helped Nazis fleeing to South America. His fee was 40% of
their money. He developed important contacts in South America
and became a close friend of Juan Peron. Ex-Gestapo Chief Klaus
Barbie, who settled in Bolivia, and Geffi became business partners.
While spying for the communists, he assisted Vatican officials and
U.S. intelligence. Part of his fee for spying for Italy was the closure
of the file the secret service had on him. His specialty was
information: secret dossiers on bankers, politicians, etc.
In 1963, he joined a Masonic lodge, and soon formed another
secret lodge "Raggruppamento Gelli - P2." The " P" stood for
Propaganda, an historic lodge of the 19th century. First he brought
in retired senior members of the armed forces, then through them
active service heads. His web eventually covered the entire power
structure of Italy; his aim: right-wing control. P2 was to function
as a state within a state. If the Communists were elected to power,
there was to be a coup. He had the active support and
encouragement of the CIA. The fist of influential members was a
secret known only to Gelli. Two of the members in P2 were
Michele Sindona and Roberto Calvi.
Through his friend, Umberto Ortolani, he gained affiliation with
the Knights of Malta and the Holy Sepulcher.
In early 1979, Mino Pecorelli, a journalist (and disgruntled P2
member who had earlier published the list of Freemasons) began
blackmailing Geffi about a $2.5 billion theft of oil revenues from the
Italian government and started publishing small bits of information,
including information on the Freemasons. On March 20, 1979,
Pecorelli was gunned down, Mafia-style.
In 1981, a raid on Gelli's home (looking for evidence of his
involvement with Sindona) netted a list of 962 P2 members. The
ensuing scandal brought down the Italian government. Within 2
months, Gelli was arrested, tried, and sentenced to 4 years in prison
and a 16 billion lire fine. However, his lawyers filed an appeal and
he was promptly out on bail and once again in the banking business.
In 1981 Gelli lived in Montevideo, Uruguay and apparently
extorting large sums of money from Calvi. Calvi's wife stated that
Gelli would not identify himself by name when calling, but called
himself by his special code name "Luciani" (the surname of Pope
John Paul I).
In 1982, Gelli returned to Europe from South America to obtain
Exocet missiles on the black market for Argentina in its Falklands
War with Great Britain. He later entered Switzerland on a false
passport and was arrested attempting a $55 million transfer into his
account in Uruguay, but in 1983 he escaped from the Swiss prison,
and in 1984, was living on a ranch a few miles north of
Montevideo, Uruguay.
Gelli is placed by Yallop high on the suspect list of possible
murderers. In close proximity in South America to Ortolani and
Calvi in the weeks just before the pope's death.
Umberto Ortolani
During WWII he was head of 2 units of the military intelligence
service in Italy. Specialty: counterespionage. He was a lawyer, a
high official in P2 and a Roman Catholic with many influential
Vatican friends. He hosted a secret meeting that resulted in the
election of Montini as Pope Paul VI. He is now a citizen of Brazil.
He is placed by Yallop high on the suspect list. He had been in
close proximity in South America to Gelli and Calvi during the
weeks prior to the murder. Had access to every part of Vatican
City and had many friends there.
Roberto Calvi (nickname: "Il Cavaliere" - the knight)
He was born Apr. 13, 1920 in Milan, Italy and educated in
Bocconi University. He fought for Mussolini and went into banking
after the war. In 1947 he went to work for the Banco Ambrosiano
in Milan (Archbishop Montini's bank), and in 1963 was promoted
to Central Manager, Banco Ambrosiano.
Calvi and Sindona were friends. Sindona introduced Calvi to
Bishop Marcinkus in 1971. Like Sindona, Calvi laundered Mafia
money and bought up banks. One of the branches of Banco
Ambrosiano in Nassau has Marcinkus on its Board of Directors.
Banco Ambrosiano and the Vatican Bank were interlocked,
enabling illegal joint operations. Calvi was the Paymaster General
of P2.
In 1977, with Sindona in exile and fighting extradition from the
U.S., he (Sindona) began blackmailing Calvi to take a more active interest in
his predicament. He began a very public washing of Calvi's dirty
laundry that led to an official investigation of Calvi.
In 1978, while vacationing and scoping out prospective business
opportunities in South America, Calvi learned of Pope Paul VI's
death. Aware that the new pope would still be angry about Calvi's
role in the 1972 takeover of the Banco Cattolica del Veneto, Calvi
realized he was in a precarious position. As news of the Vatican
Bank investigations reached him, he became convinced that the new
pope was out to get him. During this time, as he moved around -
Uruguay, Peru, and Argentina, Gelli and Ortolani were also nearby
in South America. The author contends that Calvi discussed the
new realities with Pope John Paul I with Gelli, who reassured him
the problem would be resolved. Pp. 178-79.
On Jan 29, 1979, Judge Alessandrini who was investigating the
Banco Ambrosiano case was murdered and on Apr. 27, 1982,
Roberto Rosone, the general manager of Banco Ambrosiano who
was trying to clean the bank up was ordered assassinated. The
attempt failed; Rosone was only wounded in the legs. It is believed
Calvi ordered the hit.
On June 9, 1982, the author interviewed Calvi by phone. Calvi
became very agitated when he learned that the central subject was
to be Pope John Paul I. On June 17, the body of Roberto Calvi was
found hanging under Blackfriars Bridge in London, (in what was called an "acrobatic suicide"). Within days a
$1.3 billion loss was discovered in the Banco Ambrosiano Milan.
He is placed very high on the murder suspect list by Yallop. Note
proximity in South America to Gelli and Ortolani just prior to
pope's death.
John Patrick Cody
In 1965 he was cardinal of Chicago, Illinois. According to Fr.
Andrew Greeley (and others), Cody was a very difficult and
demanding administrator.
In 1970, Cody illegally invested $2 million in Penn Central stocks.
A few days later the company went bankrupt. Cody had also
similarly left his former posts, the diocese of New Orleans and
Kansas City, in debt.
He kept dossiers on priests and nuns suspected of disloyalty,
summarily dismissed "problem" priests, closed many schools,
funneled money to a woman friend - and in various other ways
made himself so unpopular with the clergy that they formed a sort
of trade union, the Association of Chicago Priests. Rome was
petitioned repeatedly with their complaints and concerns - to no
avail.
Cody had spent time in Rome, working initially in the North
American College and subsequently in the Secretariat of State and
had ingratiated himself with Pius XII and the future Paul VI.
By the early 1970's, the bulk of the Vatican bank's investments in
the U.S. stock market was funneled through Continental Illinois
Bank in Chicago. Cody and Marcinkus were friends and worked
closely together on many banking transactions. Cody funneled a lot
of Chicago money to Rome, some of it used in Poland. This was
much appreciated by Wojtyla, the soon-to-be Polish pope, John
Paul II.
By 1976, the problems with Cody were so well known that Pope
Paul VI offered him a post in the Roman curia. Cody turned it
down.
In July 1978 (weeks before Pope Paul VI's death) Cody was
asked to accept a coadjutor (a bishop who would actually run the
diocese); Cody would be permitted to stay on as titular head. He
angrily refused.
When John Paul I became pope, Cody realized this pope might
insist on his stepping aside, where his predecessor had caved in.
This was, in fact, JPI's intention.
Pope John Paul II allowed Cardinal Cody to stay on in Chicago
till his death.
Jan. 1981. A federal grand jury served Cody with a number of
subpoenas, demanding to see his financial records. He refused. In
September when he still had not cooperated, the Chicago Sun
Times ran a story outlining a large array of serious crimes he is
alleged to have committed.
April 1982. Cody died and with him the investigation into his
wrongdoing.
Cody not high on Yallop's suspect list for the pope's murder.
Jean Villot
He was Secretary of State to Pope Paul VI and interim Secretary
to Pope John Paul I, but was to have been replaced. After JPI's
death, Villot assumed the role of camerlengo (chamberlain),
virtually acting as head of the church.
Immediately following JP's death, Villot removed from the pope's
bedroom his bottle of medicine, papers he was holding in his hands,
his will, glasses and slippers. These articles were never seen again.
Villot took total control of events immediately following the
pope's death. He issued statements to the press and to others that
were not factual. Two of the most important decisions were: there
was to be no autopsy and the conclave to elect the next pope would
occur at the earliest possible date: October 14 (two weeks from
JPI's death). This early conclave deflected attention away from the
untimely and suspicious death of Pope John Paul I and onto the
excitement and suspense of who the next pope would be.
In March 1979. Villot died. Despite his suspicious behavior
following JPI's death, Yallop does not place Villot high on the list
of murder suspects - though he was very possibly an accomplice in
the coverup. P.256
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