The Vatican Scandals II: The Death of a Pope
Reigning a Mere 33 Days, Was Pope John Paul I Murdered by the CIA or His Own Vatican Officials?
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Many believed Pope John Paul I would be one of the great popes, a man who would revive compassionate conservatism within the Catholic Church. Born Albino Luciani, he was known in Italy as “The Smiling Pope,” seeking to be a teacher and devoted servant to God. He was noted for his humility, and his stance often brought shame to other church members. Luciani was a traditionalist in his views on issues such as divorce, abortion, and homosexuality. He was determined to promote church unity in the face of a changing society. Yet, he was not seen as authoritarian or backward, being affable in nature and devoted to world peace and social justice messages. Indeed, this devotion to the poor had ruffled feathers.
The future pope had invited controversy as early as 1971 when he suggested to the Synod of Bishops in Rome that a form of wealth redistribution might be a positive, proposing that dioceses in the West should relinquish 1% of their income to developing nations as compensation for capitalist exploitation and colonialism. In 1976, he sold a gold cross and chain given to him by the previous pope, John XXIII. He encouraged others to make similar displays of frugality, having little time for priests and other members of the clergy living opulent lifestyles. Despite his image of being a supporter of the poor, Luciani held no sympathies for Marxism and believed that priests who showed any inclination in that direction should face punishment.
While Luciani was noted for his communication and people skills, not everybody was won over by his personal charm. His policies of frugality, devotion to God, and making Catholicism accessible to the general public ironically didn’t win over everyone at the Vatican. Vicious accusations that he hadn’t the intellectual capacity to rise to be pope were whispered amongst other bishops and priests. Some accused him of putting people before faith; some even suggested he was closer to a comedian than a future pope.
When on August 6, 1978, the then Pope Paul VI died, Luciani was a safe choice for pontiff during increasing Cold War tensions and the ongoing debates between conservative and liberal factions within the Vatican. While the new John Paul I’s views on critical issues would please the conservative factions, his status in championing the poor would be an olive branch to liberals. He agreed that the best way to renew the church for the modern world was to implement the 1965 Second Vatican Council’s reforms and was in many respects all things; a centrist candidate whose ideology couldn’t be firmly placed in either camp.
The new Pope John Paul won over the masses immediately, the Catholic faithful falling in love with the charismatic leader, seeing him as less aloof than his predecessors. Privately, however, Luciani was filled with anxiety over the role. He initially suggested he would reject any move for the papal conclave to elect him as pope, eventually relenting when he actually was. Despite this, there was an unusual foreboding around that conclave. The head of a delegation from the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Nikodim, dropped dead after a ceremony on September 5, the new pope seen rushing to his side. When Cardinal Jaime Sin of the Philippines came to pay homage, the new pope is noted to have said: “My reign will be a short one.” The words would be prophetic as 33 days later, Pope John Paul I would be dead.
September 28, 1978, had been a terrible day in the violent Italy of the 1970s. Opposing fascist and communist terrorist groups had been causing havoc across the nation for years. There were regular accusations that the police, politicians, and even mafia were heavily involved in what many considered to be a state of near-anarchy. Therefore, this day was no different to many others as a group of neo-fascists opened fire on a group of Marxist students in Rome. One was killed and another wounded. The pope heard the news with sadness, lamenting the violence that had taken hold amongst many of Italy’s youth. The same evening around 7:30 pm, he had complained of severe chest pains to his secretary John Magee but rejected the idea of calling for his doctor, Renato Buzzonetti. His Holiness decided to retire to bed early and seek guidance in The Imitation of Christ, a Christian devotional book by Thomas à Kempis.
After waking, John Paul’s habit was to take coffee in the vestry and then offer morning prayers at the chapel. He would then begin his daily duties as pontiff. As usual, his coffee had been left waiting at 5:15 am by Sister Vincenza Taffarel, a nun. Ten minutes later, she observed that he had not touched the drink, and it was in danger of going cold. She went to look for the pope, knocking at his door. There was no answer. She knocked again, the response being the same. Alarmed, Sister Vincenza quickly fetched her fellow nun Sister Margherita Marin before entering the room. John Paul was prone in his bed, his reading glasses on his nose and a few typewritten papers in his hands. The reading light was on, and he had a calm smile on his lips. He was quite dead.
These moments surrounding the discovery of the pope’s body have given rise to much controversy, with the Vatican initially denying that it was Sister Vincenza who found John Paul dead. Wishing to remove any suggestion that there was something improper with a woman being in the pope’s bed-chamber, the official account initially stated that John Magee and Diego Lorenzi had been the ones to find the corpse. Magee, for his part, claims that he was the first to summon assistance following the discovery. In defiance of the instructions of the Secretary of State, Jean-Marie Villot, Lorenzi phoned Renato Buzzonetti. When questioned in 1990 by Irish radio about why he had accepted the lie that he had discovered the body, Magee said: “I did find the body of His Holiness. I just didn’t find it first.”
From the very beginning, the transparently false narrative being built around the pope’s death caused alarm amongst investigators. While much of what transpired were attempts to preserve some level of conservative dignity in the face of what was undoubtedly going to be a sensation, there were real fears that not everything was as it seemed with John Paul’s death. Many noted how, at just 65, he had appeared in fair health. Others observed how the story of Sister Vincenza changed. Initially, Vincenza told French reporters who had assembled at the Vatican that she had discovered the pope dead in the bathroom at 4:45 am. Soon after, the “official” story that Lorenzi and Magee found the body around 5:30 am was released, and the good sister was sent to a nunnery.
The Vatican and Catholic world at large were swamped by gossip and rumor, nearly overshadowing the conclave that would elect Pope John Paul II, the first non-Italian pope since Pope Adrian VI in the sixteenth century. These were interesting times. Some corners gossiped that liberal elements in the Vatican had done away with John Paul, fearing a return to Traditional Latin Mass. Others believed that Cardinal Sebastiano Baggio had a hand in the affair.
Sebastiano Baggio was the last man to apparently see the pope alive and was seen as a “bishop-maker,” wielding immense power at the Vatican. Baggio knew “where the bodies were buried” and had intimate details of the sins of many within the church. Close to Opus Dei, some say the pope was ready to move against Baggio and the sect, aligning himself with Pedro Arrupe’s Jesuits. Arrupe was very much in favor of social justice, certainly pertaining to Latin America, often bringing him into conflict with Opus Dei. The controversial sect was incredibly close to the regime of Europe’s last fascist, Francisco Franco, alongside openly being supportive of anti-communist dictatorships in the Americas. Dedicated to serving the poor, the new pope was a threat.
With Jimmy Carter in the White House, the possibility of radical changes to US foreign policy in Latin America was on the table. Carter had already stated his hope that relations with Cuba could be improved and made ceding the Panama Canal one of his top priorities. He was seen as soft on communism. The CIA believed that his administration would almost certainly cut off funding for their anti-communist activities in the region, primarily cash for Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. Thinking that the country falling to the Sandinistas would create a domino effect, the CIA feared the rise of communist governments in America’s backyard. Therefore, the Agency was undoubtedly alarmed at the news coming out of the Vatican that John Paul was allying with Arrupe, particularly given his previous public statements that had denounced Marxism.
Arrupe wasn’t a Marxist and, like the pope, spoke publicly against priests using class analysis as part of religious doctrine. However, he also spoke out against both politicians and priests utilizing anti-communist feelings to cover-up social injustice and war crimes. His work in Latin America was seen as hugely detrimental to US foreign policy. While he spoke against communism, his actions were seen as a benefit to Marxist groups across the continent. Arrupe was on record as saying the church should “remain fraternally open to dialogue” with Marxists and even open to collaboration so long as that alliance was acceptable to Christian sensibilities.
“I take very seriously the words of Gandhi, ‘I love Christ, but I despise Christians because they do not live as Christ lived.’ Without a doubt Christian love of neighbor entails a duty to care for the wounds of those that have fallen victim to robbers and are left bleeding by the wayside.” — Pedro Arrupe
The CIA had much to lose should Pope John Paul ally with the Latin American Jesuits. Beyond the public pressure created if the Vatican more openly supported social justice in Latin America, there was a danger that funding streams to anti-communists in the region and Eastern Europe would be severed. For many years, the Agency had been putting money through the Institute for the Works of Religion, more commonly known as the Vatican Bank. The cash that went through the bank eventually ended up in the hands of right-wing paramilitaries in Latin America and the Polish trade union Solidarity headed by Lech Wałęsa. Coincidently, during the 33 days that John Paul reigned as pontiff, the Archbishop of Chicago Cardinal John Cody visited Krakow and Cardinal Wojtyła, the man who would succeed John Paul as pope. Cardinal John Cody is believed to have been a CIA asset. It is said that Cardinal Wojtyła was the conduit for the money going from the CIA to Solidarity via the Vatican Bank.
Much of the money that was being sent worldwide went through the Italian Banco Ambrosiano on its way out of the Vatican, the bank also being utilized to launder vast sums of mafia money. In 1982, four years after John Paul’s death, Banco Ambrosiano collapsed, causing a scandal that would engulf the Vatican in allegations of criminal dealings and expose the church’s links with the Cosa Nostra, the CIA, and far-right juntas. The Vatican owned a massive amount of shares in the bank.
The corruption at the Institute for the Works of Religion was carried out under Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, President of the bank since 1971. Marcinkus was a cousin of Anthony Raimondi, the nephew of the infamous American gangster Charles “Lucky” Luciano. Luciano is considered one of the most significant individuals in organized crime, being the first godfather of the Genovese crime family and the founder of The Commission, the governing body for the mafia in the United States.
In 2018, Raimondi would confess that he had traveled to Rome as part of a hit-squad on the instruction of Paul Marcinkus. His job in the affair was to observe the pope and then spike his tea with valium to render him unconscious. Marcinkus himself then administered cyanide. The mobster pointed to stock fraud as the real motive, John Paul threatening to expose the Vatican Bank’s shady dealings.
“I stood in the hallway outside the pope’s quarters when the tea was served… I’d done a lot of things in my time, but I didn’t want to be there in the room when they killed the pope. I knew that would buy me a one-way ticket to hell.” — Anthony Raimondi
However, it should be noted that Raimondi’s allegations formed part of a book, When the Bullet Hits the Bone, gaining significant press and promotion at the time of release. Other details do not fit established facts, with Raimondi stating that two cardinals who were part of the plot rushed into the room to “find the body,” acting surprised. This is seemingly a retelling of the original “official” narrative that John Magee and Diego Lorenzi had discovered the body, the account ignoring Sister Vincenza Taffarel entirely. While not perhaps the whole truth, the book is undoubtedly correct in its assertion that Marcinkus was a crooked as they come. Raimondi named the long-deceased Pietro Palazzini and Antonio Ribeiro as co-conspirators.
Marcinkus had been questioned as early as 1973 by federal prosecutors from the US Department of Justice. The bishop was suspected of involvement in the matter of $14.5 million of counterfeit bonds delivered to the Holy See in July of 1971. His name had arisen during investigations by the DOJ’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section. Following questioning at the Vatican, it was decided privately that proceedings against Marcinkus could not be pursued. The decision came from the highest levels.
In 1982, Marcinkus’ name would be headline news around the world as Banco Ambrosiano collapsed. His links to an outlawed far-right Masonic lodge, P2, was scandal enough, but now his name was associated with mafia banker Michele Sindona and Roberto Calvi, Chairman of Banco Ambrosiano. The scandal would only deepen when Calvi was found hanging under Blackfriar’s Bridge in London. Few believed Calvi killed himself.
Propaganda Due, or P2, was banned in Italy, and Catholics were forbidden from Freemasonry in any case. This didn’t stop many prominent Italian Catholics flocking to the clandestine group considered an underground ultra-nationalist network. Comprising prominent members of the government and military, their tentacles were called a “shadow government” by many. It reads like all manner of wild conspiracy theories surrounding such organizations. Yet here in Italy, these allegations were proven correct. For example, Silvio Berlusconi was a member, so too were members of the military junta in Argentina. P2 was also active in Uruguay and Brazil. From Marcinkus and Calvi’s secret dealings, a line is drawn to US operations in Latin America, to the mafia, and a string of crimes across the Italian state.
Indeed, Calvi and Pope John Paul weren’t the only people associated with Bishop Marcinkus to wind up dead. P2 member and journalist Carmine Pecorelli was shot dead in 1979 while looking into Marcinkus. Michele Sindona was poisoned while in prison in 1986. There have also been allegations that Marcinkus had a hand in the 1983 disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi, daughter of a Vatican employee. A source close to the Banda della Magliana criminal organization has claimed that Marcinkus wished to send a message of power to someone above him. This may even have been Pope John Paul II himself, who Anthony Raimondi claimed had initially intended to expose Marcinkus like his predecessor. The allegations state that the girl ended up in concrete, and in return for carrying out the kidnapping, Marcinkus laundered mafia money overseas.
After the death of John Paul, Marcinkus was promoted in the Vatican Bank in 1978. He was never indicted for the $3.5 billion collapse of Banco Ambrosiano, with the Vatican being given immunity by the Italian state.
“You can’t run the Church on Hail Marys.” — Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, The Observer, 1986
There is no hard evidence that Pope John Paul was murdered, yet “the smiling pope” was stepping into a nest of vipers. With an atmosphere close to Game of Thrones’ King’s Landing, the Vatican of 1978 was riddled with corruption and links to organized crime, the security services, and paramilitary groups. Powerful factions never wanted Albino Luciani as pope. Some objected on religious grounds; others feared his potential negative influence on policy in Latin America. Many still no doubt feared for their positions, lives, and bank accounts should he become aware of the house of cards built atop the Vatican Bank.
The death of the pope is a crime with all the motive and none of the evidence. Despite the changing story of Vatican officials and lurid accusations from known mobsters, this cannot be enough to say with any certainty that anything but the hand of God was at play that fateful day in September of 1978. In many respects, however, whether John Paul was murdered or not would add little more to the severity of the crimes carried out at the Vatican under Bishop Marcinkus and his co-conspirators that included Roberto Calvi, Michele Sindona, and others. Their criminality has long been exposed to the public, and killing the pope would hardly condemn them any further. While we might hope to believe that justice is dispensed lawfully and with equality, the sad reality is that frequently there are influential individuals who are virtually above the law. That bought and paid for immunity may just have included being able to kill a pope.
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