In God's Name (47 page)

Doubtless it will be observed by some that much of the evidence already adduced is of a circumstantial nature. When one is dealing with murder the evidence is very frequently entirely circumstantial. Men and women who plan murder are not given to announcing their intentions on the front page of
The Times
or
Le Monde
or the
Washington Post.
It is relatively rare for independent observers to be present and in a position to offer incontrovertible evidence. Circumstantial evidence on its own has been deemed sufficient to send many a man and woman to the gallows, the electric chair, the firing squad and the gas chamber. One fact is of overriding importance when considering the murder of Albino Luciani. If it was to succeed in its aim, then the murder had to be committed by stealth in such a manner that there was a reasonable chance of the death appearing to be a natural one. For nearly six years the perpetrators of the murder of
Albino Luciani have succeeded in what must rank as one of the crimes of the century.

To identify correctly who was responsible for the murder of Albino Luciani one should consider what occurred at the second Conclave and what has happened subsequently. An examination of certain events should establish which of the six men was at the heart of the conspiracy to murder God’s candidate.

By Benefit of Murder – Business as Usual

When voting in the Conclave to select a successor to Albino Luciani began on Sunday, October 15th, 1978, the Holy Ghost was noticeably absent. A long, bitter struggle, principally between the supporters of Siri and Benelli, was the predominant theme of the first day’s voting. Whoever had been responsible for the murder of Luciani very nearly found themselves faced with the task of ensuring that a second Pope should suddenly die. During the course of eight ballots over two days, Cardinal Giovanni Benelli came within a handful of votes of winning. If Benelli had been elected there is no doubt whatsoever that many of the courses of action Luciani had determined upon would have been carried out. Cody would have been removed. Villot would have been replaced. Marcinkus, de Strobel and Mennini would have been thrown out of the Vatican Bank.

But Benelli fell nine votes short and the eventual winner, a compromise candidate, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, bears little resemblance to Albino Luciani. Wojtyla has given countless demonstrations that all he has in common with his predecessor is the Papal name John Paul.

Despite the efforts of Benelli, Felici and others, the Papacy of John Paul II has been a case of business as usual. The business has benefited immeasurably not only from the murder of Albino Luciani, but also from the murders that have followed that strange, lonely death in the Vatican in September 1978.

Upon his election the current Pope learned of the changes that Luciani had proposed making. He was advised of the various consultations
that his predecessor had had on a variety of problems. The fiscal information collected by Benelli, Felici, members of APSA and others on behalf of Luciani was made available to Wojtyla. He was shown the evidence that had led Luciani to conclude that Cardinal Cody of Chicago should be replaced. He was shown the evidence that indicated that Freemasonry had infiltrated the Vatican. He was advised of Luciani’ s dialogue with the US State Department and the planned meeting with the Congressional Committee on Population and Birth Control. Villot also made the new Pope fully conversant with Albino Luciani’s attitude on birth control. In short Pope John Paul II was in the unique position to bring all Luciani’s plans to fruition. Not one of Luciani’s proposed changes became a reality. Whoever had murdered the Pope had not murdered in vain.

Villot was again appointed Secretary of State. Cody remained in control of Chicago. Marcinkus, aided by Mennini, de Strobel and Monsignor de Bonis continued to control the Vatican Bank and continued to ensure that the criminal activities with Banco Ambrosiano flourished. Calvi and his P2 masters Gelli and Ortolani were free to continue their massive thefts and frauds under the protection of the Vatican Bank. Sindona was able, at least in the short term, to maintain his freedom in New York. Baggio did not go to Venice. The corrupt Poletti remained Cardinal Vicar of Rome.

Many millions of words have been written since the election of Karol Wojtyla in attempts to analyze and understand what manner of man he is. He is the kind of man who could allow men like Villot, Cody, Marcinkus, Mennini, de Strobel, de Bonis and Poletti to remain in office. There can be no defence on the grounds of ignorance. Marcinkus is directly answerable to the Pope and for the Pope to be unaware of the degree of guilt that clings to Marcinkus defies belief. With regard to Cody, His Holiness was made aware of the full facts in October 1978 by Cardinals Benelli and Baggio. Wojtyla did nothing. We have a Pope who publicly berates Nicaraguan priests for their involvement in politics and simultaneously gives his blessing for large quantities of dollars to be made available, secretly and illegally, to Solidarity in Poland. It is the Papacy of double standards: one set for the Pope and another for the rest of mankind. The Papacy of John Paul II has been a triumph for the wheeler dealers, for the corrupt, for the international thieves like Calvi, Gelli and Sindona, while His Holiness has maintained a very highly-publicized image not unlike some perpetual rock and roll tour. The men behind the tarmac-kissing star are ensuring that it is business as usual and takings at the box office
over the past five years have boomed. It is to be regretted that the severely moralizing speeches of His Holiness cannot presumably be heard backstage.

As I have recorded earlier, after the election of Luciani Bishop Paul Marcinkus cautioned his colleagues in the Vatican Bank and Roberto Calvi in Buenos Aires: ‘Remember that this Pope has different ideas from the previous one and that many things will be changing here.’

With the election of Wojtyla it was straight back to the values of Paul VI, with interest. With regard to the infiltration of the Vatican by Freemasons, for example, the Vatican, though not the current Pope, has not only taken on board a variety of Masons from a variety of Lodges but it has also acquired its own in-house version. Its name is Opus Dei – God’s Work.

On July 25th, Albino Luciani had written on Opus Dei in
Il Gazzettino,
the Venetian newspaper. His remarks were confined to a short history of the movement and some of the organization’s aspirations towards lay spirituality. With regard to the more controversial aspects of Opus Dei either Luciani was ignorant of them, which is unlikely, or was yet again displaying his own quiet discretion.

With the election of Karol Wojtyla quiet discretion has become a rare commodity. His espousal of Opus Dei is well documented. In view of the fact that this Catholic sect shares many views and values with the corrupt P2 and that Opus Dei is now a force to be reckoned with inside Vatican City, a few basic details should be recorded.

Opus Dei is a Roman Catholic organization of international dimensions. Though its actual membership is relatively small (estimates vary between 60,000 and 80,000), its influence is vast. It is a secret society, something which is strictly forbidden by the Church. Opus Dei denies that it is a secret organization but refuses to make its membership list available. It was founded by a Spanish priest, Monsignor Josemaria Escriva, in 1928. It is to the extreme right wing of the Catholic Church, a political fact that has ensured that the organization has attracted enemies as well as members. Its members are composed of a small percentage of priests, about 5 per cent, and lay persons of either sex. Though people from many walks of life can be found among its members, it seeks to attract those from the upper reaches of the professional classes, including students and graduates who are aspiring to executive status. Dr John Roche, an Oxford University lecturer and former member of Opus Dei, describes it as ‘sinister, secretive and Orwellian’. It may be that its members’ preoccupation with self-mortification is the cause for much of the news
media hostility that has been directed towards the sect. Certainly the idea of flogging yourself on your bare back and wearing strips of metal with inward-pointing prongs around the thigh for the greater glory of God might prove difficult for the majority of people in the latter part of the twentieth century to accept. No one, however, should doubt the total sincerity of the Opus Dei membership. They are equally devoted to a task of wider significance: the takeover of the Roman Catholic Church. That should be a cause of the greatest concern not only to Roman Catholics but to everybody. Undoubtedly there are aspects to admire within this secret society. Albino Luciani eloquently praised some of the basic spiritual concepts. He was discreetly silent on the issues of self-mortification and the far more potent Fascist political philosophy. Under Pope John Paul II Opus Dei has flourished. If the present Pope is not a member of Opus Dei, he is to its adherents everything they could wish a Pope to be. One of his first acts after his election was to go to the tomb of the founder of Opus Dei and pray. Subsequently he has granted the sect the status of a personal prelature, a significant step on the journey to Cardinal Cody land, where one becomes answerable only to Rome and God.

This organization has, according to its own claims, members working in over 600 newspapers, reviews and scientific publications, scattered around the world. It has members in over fifty radio and television stations. In the 1960s three of its members were in the Spanish dictator Franco’s Cabinet, creating Spain’s ‘economic miracle’. The head of the huge Rumasa conglomerate in Spain, José Mateos, is a member of Opus Dei; he is also currently on the run after building a network of corruption similar to that of the Calvi empire, as recently revealed.
*
Opus Dei is massively wealthy. Until recently, when it changed hands, anyone walking into an Augustus Barnett wine store in England was putting money into Opus Dei.

José Mateos, known as Spain’s richest man, funnelled millions into Opus Dei. A considerable amount of this money came from illegal deals with Calvi, perpetrated in both Spain and Argentina. P2 paymaster and Opus Dei paymaster: could this be what the Church means when it talks of God moving in mysterious ways?

Since the death of Albino Luciani and his succession by Karol Wojtyla, the Italian Solution that was applied to the problem of an honest Pope has been frequently applied to the problems that have confronted Marcinkus, Sindona, Calvi and Gelli. The litany of murder and mayhem perpetrated to mask plundering on an unimaginable scale makes grim reading. It also serves as powerful evidence after the deed to confirm that Albino Luciani was murdered.

Roberto Calvi, Licio Gelli and Umberto Ortolani did not return to Italy while Luciani reigned as Pope. Calvi eventually returned in late October after the election of Karol Wojtyla. Gelli and Ortolani continued to monitor events from Uruguay. Was the fact that the three men stayed in a variety of South American cities just mere coincidence? Did their business discussions really need to continue from August to October? Was it really necessary for either Gelli or Ortolani to insist on staying close to Calvi throughout September 1978? Did it really take all that time to meet important officials to discuss opening new branches of Banco Ambrosiano?

The breathing space gained for the P2 paymaster by Luciani’s death looked like being of a temporary nature after Calvi’s meeting with Bank of Italy Inspector Giulio Padalino on October 30th in Milan. Again Calvi, with his eyes focused firmly upon his shoes, declined to give straight answers to a variety of questions. On November 17th, the Bank of Italy inspection of Banco Ambrosiano was completed.

Despite the fraudulent letter from Marcinkus and his Vatican Bank colleagues concerning the ownership of Suprafin, despite the lies and evasions of Roberto Calvi, despite the help of his protector Licio Gelli, the central bank inspectors concluded in a very lengthy report that a great deal was rotten in the state of Calvi’s empire.

From South America and using his own special code name, Gelli telephoned Calvi at his private residence. For Calvi, wallowing ever deeper in a mire of Mafia/Vatican/P2 dealings, the news was bad.

Within days of Inspector Giulio Padalino handing in his report to the Head of Vigilance of the Bank of Italy, Mario Sarcinelli, a copy of the full report was in Gelli’s hands in Buenos Aires. Not from Sarcinelli or Padalino but by courtesy of the P2 network. Gelli advised Calvi that the report was about to be sent from the Bank of Italy to the Milan magistrates and specifically to the man Gelli had predicted in September, Judge Emilio Alessandrini.

Again Calvi was teetering on the edge of exposure and total ruin. Emilio Alessandrini could not be bought. Highly talented and courageous, he represented for Calvi, Marcinkus, Gelli and also Sindona a very serious threat. If he pursued this investigation with his customary vigour then Calvi was certainly finished, Marcinkus would be exposed, Gelli would have lost the crock of gold that the continuing thefts from Ambrosiano represented and Sindona would be confronted
with the most powerful argument yet for his immediate extradition from the United States.