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Pope John Paul I Pope John Paul I ( la, Ioannes Paulus I}; it, Giovanni Paolo I; born Albino Luciani ; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 to his death 33 days later. Hi ...
died suddenly in September 1978, 33 days after his election. Following his death, several
conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...
have sprung.


Rationale

Discrepancies in the Vatican's account of the events surrounding Pope John Paul I's death—its inaccurate statements about who found the body; what he had been reading; when, where, and whether an autopsy could be carried out—produced a number of
conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...
, many associated with the
Vatican Bank The Institute for the Works of Religion ( it, Istituto per le Opere di Religione; la, Institutum pro Operibus Religionis; abbreviated IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a financial institution situated inside Vatican City and run by a ...
, which owned many shares in
Banco Ambrosiano Banco Ambrosiano was an Italian bank that collapsed in 1982. At the centre of the bank's failure was its chairman, Roberto Calvi, and his membership in the illegal former Masonic Lodge Propaganda Due (aka P2). The Vatican-based Institute for t ...
. Some conspiracy theorists connect the death of John Paul in September 1978 with the image of the " bishop dressed in white" said to have been seen by
Lucia Santos Lucia may refer to: Arts and culture * ''Lucía'', a 1968 Cuban film by Humberto Solás * ''Lucia'' (film), a 2013 Kannada-language film * '' Lucia & The Best Boys'', a Scottish indie rock band formerly known as ''LUCIA'' * "Lucia", a Swedish c ...
and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto during the visitations of Our Lady of Fátima in 1917. In a letter to a colleague, John Paul had said he was deeply moved by having met Lucia and vowed to perform the
Consecration of Russia The consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary by a reigning Pope was requested during a Marian apparition by Our Lady of Fátima on 13 July 1917, according to Sister Lúcia, one of the three visionaries who claimed ...
in accordance with her vision.


Conspiracy theories


David Yallop

David Yallop David Anthony Yallop (27 January 1937 – 23 August 2018) was a British author who wrote chiefly about unsolved crimes. In the 1970s, he contributed scripts for a number of BBC comedy shows. In the same decade he also wrote 10 episodes for the I ...
's 1984 book '' In God's Name'' proposed the theory that the pope had been in "potential danger" because of corruption in the Vatican Bank (known officially as the
Institute for Works of Religion The Institute for the Works of Religion ( it, Istituto per le Opere di Religione; la, Institutum pro Operibus Religionis; abbreviated IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a financial institution situated inside Vatican City and run by a ...
or ), the Vatican's most powerful financial institution which owned many shares in
Banco Ambrosiano Banco Ambrosiano was an Italian bank that collapsed in 1982. At the centre of the bank's failure was its chairman, Roberto Calvi, and his membership in the illegal former Masonic Lodge Propaganda Due (aka P2). The Vatican-based Institute for t ...
. The Vatican Bank lost several hundred million dollars. This corruption was real and is known to have involved the bank's head, Bishop
Paul Marcinkus Paul Casimir Marcinkus (; January 15, 1922 – February 20, 2006) was an American archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church and president of the Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank, from 1971 to 1989. Early ...
, along with
Roberto Calvi Roberto Calvi (13 April 1920 – 17 June 1982) was an Italian banker, dubbed "God's Banker" () by the press because of his close association with the Holy See. He was a native of Milan and was chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, which collapsed in ...
of the Banco Ambrosiano. Marcinkus, at the time head of the Vatican Bank, was indicted in Italy in 1982 as an accessory in the $3.5billion collapse of Banco Ambrosiano. Calvi was a member of P2, an illegal Italian
Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
lodge.Calvi murder: The mystery of God's banker
The Independent, June 7, 2007
He was found dead in London in 1982, after disappearing just before the corruption became public. His death was initially ruled suicide and a second inquest – ordered by his family – then returned an
open verdict The open verdict is an option open to a coroner's jury at an inquest in the legal system of England and Wales. The verdict means the jury confirms the death is suspicious, but is unable to reach any other verdicts open to them. Mortality studies c ...
. In October 2002 forensic experts appointed by Italian judges concluded that the banker had been murdered. In his 2012 book ''The Power and The Glory: Inside the Dark Heart of John Paul II's Vatican'', Yallop writes that Luciani had been given a list of 121 Masons and on September 28 (the day of his death) had advised
Jean-Marie Villot Jean-Marie Villot (11 October 1905 – 9 March 1979) was a French prelate and Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Lyon from 1965 to 1967, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy from 1967 to 1969, Vatican Secre ...
, at that time Cardinal Secretary of State, with personnel transfers. Yallop specifically summarized his conspiracy theory in his 1984 book: Three archbishops—Marcinkus, Villot and Cody—conspired with three Mafia types—Calvi, Sindona and Gelli—in the murder of John Paul I. "It was clear that these six men—Marcinkus, Villot, Cody, Calvi, Sindona and Gelli—had a great deal to fear if the papacy of John Paul I should continue... all of them stood to gain in a variety of ways if John Paul I should suddenly die." In his book '' A Thief in the Night'', British historian and journalist John Cornwell examines and challenges Yallop's points of suspicion. Yallop's murder theory requires that the pope's body be found at 4:30 or 4:45 a.m., one hour earlier than official reports estimated. He bases this, ''inter alia'', on an early story by
Vatican Radio Vatican Radio ( it, Radio Vaticana; la, Statio Radiophonica Vaticana) is the official broadcasting service of Vatican City. Established in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are offered in 47 languages, and are sent out on short wave, ...
and the Italian news service
ANSA Ansa (Latin for "handle") or ANSA may refer to: Organizations * Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata, Italian news agency ** Ansa Mediterranean or ANSAmed, section of the above * Applied Neuroscience Society of Australasia * Association of Norw ...
that garbled the time and misrepresented the layout of the
papal apartments The papal apartments is the non-official designation for the collection of apartments, which are private, state, and religious, that wrap around a courtyard (the Courtyard of Sixtus V, ''Cortile di Sisto V'') on two sides of the third (top) flo ...
. Yallop says he had testimony from Sister Vincenza Taffarel (the nun who found the pope's body) to this effect but refused to show Cornwell his transcripts.


Abbé Georges de Nantes

Theologian Abbé Georges de Nantes spent much of his life building a case for murder against the Vatican, collecting statements from people who knew the pope before and after his election. His writings go into detail about the banks and about John Paul I's supposed discovery of a number of Freemason priests in the Vatican, along with a number of his proposed reforms and devotion to Our Lady of Fátima.


Catholic Traditionalist Movement

According to the Catholic Traditionalist Movement organization, their founder Fr.
Gommar DePauw Gommar A. DePauw (11 October 19186 May 2005) was a traditionalist Catholic priest and founder of an organization that he called the Catholic Traditionalist Movement. Early life DePauw was born in Stekene, Belgium, the son of a newspaper ed ...
was to have gone to Rome to help John Paul I reestablish the
Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almo ...
: Other prominent Traditionalist Catholic websites, not related to CTM, have suggested John Paul I may have been assassinated to prevent restoration of the Tridentine Mass.


Charles Murr

In his 2017 book ''The Godmother: Madre Pascalina'', Fr. Charles Murr writes about the coincidence that Pope John Paul I had attempted to discipline Cardinal
Sebastiano Baggio Sebastiano Baggio (16 May 1913 – 21 March 1993) was an Italian cardinal, often thought to be a likely candidate for election to the papacy. He served as President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State from 1984 to 1990 and was P ...
, who appointed many "liberal" bishops including, later, the defrocked ex-cardinal
Theodore McCarrick Theodore Edgar McCarrick (born July 7, 1930) is a laicized American bishop and former cardinal of the Catholic Church. Ordained a priest in 1958, he became an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York in 1977, then became Bishop of Metuch ...
, and that Cdl. Baggio was the last person to have seen Pope John Paul I alive.


Anthony Raimondi

In his book ''When the Bullet Hits the Bone'', which was published in 2019, Anthony Raimondi (who claims to be a nephew of Lucky Luciano) says he helped his cousin Archbishop
Paul Marcinkus Paul Casimir Marcinkus (; January 15, 1922 – February 20, 2006) was an American archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church and president of the Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank, from 1971 to 1989. Early ...
kill the pope by putting
valium Diazepam, first marketed as Valium, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. It is commonly used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, muscle spasms, insomnia, a ...
in his tea to knock him out, then poisoning him with
cyanide Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...
. The reason given was that John Paul had allegedly threatened to expose "a massive
stock fraud Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a deceptive practice in the stock or commodity market, commodities markets that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequentl ...
run by Vatican insiders". Raimondi says that plans were made to also assassinate
John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
had the latter decided to expose the fraud. Raimondi says that "If they take he pope's bodyand do any type of testing, they will still find traces of the poison in his system."


In popular culture

Malachi Martin's 1986 book ''Vatican: A Novel'' is a novel based on recent papal history. In December 1986, a play by
Mark E. Smith Mark Edward Smith (5 March 1957 – 24 January 2018) was an English singer, who was the lead singer, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group the Fall. Smith formed the band after attending the June 1976 Sex Pistols gig at the ...
of British
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...
band The Fall, '' Hey! Luciani: The Life and Codex of John Paul I'', was staged for two weeks in London, starring performance artist
Leigh Bowery Leigh Bowery (26 March 1961 – 31 December 1994) was an Australian performance artist, club promoter, and fashion designer. Bowery was known for his flamboyant and outlandish costumes and makeup as well as his (sometimes controversial) perform ...
. It drew on conspiracy theories about the pope's death. The Fall's single " Hey! Luciani" reached number 59 on the
UK singles chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in December of that year.The Story of The Fall, "Hey! Luciani", www.dailyreckless.com
Retrieved 5 February 2018
''
The Last Confession ''The Last Confession'' is a stage play by Roger Crane about the election and death of Pope John Paul I. The play follows Giovanni Benelli who recounts, during his last confession, his role in the death of John Paul and how this led him to los ...
'' is a play written in 2007 by Roger Crane. It is a thriller that tracks the dramatic tensions, crises of faith, and political manoeuvrings inside the Vatican surrounding the death of Pope John Paul I.


See also

*
List of murdered Popes A collection of popes who have had violent deaths through the centuries. The circumstances have ranged from martyrdom (Pope Stephen I) to war (Lucius II), to a beating by a jealous husband (Pope John XII). A number of other popes have died under ci ...
* List of conspiracy theories#Anti-Catholic conspiracy theories * Vatican conspiracy theories * Jesuit conspiracy theories


References


Further reading


Mark E Smith on JPI (''New Musical Express'', 13 December 1986
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pope John Paul 01 C
John Paul I Pope John Paul I ( la, Ioannes Paulus I}; it, Giovanni Paolo I; born Albino Luciani ; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 to his death 33 days later. Hi ...