Yet, as a common priest, Luciani was far less politicized. One could depend on the integrity of Corriere delle Alpi for those twenty years he spoke out on humane issues as a priest. I arrived in Belluno too late. Bishop Ducoli had given up Luciani’s records on demand.
When I approached Corriere delle Alpi, I was told there had been a breakin a week earlier. Much later, I found out that the P2-Opus Dei coalition had bought out this paper in the early seventies to seal archives of articles it had published of John XXIII.
As Patriarch of Venice, Roncalli (John) had been critical of the visionary saints. It was he who coined the phrase ‘The Fatima Cult.’
In 1955, when Pius claimed to have a vision of Christ, Roncalli was caught off guard the Pope was making up stories to lead the world into a third world war. He told a reporter, “…If we are to have a true church it must be built on truth, not one built on myth.”5
Regardless, for Albino Luciani’s time as a child, as an outspoken seminarian and as a revolutionary priest, except for his prominent stands on humane issues which reached notoriety, I rely primarily on my direct witness—my personal encounters with the man himself.
I recall each of them as if it was yesterday. I relished those times, as I witnessed this good man Luciani smiling, grinning, laughing, teasing, joking and then smiling some more.
He went into great detail and spoke hours on end of his days as a teenage troublemaker in the seminary at Feltre and I recount much of that here. He had less to say of his days in the major seminary at Belluno and as a young priest. Yet, he gave me enough to bridge the gap between his childhood and the time he became a bishop.
Except for his more controversial behavior in which he defied papal decrees and stirred the world press, we may never be able to reconstruct the true Luciani. We may never be able to come up with precisely what kind of pope he would have been.
Yet, we can try. Even if we fail to recreate the man he truly was; we will, at least, get closer to what a pope should be.
Some of what I speak of here is the record of my friend Jack’s correspondence and the conversations he had with me. Only one of Jack’s letters arrived during John Paul’s papacy. 6
1 One becomes a citizen of the Vatican when one becomes Pope. His will must adhere to the laws of the Vatican and not any other country. Also, a pope yields certain rights of ownership, etc.
2 Il Gazzettino 9 Sep 78. The Vatican held controlling interest in this Venice newspaper at the time
3 La Repubblica 7 Sep 78
4 La Stampa 7 Sep 78 Il Mondo 8 Sep 78
5 Messaggero Mestre 29 Sep 55. When the French pulled out of Vietnam in 1955 the Vatican lost its foothold in Asia. Pius feigned his vision to entice the United States to get involved. See Chapter 6.
6 surname pseudonym ‘Champney’ is used in this book to protect the privacy of his mother who is still living. With this exception, all names in this book are real.
Photos tomb and bishop’s castle - author photo
Note: Italicized text herein is supported by public record. Unitalicized dialogue, though representative of what was actually said, is not supported by public record.
Important people in Murder in the Vatican
Cardinal Benelli, Archbishop of Florence. He was in the midst of lining up opposition in the College of Cardinals to block the ratification of the Prelature of Opus Dei when he met with his death.
George Bush, CIA Director. The author presents compelling evidence he and John Paul II masterminded the Vatican bank scandal which culminated in the Vatican-Contra Affair.
Roberto Calvi, President Banco Ambrosiano. Found hanging under a bridge—believed to have been lured to London by Opus Dei and P2 on the guise of a loan to get him out of his predicament.
Bishop Caprio, Treasurer of the Vatican bank. He handled the technicalities of the bank scandal transactions. One of three prelates who had access to John Paul the night he died; eventually promoted to the third most powerful position in the Church.
Bishop Casaroli, Foreign Minister. One of three prelates who had free access to John Paul the night he was murdered; promoted to Cardinal Secretary of State shortly after John Paul II took office.
Rev. John Champney, the author’s closest friend and one of John Paul’s closest confidants; killed by a hit-run driver outside the Vatican the second day following the Pope’s death.
Alois Estermann, Commander of the Swiss Guard. He, his wife and his alleged young lover Corporal Cedric Tornay were murdered in his Vatican apartment. Known to be the closest confidant of John Paul II, the author presents compelling evidence Estermann was the guard assigned to the post closest to John Paul I the night he died.
Cardinal Felici, Prefect Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura. The Vatican’s chief counsel was in the midst of investigating Opus Dei’ involvement in the Vatican bank scandal when he dropped dead a few minutes after drinking wine in the consecration of the Mass.
Cardinal Filipiak, Archbishop of Gniezno. Archenemy of John Paul II who died mysteriously a day before the latter became Pope.
Licio Gelli, personal friend of Wojtyla, Bush and Casaroli and Grandmaster of the Masonic Lodge P2, the only killer organization which had a presence in the Vatican the night of John Paul’s death.
John XXIII, He started the movement to transform the Church from what it had become—a symbol of wealth and pompous ritual and preferences—back to the Church for all Christ had intended.
Albino Luciani, John Paul I. The Vatican was caught in a series of lies concerning his unwitnessed death that gave rise to rumors of foul play. When elected, he was billed as a moderate-liberal.
Paul Marcinkus, President of the IOR. Under John Paul II he got caught up in the Vatican bank scandal. Found dead a week after a court trying the Mafia for Calvi’s murder attempted to extradite him.
Aldo Moro, leader of the Christian Democratic Party during the reign of Paul VI. He was kidnapped (murdered) on the day he was scheduled to move communist members into control of Parliament.
Metropolitan Nikodim, Archbishop of Leningrad and youthful Marxist leader of the Orthodox Church fell dead at John Paul’s feet after sipping coffee rumored to have been intended for the Pope.
Paul VI, Luciani was his handpicked successor and he stacked the College to that end. He died under mysterious circumstances.
Cardinal Ratzinger, after the assassination attempt of John Paul II in 1981, he was moved by Opus Dei to the Vatican to position him to step in if anything happened to John Paul II.
Cardinal Suenens, Archbishop of Brussels. This liberal leader died under circumstances similar to those of John Paul I, ‘Sitting up reading a book, which book was clutched upright in his hands.’
Cardinal Vagnozzi, Prefect of Economic Affairs. Found dead in his apartment while in the midst of conducting an independent audit of the Vatican bank under the reign of John Paul II.
Cardinal Villot, Secretary of State. His sudden death followed closely those of Paul and John Paul. The Vatican bank scandal could not have taken place as long as he remained alive.
Cardinal Violardo, Paul Vl’s ‘voice’ in Italian Parliament and friend of Aldo Moro was found dead under a stairway in a remote corner of the Vatican bank on the same day Moro was kidnapped.
Cardinal Wojtyla, Archbishop of Krakow. He became John Paul II in the second conclave of 1978. A conservative, he brought an end to change in the Church begun by John XXIII and Paul VI. Murder in the Vatican answers the question how it was possible the same constituency of cardinals elected a liberal—Luciani—in one election and just a few weeks later elected a conservative—Wojtyla
Cardinal Yu Pin, Archbishop of Taiwan. He controlled eastern cardinal votes needed by Luciani to win the papacy—dropped dead at Paul’s funeral. The press suspecting foul play demanded autopsy.
Chapter 1
The Murder of John Paul I
“Never be afraid to stand up for what is right, whether your adversary be your parent, your teacher, your peer, your po
litician, your preacher, your constitution, or even your God!”1
Albino Luciani
He honors Susan B. Anthony and Lincoln for their courage to have set aside the tenth commandment which held women as mere property of men and protected the right of one man to enslave another
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor his property, his house, his wife, his slaves, his ox, his ass “
Thirty-three days into his papacy, the youngest pope to die in four hundred years and the only pope in the two-thousand year history of the Church whose death was unwitnessed was found dead in his bed.
At seven-thirty the morning of September 29, 1978, the Vatican issued the following, “Pope John Paul died just before midnight last evening of myocardial infarction to the heart. He was discovered by his secretary Magee at six-thirty this morning who went to look for the Pope when he failed to show up for his morning chapel service… He was found sitting up in bed in his daytime clothes with the lamp on and his glasses on reading the ‘Imitation of Christ’ which book remained upright in his hands. Father Magee summoned Cardinal Jean Villot who performed the last rites… Villot tapped the Pope on the forehead three times. With no response, he removed the Fisherman’s Ring from John Paul’s finger and smashed it and one of the shortest pontifical reigns in history came to an end… ”2
Contradictions and rumors
The medical community did not delay a day. The Italian Medical Society issued the statement, “…It is irresponsible for any doctor to infer myocardial infarction without autopsy in the case of one whose death was unwitnessed and had no history of heart disease.”3
There were a few contradictions in the release itself.
Villot had administered the last rites contradicted the Pope having died before midnight as it is canon law the soul leaves the body when rigor mortis sets in. No priest, much less a cardinal, would administer the last rites to a cold corpse. Also, it was widely known John Paul had refused to order the Fisherman’s Ring cast as a part of his intent to demolish the symbolic regency of the papacy.4
The embalmers told reporters, in his hands were notes written on the stationary of Vittorio Veneto. They also said they were picked up by a Vatican car shortly after five-thirty, an hour before the release said the body was found. In addition, they were told by Swiss Guards a nun had discovered the Pope. It was their opinion the Pope had not been dead for much more than an hour or two as it was a chilly morning and the windows were open and the body was still warm.5
The press interviewed the nun who had found the body.
The clock that should have rung and did not ring
Sister Vincenza said she routinely delivered coffee at four-thirty each morning. When she first knocked there was no answer. She waited a minute or so and knocked again, this time a bit louder. It was obvious the Pope was still in the bathroom.
She opened the door and entered the room intending to leave the tray on his nightstand. She knew he was up and about, as it was his rule to set his alarm clock for a few minutes before she delivered coffee in the event he overslept. If he was still sleeping, the alarm would be ringing loud enough to wake the dead. At least, that is what she thought. This meant, he had risen at his usual time of four and had completed his first task of each day—turned off the alarm.
The light was on. He was sitting up in bed in his daytime clothes reading papers held upright in his hands. She greeted him, “Good morning.” He resembled a mime deeply involved in his reading.
It was not unusual for him, once dressed for the day, to be sitting in bed reading when she delivered coffee. Vincenza, who had served him for twelve years, had come to know this man as a jovial one, always smiling, often laughing and, at times, joking.
At first she thought it was a joke. Actually, she knew it was a joke. He was wearing his glasses. Though nearsighted and he required them to walk across the room, he did not require them to read. That is, he did not require them to read in private.
Yet, someone not close to him would think he required them to read because he usually wore them when reading from the pulpit to allow him to view his audience.
She approached the bed, “Please don’t joke with me, Albino.” As she placed the tray on the stand, she realized something was wrong.6
Her testimony confirmed that of the embalmers—he was holding papers and not a book. More importantly, he had been discovered dead shortly after four-thirty and not at six-thirty.
That the alarm clock should have rung and did not ring raised eyebrows of the Agatha Christie mystery buff. The Pope had turned it off or someone else who knew his practice had turned it off. Being electric, it would have been ringing when the nun was at the door.
Yet, when one investigates murder, one must consider not only the evidence that is there, but also the evidence which should be there, and is not there.
In the case of Hercule Poirot’s Hickory Dickory Dock we have the footprints which should have been there and were not there. In the case of Sherlock Holmes’ Silver Blaze we have the dog which should have barked and did not bark. In the case of the Swiss Guard Murders we have the commander’s weapon which should have been there and was not there. In the case of the 33-day Pope, we have the alarm clock which should have rung and did not ring.
The listings of cardinals to be replaced
These contradictions of the nun and the embalmers gave birth to a rumor the notes held in the Pope’s hands were listings of cardinals to be replaced; he was planning a shakeup of the Church’s hierarchy—something that had been expected ever since he had been elected.
It was no secret Benelli would replace Villot as Secretary of State something both these cardinals looked forward to. Benelli had been the architect of Luciani’s election and was more than qualified to head up the Church’s administration. Villot was looking forward to living in Rome and teaching in the Gregorian University.
But who were the others? Why was there such concern?
Other than this, there was concern about only one job. Except for the incumbent who would lose his job, the others didn’t mean much.
The Prefect of the Doctrine of the Congregation of the Faith—the chief theologian of the Church—dictates the morals of the Catholic world. It was rumored the archbishop of Utrecht Willebrands—an advocate of contraception, married priests, ordained women and tolerance of homosexuality—would get the job.
This expectation was sound as the Curia post Willebrands held—President of the Secretariat for Christian Unity—interfaced directly with the Prefect position and was viewed as a stepping stone to it. Yet, there was more than just that.
On September 28, 1978 John Paul scheduled a synod of opposing left and right wing bishops to examine these same issues. He named Willebrands to chair the synod—the kind of assembly normally led by the Prefect of the Doctrine of the Congregation of the Faith.7
Poisoning
That the embalmers were roused from their sleep so early in the morning fired rumors of poisoning. It was the practice of the Mafia to embalm immediately after death to erase signs of arsenic when it was the instrument of murder. For this reason, it was illegal in Italy to embalm until twenty-four hours after death.
Of course, Italian law did not apply in the Vatican. Yet, it had been its practice to adhere to the law ever since it came into effect in 1946—embalming of popes had been delayed for twenty-four hours. This included Pius XII, John XXIII and—a month earlier—Paul VI.
In the case of John Paul, ANSA News—Italy’s most reliable wire service—reported embalmers were roused at five in the morning, over an hour before the Vatican said the body had been found.8
There is the possibility one wanted to avoid a repetition of what had happened in the cases of Pius and Paul where skin discoloration and odor presented problems in the viewings. Yet, if this was true, why not summon the embalmers at a more reasonable time like eight o’clock which would have allowed more than ample time for the embalming before the first viewing in the St. Clementine Chapel at noo
n and would have avoided raising unnecessary suspicions.9
The bell cord
Most questionable of all, was something killed him so suddenly he was unable to reach for the bell cord which hung a whisker from his right shoulder, as this would have summoned in an instant the guard at the entrance to the corridor leading to the Pope’s chambers. Also, he was not afforded the time to press one of the service buttons on the intercom just to his left which would have brought to his side any of five people who resided elsewhere in the palace that night.
John Paul also had the option of pressing an emergency button on the bedside console which would have activated a flashing light in the corridor just outside his quarters and buzzed the guard.
The Vatican newspaper reported an interesting coincidence. On the previous morning, maintenance workers happened to have tested the bell cord, something that had not been done for years as Pope Paul always used the intercom. The bell rang so loud those in the palace thought it to be a fire alarm and headed for the stairs.10
The time of death
The time of death is critical to the supposition the Pope died of natural causes. It is also critical to the supposition he was murdered.
As we will demonstrate clearly in what is to come, if he died before midnight—as the Vatican claimed—he could have died of natural causes. Yet, if he died in the early morning hours—as the embalmers claimed—the case for murder is almost certain.
If he died before midnight his light would have been on all night. Both the nun and the Vatican release were explicit the light was on. This is consistent with he would not be reading in the dark.
At the upper right hand corner of the palace, the papal bedroom overlooks St. Peter’s Square. It is a focal point of tourists who roam the square into the wee hours of the morning. Those that hang their hat on the supposition the pope died before midnight depend on the chance not a tourist nor the police assigned to the square that night noticed the light was on all night. That the light was not on all night was widely reported in the press in the following days.11
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