David Yallop makes a strong case, albeit circumstantial, that Pope John Paul I was murdered

Pope John Paul I two days before he died

… identifies six people who were frightened to death about JPI

The reality of what was about to happen in 1978 when Pope John Paul I announced his changes to the Roman Catholic Church was clear to many people. And David A. Yallop makes clear who they were. 

Yallop wrote “In God’s Name: An investigation into the murder of Pope John Paul I,” that the changes would shake the church to the core. 

And the reality is that after his death, the next two popes swept this under the Vatican’s million dollar carpets, and the corruption and damage to the institution became worse than it had ever been in the previous century. 

Yallop interviewed many people, always off the record, and since he used anonymous sourcing, his final conclusion about the murder of John Paul I has been discounted by many. 

Nevertheless, the book was a best-seller, and it shook up the church — but the criminals remained free. 

What was about to happen?

According to Yallop, this is what was on the agenda the day that the former Cardinal Albero Luciani was found dead for reasons that were never released,

Pope John Paul I had, by the evening of September 28, 1978, decided on startling changes that would affect the doctrine, finances, and hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. These changes would be opposed by many, among them six powerful men who knew that the pope’s decision would mean the end to their careers, if not their lives. Unless, of course, they acted first. 

Early on the morning on Sept. 29, Albino Luciani was found dead. 

No official death certificate has been issued. 

No autopsy was performed. 

The cause of death, referred to by the Vatican in vague terms, possibly related to myocardial infarction, in fact remains unknown. 

David A. Yallop, “In God’s Name,” Bantam Books, 1984

Who were the six men?

Yallop cites many villains, all of whom had ties to the Vatican, albeit in nefarious ways. On page 27 of the book, he lists the six,

• Bishop Paul Marcinkus, head of the Vatican Bank;
• Cardinal Jean Villot, Vatican Secretary of State;
• Roberto Calvi, banker from Buenos Aires;
• Michele Sidona, Sicilian banker;
• Cardinal John Cody, archbishop of Chicago;
• Licio Gelli, the “puppet master.”

Yallop makes the case that much of this is financial, and that organized crime, aka The Mafia, may have been negative affected in Italy and elsewhere. 

Marcinkus was the primary villain

The Vatican Bank has been a disreputable organization for as long as it has been in existence, and this appears to be the root of much of the problem with John Paul I, who had discovered much of the nefarious activity that was occurring there, and Archbishop Paul Marcinkus was the leading suspect for many reasons, leading the U.S. government to investigate him,

• The FBI, Organised Crime and Racketeering section of the US Department of Justice and the Strike Force in the Southern District of New York had - for two years - been investigating Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, known as "God's Banker!" It would appear that Marcinkus had tried to purchase $950 million dollars of American counterfeit bonds, on behalf of Pope Paul VI and with his knowledge (Yallop, p. 74.) Once the transaction had taken place, the Mafia, who had acted as middlemen, would receive their cut of $150 million dollars.  

• The US government had become aware of this and subsequently wanted to find out how high up this crime went. After interviewing Marcinkus at the Vatican, it was decided that insufficient evidence was available to prosecute him. It should be pointed out that had the US tried to take this further, diplomatic immunity would probably have been cited, thus halting all investigations. 

• Eventually, Marcinkus would leave the Vatican under a dark cloud and take up residence in the luxury retirement area of Sun City, Phoenix, Arizona, with a modest population of just 40,000 people. This former heavy weight of Rome (once called the guerrilla) lived comfortably in his $400,000 bungalow, with outdoor swimming pool (no doubt owned by the diocese), and played golf in their exclusive and private lawns, while still enjoying Vatican diplomatic immunity; he was known by his American parishioners, as "Fr." Chink. 

• Before his death on the 20th February 2006, the Vatican's secretary made a trip to see him, and was able to collate some of his "papers," before returning back to Rome.

Alan Lamont, “The Jesuit Vatican New World Order,” YouTube, n.d.

How did Yallop obtain this information?

The author spent many years on this book, and of course, no one would speak on the record. In the preface of the book, he explains how he was able to obtain so much information, and why he was required to keep the names of his sources quiet,

Very many of these [sources] agreed to help only on the strict understanding that they remained publicly unidentified … I respect my sources’ wishes. On this occasion, there is one even greater need to protect their identity. 

As will become clear to the reader, murder is a frequent accompaniment to the events recorded here. A considerable number of the murders committed remain officially unsolved … to reveal the names of men and women who provided me with crucial help and who are now at risk would be an act of criminal irresponsibility. 

Their reasons for divulging a wide range of information were many and varied, but again and again I heard the remark, “The truth must be told. If you are prepared to tell it, then so be it.”

David A. Yallop, “In God’s Name,” Preface, 1984.

For instance, Roberto Calvi

One of the people mentioned as one of his sources and also one of his suspects was Roberto Calvi, who was either murdered or committed suicide under suspicious circumstances,

Roberto Calvi was found hanging dead from Blackfriars bridge in London 6/18/82 with $15,000 in his pockets. Two weeks before he had written to JPII warning him of the problems that would befall the Papacy if details of the Banco Amrosiano and the Vatican Bank were disclosed. Initially his death was deemed a suicide but eventually a court determined it was murder. Licio Gelli, the head of the P2 masonic lodge was accused of murder along with many others. Gelli admitted that Calvi was murdered but claimed the order came from Poland since Calvi was financing Solidarity at the behest of JPII.

The two mafia hit men were eventually killed themselves. No one was ever convicted of the murder. Calvi was insured for $10,000,000 which the insurance company refused to pay because of the suicide and no murder conviction. 

Eventually settled out of court.

“Some interesting parallels with Francis and JPI,” Catholica, December 2, 2013

To discover more, you can buy the book cheap among many vendors today from eBay to Abe Books to every used book vendor in the country. 

It would be worth a read.