Page Suggestions: Freemasonry
The Link Between the Vatican, Italian Mafia and the Illuminati
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Cardinal Marcinkus
He is still alive, saying Mass and living in Phoenix, Arizona. Marcinkus carries a Vatican passport and still is the recipient of diplomatic immunity.
Among those linked to the Calvi murder and who Italian authorities are still seeking to question, Marcinkus was originally ordained in Chicago. Being a mover and shaker in the Church, he was quickly elevated to the Holy See in Rome, and served in the Vatican Secretariat of State.
He rapidly moved up the Vatican chain of command from personal papal bodyguard to head of the Vatican Bank, a position he held from 1971 to 1989. There he worked closely with international financier, Michael Sindona, to expand the Vatican’s portfolio of international holdings, transforming the Institute for Religious Works into a quiet but reliable shelter for questionable and what many have said was "dirty money."
The Vatican Bank, through Sindona, was suspected of laundering money from associates in organized crime, funneled huge sums of money through Banco Ambrosiano and the Vatican.
The Vatican Bank also has worked closely with the U.S. government as a cover money conduit to groups like the Solidarity Trade Union in Poland and other sordid CIA affairs. With the help of Marcinkus, Sindona was to become a "inside man of confidence" within the Vatican who enjoyed unique access to officials of the Holy See, even the pope.
A 1982 story in the foreign edition of Time magazine had this to say about the relation between Sindona, Calvi and Marcinkus:
"In 1971, Sindona introduced Calvi to Marcinkus. Sindona and Calvi hoped to use Marcinkus for their own purposes, and the bankers and the churchman obviously found it advantageous to do business together. Although the Vatican bank denies it had much to do with either Sindona or Calvi, the le Opere di Religione (I.O.R. or Vatican Bank) eventually became Banco Ambrosiano’s fourth-largest stockholder, acquiring over the years at least 794,390 shares, or 1.589% of the bank’s stock.
"A few months after Sindona and Calvi set up the Bahamian bank in 1971, a "Mr. Paul Marcinkus" was listed as a director. "We used his name a lot in business deals," Sindona said. "I told him clearly that I put him in because it helps me get money."
The Calvi Murder Trial
In April, 2005, a Sicilian mobster, a Roman crime boss and two others were indicted in connection with the 1982 hanging of Roberto Calvi, a financier dubbed "God’s banker" for his close ties to the Vatican.
A Reuters story added:
"Calvi, once thought to have committed suicide, was found hanging from scaffolding under London’s Blackfriars Bridge in June 1982 with bricks in his pockets and $15,000 (8,000 pounds) on his person.
"But in the latest twist to the saga, prosecutors now say the Mafia killed Calvi for stealing from them and from Italian financier Licio Gelli. Gelli was the head of the P2 lodge — shadowy Masonic organization whose members once included prominent politicians, businessmen and military officers.
"The judge said the trial will start on Oct 6 and will involve the convicted Cosa Nostra treasurer Pippo Calo, Roman crime boss Ernesto Diotallevi, Sardinian financier Flavio Carboni and his ex-girlfriend Manuela Kleinszig.
"The prosecutors’ inquiry has focused on millions of dollars that flowed through the bank’s offshore accounts in the weeks preceding Calvi’s death.
"Shortly before Calvi’s hanging, the bank he headed at the time, Banco Ambrosiano, had gone bankrupt. It was then Italy’s largest private banking group and worked with the Vatican."
Without question, one of the strangest characters in the Calvi saga, with ties to Marcinkus and Sindona, was Liccio Gelli. A former member of the fascist Black Shirts Battalion and connected to the Mussolini regime and the Herman Goring SS Division in World War II, Gelli survived the conflict and amassed tremendous amounts of money and influence.
Considered the head of the P-2 Masonic Lodge, he was also privy to sensitive information on hundreds of key political, military and financial figures not only in Italy but throughout Europe, Latin America and elsewhere due to his access of files from the Italian secret service (OVRA) and possibly British Intelligence.
It was common knowledge in Italy that Gelli helped to smuggle Klaus Barbie, the infamous "Butcher of Lyon" to safe haven in Argentina, and even managed to work for and sell his services to the CIA and NATO.
Important Timeline (Reprinted from The Financial Post, Victor Golancz Ltd. 1983.)
Early September 1978: Pope John Paul I asks his secretary of state, Cardinal Jean Villot, to initiate an investigation into Vatican bank operations.
September 28, 1978: John Paul I presents Cardinal Villot with a list of people who are to be transferred, asked for their resignations, or reassigned. All the people on the list are suspected to be members of the Freemason’s group "P2." The reshuffle of power will have major implications for the existing Vatican power structure and its financial dealings.