The Day of Reckoning. 0

The Day of Reckoning

John Paul II under examination

by Jesus López Sáez

Translated from the Spanish by Roberto Hope Sánchez Mejorada

Prologue

Surpassing every prediction, in February 1991 communications media kept on echoing my book about the death and the character of John Paul I, 'Se pedirá cuenta' (It will be held to account) [1] which had been published in the month of December. From his Roman residence in the International House of the Clergy, the head of the Spanish section of the Secretary of State, the former classmate and friend of mine could bear it no more. The Vatican officer sent me a letter which I consider impertinent and from which I am extracting a few sufficiently meaningful paragraphs.

"My dear friend Jesús: I write to you, being perfectly conscious of the uselessness of the petition I want to make to you. If you have not listened to so many people with so much more weight and merits than I, why would you pay attention to me? But let me also say, with all the love of a brother in priesthood and fellow student in Salamanca and Rome, that no, that you are wrong, that Pope John Paul I died simply because of his frail health, of perfectly natural causes, and not murdered in the Vatican, as you want to conclude in the pages you have written. It is only pain, deep pain what produces in me to see your name sustaining half-truths which so much evil can bring to the Church, the only Church for which you and I labor for Christ to be known and loved. If an enemy of Christ or of the Church should subscribe to your thesis, it would give me no surprise. But a priest, please! Let those pages be signed by a detective apprentice without scruples, and avid for money and fame. But be it not a disciple of the Lord, one placed by the Church to edify his fellow men and lead them to the Truth. You will surely think that instead of telling you that you are wrong, I should be asking the Holy See to provide you with proofs that the Pope died a natural death and not murdered as you hold. You may surely also suppose that the Holy See will not seat in the bench of the accused to respond to the half-truths you have been gathering here and there. Neither to me has the Holy See given reasons, as if She had to give me explanations that the Pope died a natural death. Certainly, in my position, I have been able to hear persons who had been in contact with the Pope at that time and which categorically reject the possibility of any kind of violence having taken place in his death. But also these persons would not likely convince you, even if you heard the truth from their lips."

"Go ahead; Jesús, with your ripping up of Christ´s tunic. The Church which you attack will not defend herself, nor eject you from her bosom as a renegade son. She will pray, she will pray much for you, as your mother, faithful and modest daughter of the Church, would do if she were to see you obstinate in this puny battle which will not pass from being a simple quixotic adventure, if at stake were not things as grave as the truthfulness of the Church; of this Church yours and mine, which has authority which you consciously disobey. I would have given anything for you to have seen the face of pain of this 'authority of the Church' when, months ago, I presented a brief summary of your manuscript. But it does not matter, go ahead. This authority is used to suffer from calumny and unfaithfulness, even from point-blank shots on a 13th of May. With the technique of inferences and half-truths, I assure you another book could be written in which it would be proved that the last link in the plot which tried to kill the Pope on a 13th of May were the same old Vatican intrigues. Power, sex, drugs, what have you" [2]

Grave responsibilities

I cannot but make a comment: Apparently, the only correct and coherent position here is that of my old friend: Besides, without proofs or reasons, taking as a given that the Holy See has no reason to give explanations to anybody, neither to the Church nor to the world. And we are (let us not forget) before a historical, not a dogmatic, event, but dogmatically interpreted. What did John Paul I die of? Of natural death, it is said. What was his character, really? That of a poor man burdened by the weight of the papacy, an ill man, it is also said. And from that circle, there is no way out.

Of the attack, we will speak later, but one thing I want to bring forward: what has never been made clear is where the shots came from, which is fundamental to understand the sense of that enigmatic event.

As regards the 'inferences', which my interlocutor seems to despise, the dictionary defines inference as 'the process of drawing a conclusion from reasoning' or ' the process of arriving at some conclusion that, though it is not logically derivable from the assumed premises, possesses some degree of probability relative to the premises.' The word, therefore, has several meanings and all of them positive. I wonder if my former fellow student has difficulties with logic and why.

As regards the 'half-truths', may he tell me in each case where the other half is and, especially, for what devilish reason doing justice to John Paul I signifies attacking the Church? Besides, it is not even a half-truth to identify the Church with the Vatican State or with its Secretary of State. The Church is Community, not State.

I must say that, to resist strong pressures, I have kept very much in mind that lesson of our history which is now wanted to be forgotten, as Valente says, "the afflictions and exiles which in ceremonials and liturgies are frequently covered with an insufficient and pale plaster", "the cross of Friar Juan (Saint John of the Cross), jailed, excommunicated [3], stripped off of his dignities and offices, sent to death in a kind of interior exile, 'when just being his friend was a crime'." 

I don´t want to overlook the reference to my mother, who died in 1956 and from whom I said goodbye before marching off to the seminary. Now she accompanies me, in a different form, in this adventure which my old friend calls Quixotesque. To me it is simply a commitment I assume in conscience, freely and fully, even if it should suppose margination and conflict. As Saint Peter says: What has happened to me has contributed better to the advance of the Gospel, so that it has been made public in all the Praetorium and among all the rest, that I am in shackles for Christ.[4]

The letter arrived on February 27. I made mine the first reading of the day, of Prophet Isaiah, to whom the old (denounced) institutions want to silence: Lord, hear how they accuse me.

I doubt not that my former fellow student, now brand-new nuncio, and additionally Archbishop [6], wrote sincerely, but sincerely also I wrote back on March 24:

"Dear friend Francisco-Javier. At the end of February, I received your letter. I am glad to have heard from you although ─ as you may surmise ─ we are not exactly in agreement. Maybe, had you waited a few more days, not even you would have written the same things. Anyway, I understand that, in your position or for whatever reason, you say what you say" [7]

What had happened in the meantime? Precisely at the end of February, John Paul II asked the Secretary of State for the book 'Se pedirá cuenta' (It will be held to account). There they had only a draft, but the Pope wanted the published edition. Then they called the Spanish College of Rome from the Secretary of State. There was not a single copy in the library. In all the College there was only one copy and there was a long line to read it. A couple from the Ayala community had sent it to a priest who was extending his study in Rome. The priest himself took the book to the Secretary of State. Exactly on the 27th, the same day when we received the letter here. In this way, the copy he wanted reached the Pope, and three months later, was returned. Aware of all this, I also told the head of the Spanish section of the Secretary of State:

"I take this opportunity to send you two copies of the book, one for yourself and the other, if it is alright with you, for you to offer it to the Pope. After all, he now has the grave responsibility to do justice to John Paul I. In the current pontificate, though slowly, important steps have been taken: payment of over 240 million dollars for the responsibility assumed in the bankruptcy of the Banco Ambrosiano; reform of the IOR; dismissal of Marcinkus... However, very grave responsibilities still subsist: the true cause of the death of John Paul I, the distortion of his character: other deaths yet to be clarified... Finally, do not worry for what you call ripping up of Christ´s tunic or of the Church. What is being ripped here is the worn-out garment, and what matters according to the Gospel is the new garment. The rest are patch-ups: At your service, a cordial greeting in the Lord, who walks up to Jerusalem and purifies the temple"

I wrote the letter on Palm Sunday, letter which evokes Jesus' walk up to Jerusalem and the denunciation of the Temple. Before the laws of the single thnking, and the due or blind obedience (so dangerous in society and in the Church of our times, as we all well know), we faithful have been saying something different since twenty centuries ago. We ought to obey God before obeying men. [9]

Anyone can judge

Since then, the time has not passed in vain. History does not suddenly stop, as if nothing had happened before and nothing will happen afterward. In these years, many things have happened in this respect, as well as in others which we cannot go without considering.

In the first place, no such frail health of John Paul I: on occasion of an interview made to me, which was published only partially, Dr. Da Ros, personal physician of John Paul I, after fifteen years of silence, said that the Pope was well, and that he had not prescribed anything that night. Additionally, was an autopsy of Pope Luciani made or not made? It had always been said it was not. However, we offer a testimony favoring it, according to which, the Pope died from ingesting of a very strong dose of a vasodilator precsribed over the telephone by his personal doctor in Venice. Now, the physician himself has stated publicly that he did not prescribe anything. So, was it a medicine what killed the Pope and which his physician did not prescribe?

Camilo Bassotto, personal friend of Pope Luciani's, has made the Venetian source known, [10] which reclaims the character of John Paul I and publishes the testimony of friends which had remained silent and which in due time decided to talk: Don Germano Pattaro, his theological adviser, who testifies that the Pope was in the path of the prophecy; the so-called person from Rome, who testifies that John Paul had taken as important and risky decisions as these: break up the link between the IOR (Vatican Bank) and the Banco Ambrosiano; depose Marcinkus (president of the IOR), and valiantly (in front of everyone) fight off Masonry and the Mafia; Sister Vincenza Taffarel, the religious who discovered the body; don Mario Senigaglia, who had been the personal secretary of Patriarch Luciani and confirms his good state of health, as well as the ease of conscience wihich supposed for Luciani to talk to Benelli about the foul stench emitted by the Vatican finances; don Ennio Innocenti, venetian priest, who had been editorial writer of the Gazzetino di Venezia.

The person from Rome delivered his testimonial to Camilo Bassotto (for publication, but unsigned). The testimonial is very important, maybe the most important, but not only the message is important, but also the messenger. We have investigated who is the person from Rome: in our opinion, it is Cardinal Pironio, dead by now. 

John Paul I wanted to end the scandal of the IOR, the Vatican Bank, and the IOR-Ambrosiano connection. In 1992, an important happening takes place: those in charge of the Ambrosiano and of the P2 Lodge are condemned to many years in jail, in the trial for the fraudulent bankruptcy of the bank. Those responsible for the IOR, implicated in the bankruptcy, succeeded in escaping the detention order. The Lateran Pacts and the sovereignty of the Vatican State were appealed to. Nevertheless, to settle the matter, the Vatican "voluntarily" paid over 240 million dollars to the Ambrosiano creditors.

It can be perfectly understood that the IOR-Ambrosiano scandal, as a sword of Damocles, should gravitate over the conclave which elected John Paul I, and to a greater extent over the conclave which elected John Paul II. It can be understood that Pope Luciani should have passed a month of hell in the Vatican. It can be understood that he was about to make important changes which Cardinal Villot, Secretary of State, interpreted as treason to the legacy of Paul VI. It can be understood that John Paul I should have been eliminated and that his death should have been announced (cryptically) by a journalist, Mino Pecorelli, who would be murdered a few months later. It can be understood that Villot's candidate should in the end triumph, the foreign Pope.

At Luciani's death, the official thesis is disseminated (as a dogma): acute myocardial infarction. The distortion of his character is also disseminated: he was not capable to be a Pope. In 1989 a publication, supported in principle by John Paul II, consummates the greatest distortion: we are cognizant of the fact that there was desolation in the Vatican, but how to explain the silence of Pope Wojtyla? In 1990. another publication, also supported (in a certain way) by the Pope, officiates the confusion ceremony: a novel, written by a known historian, cunningly mixes true facts with falsities. What is intended with that? The character of Pope Luciani is distorted and the official thesis is served on a platter: Natural death of a sick man, incapable of acting like a pope.

However, according to the mysterious vision of a nun. Pope John Paul I was murdered. The matter would have had no importance, it could have been dismissed as a strange thing, a hallucination. But the vision in question appears in the last book by Swiss Theologian Hans Urs Von Balthasar (Erika 1988), who describes it as a "private revelation". Additionally, a little later, John Paul II names him Cardinal. Would Pope Wojtyla explain to us his deeper logic? 

The attack against Pope John Paul II, on May 13, 1981, is a really devilish enigma. Diverse explanations have been given: The Bulgarian trail, which leads to the East Bloc, to Bulgaria and the old Soviet KGB; the Atlantic trail, diametrically opposed, which leads to the terrorist group, the Gray Wolves, of the extreme right, group linked with the Western secret services and with the CIA, but also with the Mafia and with arms an drugs trafficking; the Italian trail, compatible with the one before, which considers the attack as an 'Italian matter'. The accused Bulgarians were freed for insufficiency of proofs; besides, it is known today that John ¨Paul II had a moderating role in the Polish crisis; it is also known that Italian secret services members linked to the P2 lodge diverted the investigation, blaming the Bulgarians and the Russians. And it has not been willed to reach the bottom of the question, neither in the Vatican.

The much-talked-about secret of Fatima, has it been taken advantage of by those responsible for the attack? Has it been manipulated at the service of the "self-canonization" of John Paul II? In the midst of so many canonizations (with cases which give rise to perplexity and scandal), has John Paul I been robbed of the glory of martyrdom? Careful discernment is required.

One more enigma: On the 4th of May, 1998, the commandant of the Swiss Guard, Alois Estermann, his wife, Gladys Meza, and the vice-corporal Cedric Tomay are found dead in the Vatican. According to the Vatican sentence, in a fit of madness, Tomay murdered the Estermann couple and then committed suicide. However, things are not quite clear. A group of clerics and laymen give a different explanation: for them, it is a triple murder resulting from a power struggle between two groups (Freemasonry-Opus Dei) who dispute the control of security in the Vatican.

But, can one speak of Freemasonry inside the Vatican? Does that not seem to be an incredible accusation hurled by conservative institutions which have refused to accept the renewal of the Council? However, events lead one to wonder: is there an occult power in the Vatican which in certain circumstances is above the Pope? Has the Vatican turned into a marketplace and a den of thieves like that denounced by Jesus Christ?

The events also lead us to ask what role does Opus Dei play in Karol Wojtyla's pontificate? Against the opposition of many bishops, John Paul II turns the Opus Dei into a prelature and, with uncommon promptitude, beatifies its founder. The question comes up: In exchange for what? Moreover, is the Opus seeking to gain control over the Vatican?

Pope Wojtyla has been characterized by a closed position on various topics related, in one way or another, with sexuality, such as the secularization of priests, the ordaining of married men, the ordaining of women, or birth regulation. In taking stock of his pontificate, how should we judge such attitudes in the light of the word of God?

Another question: it is common to state that John Paul II is conservative on ecclesial matters but progressive on the social ones. But, is it so? Does his social doctrine provide for nothing more than supporting liberal capitalism, though reformed? Where and in what circumstances is his encounter with the workers' movement produced?

Already in 1969, in his first trip to North America, Cardinal Wojtyla receives a mysterious advice: to visit all of the North American cities where Cardinals have sees. Likewise, journalists Carl Bernstein and Marco Politi, in their book titled 'Your Holiness' [13], have made known Pope Wojtyla's particular relationship with a Polish woman, married in the United States, philosophy professor, who had displayed a special determination to present Wojtyla as the Catholic leader which the world needed. The professor put at the feet of the Cardinal the efficacious resources of the world's most powerful nation, and by means of this so out-of-the-ordinary procedure Wojtyla was praised and promoted as Pope in the United States, already since 1976. Was an electoral campaign favoring Wojtyla produced already when Paul VI was still alive? How can it be explained that (according to the testimony of his theological advisor, don Germano Pattaro) that John Paul I should already know, a few days into his pontificate who would be his successor? (and how soon, besides).

It is necessary to reflect upon the political belligerence of the present pontificate: Should a Pope collaborate in the Western harassment of the Eastern bloc? Should he appear before the world as an ally of the empire? Has he weakened the Church's commitment to the liberation of the poor? Has he fallen into the temptation of power?

It is also necessary to reflect on the type of renewal Pope Wojtyla promotes: Has he confused the ecclesial renewal (dreamed by John XXIII) with the imperial renewal (old medieval dream)? Does his biography fit more in the framework of the imperial renewal than in that of the ecclesial renewal?

After the attacks of September 11, the United States declares war against Afghanistan, where (it seems) the main suspect (Osama Bin Laden) can be found. What is John Paul II's position?

Finally, we tackle the physical decline of Pope Wojtyla. It begins with a tumor in the colon which is extirpated in 1992. Is it true that he changes with such illness? Is there clearly a before and an after? What does that illness mean? Is an impressive papal checkup produced at bottom?

Anyone can judge. History going from John Paul I to John Paul II must be put to the sunlight, before everyone, We cannot accept what is impossible to accept. Criticism is a service to the Church which helps her to become conscious of what should never have happened and which opens an alternative for change and renewal.

We announced it (years ago) orally and in writing: "It will be held to account. Even more, it is being done right now. For he who wants to listen, God speaks in human history in many ways", "it corresponds to Pope John Paul II the highest responsibility to heal this badly closed wound of the death and character of John Paul I" [14].

The present book is a critical judgment of Pope Wojtyla. At the end of his long pontificate, the Pope is being held accountable: of the cause of John Paul I and other matters, also important. It is normal that the faithful do it under the light of the word of God [15]. Non-believers can do it under the light of their own conscience. In any case, as Saint Paul says, by means of the manifestation of the truth, we commend ourselves to all human conscience before God [16].

We appeal to the right and the duty to manifest what we in conscience believe is disfiguring the face of the Church. About her defects inasmuch as it is formed by men, the Council said: "We must take conscience of them and opposed them firmly so that they don´t damage the spread of the Gospel." [17]

In the early times, it was considered normal. Peter justifies his conduct before the Jerusalem community for his welcoming of the centurion Cornelius [18]. And in Antioch, when Peter yields to the (regressive) pressure of Judeo-Christian legalism, Paul confronts him, face to face, because it was worthy of reprehension. Legitimate Christian liberty was at stake {20].

In the midst of the ecclesial tension which supposes the publication of the present book, I am asked not to publish it. That I send it to all the Cardinals but do not publish it: "it would bring harm to the simple people". However, the harm to the simple people is the denounced act (generally known through other media), not the denunciation of the act. Additionally, so I believe, such denunciation is necessary, it is a right and a duty, it supposes a gesture which many will be thankful of.

I am also told: "If it is a reprehension of Peter, tell it to Peter", "if it is a fraternal correction, tell it to whom it concerns". Being Pope is a public matter. Paul corrects Peter and we all get to know it. In addition, the story is long already. First it was the document on the death of John Paul I: quite a stir it arose, but no change took place. Then it was my book 'Se Pedirá Cuenta': the Pope read it but nothing was done. Now comes 'El Día de la Cuenta' (The Day of Reckoning). In each of the three cases, I first informed the Bishop of Avila, diocese to which I belong. A time comes when there is nothing more to wait: Tell it to the community [21]. tell it to the Church, tell it to anyone who may wish to listen.
Actually, I never thought of writing this book. I realized I had to do it almost ten years ago, listening to the word of God that was read in all churches the date the Pope was operated upon. It appeared impressive to me, a word of judgment. I understood the difficult role it was for me to perform, I accepted it and began writing.

I am told that what I intend to do with my book "only a Council could do", but mine is only a "reprehension of Peter". I am told "it is not serious", but I respond with a question: the book states a number of facts, which of them are not true? I am told "there are no proofs" but for many years we have been witnessing repression in investigation and fear among the witnesses. Should we agree to that?
In general, what is there is fear. Saint Catherine of Siena said it in the fourteenth century: God's ministers who do not denounce the evils in the Church for "servile fear", are bad pastors. They have no dog, the dog of their conscience does not bark at them. Prophet Isaiah denounced it already: "Their watchmen are blind, they are all mute dogs" [22]. They don´t understand that God will hold them to account "in the last extreme of death" [23]

The Bishop of Avila, D. Adolfo González, threatens me with removing all ministerial licenses from me "as soon as (the book) appears on sale": "it contributes to defame the person and the pontificate of the Holy Father" [24]. The auxiliary bishop of Madrid, D. Eugenio Romero, makes a critical study for me, I thank him, but he does not sign it. On my part, I present him with my observations to the critical study. Additionally, I send the manuscript to the Pope. I have an acknowledgment of receipt by the Secretary of State.

I want to make it clear that the purpose is not to analyze the entire pontificate of John Paul II. The book is centered on the matter of John Paul I and on other matters also important. Certainly, though, all this affects the vision of the pontificate. Moreover, it is not the intentions what are judged, but the facts. Only God can sound the heart [25].

At the beginning of the third milenium, the Pope is asked to exercise his function in a manner truly evangelical and ecumenical: to proclaim the Word of God, all of it and nothing other than His word, without imposing it by force. In face of the future conclave which should elect his successor, it is time to reflect over what kind of pope is what the Catholic Church requires, and what pope can open a horizon of hope for the world.

In 1958, after the long pontificate of Pius XII (1939,1958), everything seemed to be tied and well tied. However, a shift in the pendulum took place and the conciliar renovation (1958- 1978) came about: John XXIII, Paul XVI, John Paul I. Now, certainly, nobody expects a similar change. However, it is necessary and it must be cried for.

Fresh news. The case of the death of John Paul I, reopened by the public prosecutor in Rome, is in its preliminary phase. The Bishop of Avila is moved to America. Pedro Casaldaga, Bishop of Sao Felix de Araguaia, sends me a letter of friendship and communion: "all of your material is important for history and for the purification of the Church". Thirty-four Latin American Bishops ask the Pope to summon a new council. The gathering of signatures has begun in www.proconcil.org. The family of Corporal Cédric Tomay makes an investigation according to which the young Swiss guard was murdered. At the moment, the book is issued in a private edition.

[1] May be found in internet: www.comayala.es
[2] Letter of 18-Feb-1991.
[3] A nuncio, Felipe Sega, excommunicated friar John. See my catechesis published in commemoration of the Fourth Centenary of his death: "Al encuentro de San Juan de la Cruz", Asociación Comunidad de Ayala, Madrid 1991.
[4] Flp 1,12-13.
[5] Jr 18,19. That day, psalm 31 was also read: 'But I trust in You, Lord'. And this passage of the Gospel: Look, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be delivered to the head priests and the scribes (Mt 20,18).
[6] In 1994 he was named Archbishop of Peñafiel and nuncio in Tanzania.
[7] Letter of 24-Mar-1991.
[8] Mariano and Vito.
[9] Hch 5,29.
[10] See C. BASSOTTO, Il mio cuore é ancora a Venezia, Tip. Adriatica. Musile di Piave (Venezia), 1990.
[11] Jn 2,16.
[12] Mc 11,17.
[13] BERNSTEIN-POLITI, Sua Santità, Rizzoli, Milán, 1996. Spanish translation: Su Santidad, Ed. Planeta, Barcelona, 1996.
[14] Se pedirá cuenta, Orígenes, Madrid, 1990, 125-126.
[15] DV 10.
[16] 2 Co 4,2.
[17] GS 43.
[18] Hch 11, 1-18.
[19] Ga 2, 11.
[20] Ga 5, 1-12.
[21] Mt 18, 17.
[22] Is 56, 10.
[23] Santa Catalina de Siena, El Diálogo,BAC, Madrid, 1980, nn. 129 y 119.
[24] Letter of 26-Jan-2002.
[25] Jr 17, 10.
[26] See Juan Pablo II, Ut unum sint, 95.


(To be continued)

Go to Chapter 1


Ttranslator's note: After having finished the translation of this Prologue and of Chapter 1, I found out there is already an English translation available here; so I decided it is not necessary for me to continue translating the rest of the Chapters.