In God's Name: An Investigation Into the Murder of Pope John Paul I

A mere 33 days after Albino Luciani became Pope John Paul I, he died. To the date, the cause of death remains unknown or at least it remains undisclosed to the public. No autopsy was preformed. No official certificate of death was released. Author David Yallop follows the footsteps of Albino Luciani and chronicles his life and journey to Rome. Yallop reveals the process and speculates on the politics of the election of John Paul I. His investigation provides a detailed sketch of the final hours of Pope John Paul I, drawn minute by minute. In the book, Yallop names six individuals who had much to lose under the reign of John Paul I. He asserts that these individuals: a Bishop; two Cardinals; two bankers; and the head of a secret organization, P2; applied the "Italian Solution" either alone or in some combination. Now twenty years after this book was first published the author's website claims that the central questions raised remain unanswered and the frightening accusations are still undisputed. I found Yallop's development of the cases of motive for the six suspects to be strong. Although motive does not equal guilt, it does help make Yallop's theory of murder plausible. At a minimum this book is an interesting story to read along with Dan Brown's "Angels & Demons" and "The Da Vinci Code". The possibility that Yallop has uncovered the truth is unsettling. I have penciled "In God's Name" near the top of my rather extensive list of conspiracy theory books and unreservedly give it five stars. Wonderfully, author Yallop has included pictures, lots of them. I noticed at least one reviewer commented about the durability of the book. My copy is a first edition, published in 1984. It has also been read by several friends and other than the paper jacket, remains in excellent condition.

I read this book shortly after it was published and given recent events, I'll be reading it again. It beautifully illustrates the paradox of political institution of religion versus the spiritual faith while investigating possible murder (Pope John Paul 1) and corruption (money laundering, etc) in the Vatican. Other contradictory activities are uncovered; e.g. contraceptive factories/companies whose existence/ownership is traced back to the Vatican which preaches against contraception. Some critics say the book names no sources and has no footnotes; why should he? The facts are so clearly described that you are able to confirm certain things if you needed to (what with other evidence cited like documents, etc) without necessarily interviewing his sources who obviously helped on condition of anonymity for their own protection. As much of a furor as this book caused, it's interesting to note that almost 20 years later, not a single allegation contained from within the book has been proven to be false. Rather, much of it has been officially established as true. (see author's site yallop.co.uk). I'd recommend to anyone, especially Catholics.

This is a difficult book to digest for faithful Roman Catholics like myself. It is the story of a wonderful priest who loved the poor and wanted the church to improve the quality of life for Catholics. Pope John Paul the First was a man who would not seek to impose christian solutions on non-Christians; he was someone who was sensitive to social problems and open to dialogue; with a commitment to the search for unity; a good pastor, a good shepherd in the way that Jesus was; a man who sincerely believed that the church should not be out of date but be a relevant, nurturing factor in the lives of Catholics worldwide. The press called him the "Smiling Pope." However, in reality Albino Luciani who wished to be called Pope John Paul the First and became the first double name in the history of the papacy was a man of enormous faith. What a shame his 33 days as pope in 1978 was the shortest stint since Pope Medici Leo XI in 1605 who only served 17 days. In all likelihood, he had the inner strength and intelligence to be the greatest pope in the history of the Vatican. To this end, "In God's Name: An Investigation into the Murder of Pope John Paul I," by highly regarded journalist David A.Yallop is a work of monumental research and importance. The author dares to point a finger at the financial corruption within the Vatican. He names names...Michele Sindona, Roberto Calvi, Lucio Gelli, Cardinal John Patrick Cody of Chicago and Bishop Paul Casimir Marcinkus in Vatican City all coducted illegal activities. And Albino Luciani was determined to put an end to it. This well-written book is difficult to put down. Quite naturally it is officially condemned by the oligarchy in the Vatican. However, I think it is important for all interested in the pursuit of truth to read this compelling book and drawn one's own conclusion. The evidence is hard to ignore. The conclusion is based on facts. It is truly hard to imagine but I am know convinced that Pope John Paul the First was murdered because he dared to promote positive change and rid the Vatican of corrupt banking practices. Highly recommended.Bert Ruiz

David A. Yallop wrote four previous works (one caused the British government to reopen a twenty-year old murder case, another freed a man serving a life sentence for murder). This investigates the mysterious death of Albino Luciani, Pope John Paul I. He spent three years of intensive investigation using various sources in Rome, New York, London, and South America; they cannot be publicly identified.Luciano Albini opposed the looting of Banco Ambrosiano while Bishop of Venice. As Pope he would rid the Vatican Bank of swindlers, money launderers, drug dealers, and their allies. But these had connections with organized crime and certain intelligence agencies. Pope John Paul I was as doomed as President John F. Kennedy's attempts to curtail the military-industrial complex, and Big Oil.In 1981 there was an attempt to poison the Foreign Minister of El Salvador: the poison was to be put into his alcoholic drink. Nothing would happen for a week, then he would develop a flu-like disease, and die the next day. This poison could not be detected unless the coroner knew what to look for. This plot was exposed by the double agent recruited for the job, and a US diplomat was expelled from the country. The newspapers did NOT compare this to the death of Pope John Paul I.Pages 40-49 tell of a swindle using counterfeit bonds worth $635 million. They would be sold to the Vatican Bank, and the money used for payoffs, and buying control of a company. The bank would write this off as a loss. You can be sure of high-level corruption and collusion in the bank!The murder of Pope John Paul I may never be solved officially. Perhaps another Pope would continue his proposed reforms; we'll see in the near future.