Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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a good pastor, a good shepherd in the way that Jesus was; a man who sincerely believed that the church should not be out of date but be a relevant, nurturing factor in the lives of Catholics worldwide.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

When I first started reading the book, I thought well,it might be interesting to learn some more about the vatican. I didn't know it was going to be so breathtaking. I remember I heard my father comment when pope John Paul I died that he has definitely been murdered. I was young at the time and knew nothing of the ways of our world. After reading In God's Name, I have no doubt that there was a murder. Mr. Yallop's certainly knows how to conduct a research and more importantly, how to write his conclusions without passion (although his feelings do transpire and his positions with respect to corruption and crime are very clear).
However, for myself, the important part of the book was the description of Pope John Paul I. The life of this charismatic man, this priest of Christ, is simply beautiful. And the Catholic Church has lost with his death its chance to become what it never should have ceased to be: the church of the poor. This book for me was full of the spirit of papa luciani. And the corruption, the crimes, were set on one side, and this true priest on hte other. And somehow, He weighed much more in the balance.
Corruption and crime, wars all around the world, conflicts in the middle east area moved by the interest of the few, all this is the reality of our daily life. To know that we can do little to avoid a war because it would be bad for business bears a great dose of despair in itself.
But then, the good news will not come from the leaders. Only from the humble and poor men and women who dedicate their lives to relieve other people's pain and suffering. The leaders will never be allowed to be that. In a way, maybe papa luciani should never have become pope. It was his death sentence because a chief of state will never be allowed to go against the current.
Am I pessimistic? maybe but then I am from Lebanon and I have seen what corrupt leaders are able to do to a country.
I think this book is very well written and the investigation thoroughly conducted.

Until 1983, the Vatican's strategy suppressed the record of the liberal 33 day pope and the circumstances of his mysterious death. In 1984, David Yallop did a riveting job in proving the case for murder. In 1985, the Vatican issued a biographical brief which was published by anonymous clergy in Catholic countries. It painted him out to be a man who ignored the issues of his day and spent his life on his knees. Nothing is further from the truth. For twenty years he had been a rampaging locomotive running about the Vatican, the courts and Parliament of Italy struggling for human rights for the oppressed, the reason he had risen to the papacy.

Many books have been written about his unwitnessed death. I would give only two of them five stars. The 2007 edition of 'In God's Name' and the 2010 edition of 'Murder in the Vatican' (see link below) by Lucien Gregoire. Be sure to get the latest editions as, being investigations, older editions of these books don't tell the whole story.

Whereas no one will walk away from either of these books without the conviction this man was murdered, there is a difference. Yallop claims the Pope was murdered because of his involvement in the Vatican Bank. Gregoire too involves the Vatican Bank in what he calls "The Vatican-Contra Affair." Yet he goes further: he proves two Opus Dei bishops, who rose to high rank shortly after the Polish pope was elected, conspired with the CIA and British Intelligence in the murders of John Paul and a dozen of his closest allies involved in the war on poverty in the fall of 1978.

Yet, the credit goes mostly to Yallop, for had he not written his book, all the others would have never written their books.

Murder in the Vatican: The CIA and the Bolshevik Pontiff

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.

"In God's Name" gets the prize as the most professionally written book about the mysterious death of John Paul I. Its limitation is that it restricts its investigation to the Great Vatican Bank Scandal - yet, there is much more than just that. Although a work of fiction, Yallop does such a riveting job of telling his tale that one is left with the convinction that everything he has to say actually happened - the mark of a great writer. If one wants the facts about the Great Vatican Bank Scandal turn to "Pontiff' If one wants the most comprehensive published record of all of the known facts surrounding the mysterious death of this good man turn to "Murder in the Vatican" by Lucien Gregoire. The latter is also the only existing biography of this Pope - of his struggles as an impoverished child - as a revolutionary priest as an outspoken bishop - and as a compassionate cardinal. It is written by a man who spent much time with this Pope. If one wants the Vatican's opinion of what happened, John Cornwell's "A Thief in the Night" is the obvious choice. Commissioned by the Vatican it is written by a world-reknown journalist. Regardless, don't pass up "In God's Name."

What an incredibly shocking, eye-opening, well-documented, well-written . . . I would say "who-dunit" but we are talking real life about perhaps the most important murder in modern times. How the mafia and their business cohorts -- and a few cardinals thrown in -- killed the real guy, the one who was on the way to bringing real Christianity (not the gold-encrusted, close-minded, anti-female version before and after) to the Vatican -- and to the world. How is such a book out of print? It's a must read.

Murder in the Vatican: The CIA and the Bolshevik Pontiff

In 1984, David Yallop's `In God's Name' did a riveting job in proving this Pope was murdered. In fact, no one is going to walk away from this book without the firm conviction this man was murdered. Nevertheless, through the years, Yallop's best seller has ignited a mass of `papal murder' literature, most of which like Paul Williams' `The Vatican Exposed' adhere to Yallop's convincing hypothesis John Paul was murdered because of his involvement in the Vatican Bank. There are a few like `A Thief in the Night' by John Cornwell which try unsuccessfully to prove Yallop wrong - that this Pope died a natural death. It is a tall order to challenge Yallop's contention this Pope was murdered, as the facts as published in the world press which he details in brilliant methodical fashion prove his case.

Concerning `why' the Pope was murdered, there are a few books which differ from the mainstream. One author, Lucien Gregoire, takes the investigation in a different direction. In `Murder in the Vatican: The CIA and the Bolshevik Pontiff' (see link above) Gregoire writes, "`The death of the pro-Communist Pontiff Paul VI gave the CIA the opportunity to force election of a pro-American Pope. The CIA joined factions sponsoring the Opus Dei anti-Communist candidate Polish Cardinal Wojtyla. When Luciani (John Paul I), an avowed Marxist in every sense of the word, particularly in his ambition to rid the world of poverty, was elected, it struck a nerve of shattering proportions in the United States. Particularly so, in that, as a cardinal, Luciani had openly supported Oscar Romero and the revolutionaries in Central America. As a pope, he changed the theme of the upcoming Pueblo (Mexico) Conference from 'Liberation Theology' to 'Liberation of the Poor' - he preferred to feed them food rather than faith - and announced that he, himself, would attend it. The perils of potential multi-Cubas in America's backyard became imminent. The dangers to the security of the United States had become real. . ."

Yet, no one should read any book concerning the revolutionary life and mysterious death of this Pope without first reading `In God's Name', the classic Blueprint for Murder of a Pontiff. Had Yallop not written his book, the others would have never been able to write their books.

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.

From 1978 to 1983, the Vatican's strategy was to suppress the memory of the liberal 33 day pope and the true circumstances of his mysterious death. Then in 1984, David Yallop's `In God's Name' did a riveting job in proving this pope was murdered. In 1985, the Vatican recruited clergy in several countries to write brief biographical sketches that painted him out to be a man who ignored the issues of his day and spent his life on his knees. Nothing could be further from the truth, as for twenty years as a bishop he had been a rampaging locomotive running about the Vatican, the courts and Parliament of Italy struggling for human rights for the oppressed; the reason he had risen to the papacy.

There have been several books written about this pope's unwitnessed death, of which I would give only two of them more than one star. Most of the others have been commissioned by the Vatican to spread the misconception that this man died of a heart attack. Only two of them tell the truth. This book and 'Murder in the Vatican' by Lucien Gregoire.

Whereas, no one is going to walk away from either of these books without the firm conviction this man was murdered. There is a difference. Yallop claims he was murdered because of his involvement in the Vatican Bank. Gregoire presents compelling proof that two Opus Dei bishops, who later rose to high rank, masterminded the murders of John Paul and his six closest friends in the fall of 1978. He answers the question, Did his struggle for planned parenthood, the remarried, women, [...] and others cost him his life? Yet, the credit goes to Yallop, for had he not written his book, Gregoire would have never written his book.