Operation Gladio: The Unholy Alliance Between the Vatican, the Cia, and the Mafia

by Paul L. Williams

Early in 1982, Calvi discussed the pope’s involvement in laundering money for Solidarity with Flavio Carboni, an emissary to Ambrosiano from the CIA. In one of their secretly taped conversations, Calvi can be heard saying: Marcinkus must watch out for Casaroli, who is the head of the group that opposes him. If Casaroli should meet one of those financiers in New York who are working with Marcinkus, sending money to Solidarity, the Vatican would collapse. Or even if Casaroli should find one of those papers that I know of—goodbye Marcinkus, goodbye Wojtyła, goodbye Solidarity. The last operation would be enough, the one for twenty million dollars. I’ve also told [Prime Minister] Andreotti but it’s not clear which side he is on. If things in Italy go a certain way, the Vatican will have to rent a building in Washington, behind the Pentagon. A far cry from St. Peter’s.