One of Montini’s first acts as Pope Paul VI was the appointment of Gelli as Equitem Ordinis Sancti Silvestri Papae (a Knight in the Order of St. Silvester), one of Catholicism’s highest awards.40 The knighting was extraordinary since Gelli remained an avowed atheist who had never performed an act in the service of Holy Mother Church. Nevertheless, the ceremony was of profound significance to Gladio operatives, since it served to confirm the close ties between the Vatican and P2, as well as the Holy See’s reliance on Gelli and other CIA agents to maintain its privileged place of power and
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