I wouldn't take too seriously the fact that Italian judges went after Marcinkus. It is pretty well known that Italian judges are a way-out-of-control bunch. They have gone after all sorts of people, including Berlusconi. There are no checks and balances in Italy, and the judges are all-powerful. I think the view of sober people is that Marcinkus was naive and incompetent and in over his head. There was a huge and complex financial scandal that involved vast sums of money and a sensational suicide. However, the Vatican Bank was only involved in a peripheral way, and there is no evidence that Marcinkus knowingly did anything wrong. Obviously Pope John Paul II was convinced of his innocence, because he didn't hand him over to the Italians.
The Vatican paid an enormous fine, while adamantly insisting upon their complete innocence. Never was there a better example of the importance of the need for the temporal independence of the Vatican. It prevented them from being persecuted by a bunch of left-wing conspiracy-mad nuts.
Marcinkus is "guilty" the way Bolton, Clarance Thomas, Senator Tower, Judge Bork, etc. etc. etc. were guilty.
I did a google on him, and there is a lot of conspiracy theories involving him. I suspect a lot of it is just that - conspiracy theories.
I wish I had your optimistic outlook. It must be nice.
A) Is the "sensational suicide" you mention the body of Roberto Calvi? It
>>was found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge in London on the morning of June 19, 1982. At the time, the death was ruled a suicide...In the late 1990s, Italian criminal investigators exhumed Roberto Calvi's body. Using forensic technologies not available 20 years ago, pathologists determined that Calvi had indeed been murdered. They determined he had been strangled before he was hung from the bridge.<<
B) You assert, "there is no evidence that Marcinkus knowingly did anything wrong." Have you heard of any collection of all the evidence? Have you seen any interview of Marcinkus?
C) You think "Obviously Pope John Paul II was convinced of his innocence, because he didn't hand him over to the Italians." Did JPII ever explain his actions?
D) You ought to check out the other thread that died a few days ago:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1385980/posts?page=11#11
Like I said, I wish I had your optimism.
Must be nice.