Posted on 01/11/2007 9:00:17 AM PST by xzins
The Pope and the secret world of intelligence By Gordon Thomas
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Pope John Paul II was regularly briefed by the CIA. The revelation will further fuel the controversy about the resignation of Mgr Stanislaw Wielgus, the Archbishop of Warsaw.
His decision to quit, only minutes before he was due to celebrate his inaugural mass, came after he confessed to being an informant for Poland's communist-era secret police and intelligence service...snip...But shortly after he was elected the 261 pope in 1978, John Paul had received a letter from President Jimmy Carter. It was hand-carried to the Vatican by his wife, Rosalynn. At the end of her private audience she handed it to the pope. One of those who witnessed the moment was Mgr John Magee, the pontiff's English-language private secretary.
Later over a private dinner with me at Rozellas, a Rome restaurant favoured by the Vatican hierarchy, John Magee confirmed the letter was "Washington approval for the pope to be briefed by the CIA on a regular basis".
Almost forty years before, one of the founders of the CIA, General William "Wild Bill" Donovan, had been received in audience by Pope Pius XII and decorated with the Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Sylvester, the oldest and most prestigious of papal knighthoods.
From that day when Donovan had bowed his head before the pontiff, the CIA had remained ensconced as the prime intelligence adviser to successive pontiffs.
But it would be William Casey more than any other director who, after Rosalynn Carter's visit, developed the CIA ties with the Vatican as John Paul's guide through the murky world of secret intelligence....snip... Those messages remain one of the many secrets stored in the Vatican archives.
(Excerpt) Read more at canadafreepress.com ...
If one intelligence agency does briefings, then it's easy to imagine that others do, too.
Wonder which ones?
Background info for file...
What's the reason Canada Free Press chose to run this article?
Yo, xzins et al:
On Tuesday January 9th, we picked up and recorded a big chunk of a NPR broadcast towards the end of the "All Things Considered."
It runs roughly like this:
"...attempt to infiltrate the church's top offices in Poland. Emily Harris has that story."
EMILY HARRIS cuts in:
"A document unearthed by [inaudible] Newspapers says that in the late 1970s, the communist secret services wanted to place a dozen high-ranking priests, who were also collaborators, into the circle of friends of top church officials in Poland.
"This was apparently seen by the secret services as a possible way to covertly influence church leaders who fought the communist government, inlcuding then-Cardinal Karol Wojyla, who became Pope John Paul II in October 1978.
"No real names are revealed in the document, just code names for priests. [Unaudible]...secret police handlers.
"It's not clear whether the plan was ever carried out. Emily Harris, NPR News."
I tried ot find all this at NPR.ORG yesterday, but got NOWHERE.
"Doggone it! Winning that IT Village Idiot of the year Award, Encino Man Division, STILL hasn't done me no good at all!"
Dennis
Is it correct that the OSS was predecessor of the CIA?
more info and links at post #5:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1763946/posts
It is true that a Branch of the OSS, the Intelligence Services, was broken off to form the CIA. Some however, became the Defence Intellignece Agency (DIA), a military organisation. Many other OSS functions remained military. Their History is quite interesting.
i beleive that i have already covered that issue.
Donovan had nothing to do with the CIA. He was out of favour with the Truman administration. Rather, Donovan returned to the practise of Law.
Donovan was one of the best soldiers in the Army, having won the Medal of Honor in WWI as part of the "fighting Irish" of the 69th New York Infantry Regiment, part of Douglas MacAuthur's 84th Brigade, in General Menoher's 42nd Infantry Division (Rainbow).
Nonetheless, it is interesting to me that the Canada Free Press chose to run this article at this time. They like to cause controversy, consider themselves conservative, and have been accused of being a loose cannon.
Are they suggesting that the Vatican is a MAJOR insider player in US decisions?
Is there any evidence for that?
Torquemada should make protestants worry about intel agency connections.
:>)
When did Jack Chick buy a newspaper?
"Alternative" press - whether "conservative" or "liberal" - shouldn't be trusted. For instance, this site cites the "Northeast Intelligence Network." I'm familiar with this group, since a local talk show host here periodically interviews them. They see terrorists lurking behind every shadow. Now, admittedly, in a city with the Lackawanna Six, there's some cause to be watchful against terrorists, but Doug Hagmann takes it to the extreme. Imagine the worst of WorldNetDaily, and distill and amplify.
Thanks a bunch, Daffy!
Dennis
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.