A Thief in The Night (John Cornwell)
Encyclopedia
A Thief in The Night is a 1989 book British historian and journalist John Cornwell
on Pope John Paul I conspiracy theories
in which the author challenges previous writings on the subject by David Yallop
.
Both papal secretaries and a confidante of the late Sister Vincenza insist that the body was discovered about 5:30 a.m. The nun
noticed that the coffee
she had left outside the pope’s bedroom door a few minutes earlier, as per his morning routine, had not been touched. She went through two sets of doors and parted a curtain to find John Paul dead on his bed with a light
on and reading material in his hands. Magee was summoned first, then Lorenzi. They found rigor mortis
already beginning to set in and tore the Pope’s cassock
while preparing his private laying-out. This supports the official estimate for time of death as 11 p.m. the previous evening.
A major source of suspicion for Yallop was the lack of a publicly-issued death certificate
, which he claimed showed either official reticency in assigning a cause of death, or an outright lack of medical authority for the "heart attack" claim. Cornwell was given access to the death certificate, and reproduces it.
Yallop also relates (without endorsing) a claim that the undertakers were summoned at 5 a.m. before the official finding of the body, but this is based on an incorrect news story taken from garbled secondhand information. The Vatican car
pool log shows the embalmers were sent for at 5:15 p.m. The procedure began about 7 p.m.
might have been stained with vomit caused by the digitalis
poisoning. But Cornwell finds that the Pope's sister took them. His last will
was a brief document bequeathing his goods to a Venetian convent
.
Yallop's one damning datum was a Swiss Guard
’s observation of Marcinkus walking near the papal residence at an unusually early hour on the morning of the Pope’s death. But the guardsman, Hans Roggen, told Cornwell that his testimony was taken deceptively and misrepresented. Marcinkus was a demonstrably early riser and had driven in at his usual time.
, and anecdotally by many senior but medically inexpert Vatican figures.
His niece, Pia, suggested that Luciani suffered from swollen ankle
s and feet (a sign of poor circulation
and excessive coagulability of the blood
) such that he could not wear the shoes purchased for him at the time of his election. These conditions were also noted by Yallop, who talked with the Pope's doctor and found the swollen ankles a sign of low blood pressure. The late Pope did not drink, had never smoke
d and ate sparingly.
Cornwell concluded that John Paul I died of a pulmonary embolism
(which was supported to a degree by the fact that Luciani had experienced a retinal embolism in 1976).
Cornwell suggested that John Paul died at about 9.30 p.m., perhaps 10.00 p.m., at his desk and was found on the floor by the priest
secretaries. These moved the body into the bed and placed it in what is truly an unusual position for a person who has died suddenly (sitting up, eyeglasses in place and papers in hand), with no indication whatsoever that he was experiencing a fatal attack. Lying next to the Pope was a report on the Jesuit Order that had just been completed, but history is unclear as to whether John Paul had just finished reading the report or had in fact been writing it.
that are consistent with a diagnosis of an imminent pulmonary embolism, as well as a severe coughing fit.
The two secretaries had suggested that in both cases of chest pain the Pope's doctors should be summoned, but the Pope had brushed them off. Cornwell claims that guilt drove them to want to make his death look sudden so that no blame would fall on them.
Both secretaries (one, John Magee
, is now the Irish Catholic bishop of Cloyne) deny Cornwell's claims.
Cornwell's theory is held to explain strange comments by both men; Magee reportedly talked on the night
of the Pope's death to the nuns in the Papal Household about the possibility of the Pope's death "that night".
and feet still being warm when he lifted him. Even if the Pope had died in bed, Cornwell believes algor mortis
would mean his corpse would have been externally cold
by the time he was found (around 5.30 a.m., by which time rigor mortis
had set in). There is dispute over this suggestion, since Cornwell also claims that the summer of 1978 saw a high air temperature
in Rome that was behind the decision to embalm the Pope as soon as possible (see above). Cornwell's conclusion of rigor mortis onset also contradicts his conclusion that the Pope's corpse was manipulated into position (sitting up in bed, holding papers) after discovery.
John Cornwell (writer)
John Cornwell is an English journalist and author, and a Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge. He is best known for various books on the papacy, most notably Hitler's Pope; investigative journalism; memoir; and the public understanding of science and philosophy. More recently he has been concerned...
on Pope John Paul I conspiracy theories
Pope John Paul I conspiracy theories
Pope John Paul I died alone in September 1978 only a month after his election to the Papacy. The suddenness of the death, and the Vatican's difficulties with the ceremonial and legal death procedures have resulted in several conspiracy theories.-Rationale:Discrepancies in the Vatican's account of...
in which the author challenges previous writings on the subject by David Yallop
David Yallop
David Anthony Yallop is an agnostic British author who writes chiefly about unsolved crimes. In the 1970s he also contributed scripts for a number of BBC comedy shows...
.
Discovery of the body
Yallop’s murder theory requires that the pope’s body be found at 4:30 or 4:45 a.m., one hour earlier than official reports estimated. He bases this on an early story by the Italian news service ANSA that garbled the time and misrepresented the layout of the papal apartments. Yallop also claims to have had testimony from Sister Vincenza to this effect but refused to show Cornwell his transcripts.Both papal secretaries and a confidante of the late Sister Vincenza insist that the body was discovered about 5:30 a.m. The nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
noticed that the coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
she had left outside the pope’s bedroom door a few minutes earlier, as per his morning routine, had not been touched. She went through two sets of doors and parted a curtain to find John Paul dead on his bed with a light
Light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
on and reading material in his hands. Magee was summoned first, then Lorenzi. They found rigor mortis
Rigor mortis
Rigor mortis is one of the recognizable signs of death that is caused by a chemical change in the muscles after death, causing the limbs of the corpse to become stiff and difficult to move or manipulate...
already beginning to set in and tore the Pope’s cassock
Cassock
The cassock, an item of clerical clothing, is an ankle-length robe worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Church, Lutheran Church and some ministers and ordained officers of Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Ankle-length garment is the meaning of the...
while preparing his private laying-out. This supports the official estimate for time of death as 11 p.m. the previous evening.
Secret autopsy
Yallop suggests that a real sealing-off of the Pope's corpse from public gaze was performed to allow a “secret” autopsy. Cornwell claims that he refers to a simple cosmetic retouching of the corpse.A major source of suspicion for Yallop was the lack of a publicly-issued death certificate
Death certificate
The phrase death certificate can describe either a document issued by a medical practitioner certifying the deceased state of a person or popularly to a document issued by a person such as a registrar of vital statistics that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death as later...
, which he claimed showed either official reticency in assigning a cause of death, or an outright lack of medical authority for the "heart attack" claim. Cornwell was given access to the death certificate, and reproduces it.
Yallop also relates (without endorsing) a claim that the undertakers were summoned at 5 a.m. before the official finding of the body, but this is based on an incorrect news story taken from garbled secondhand information. The Vatican car
Čar
Čar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...
pool log shows the embalmers were sent for at 5:15 p.m. The procedure began about 7 p.m.
Cardinal VIllot
Yallop questions the disappearance of incriminating personal effects, supposedly removed by Cardinal Villot. He thinks John Paul’s slippers and glassesGlasses
Glasses, also known as eyeglasses , spectacles or simply specs , are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes. They are normally used for vision correction or eye protection. Safety glasses are a kind of eye protection against flying debris or against visible and near visible light or...
might have been stained with vomit caused by the digitalis
Digitalis
Digitalis is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennials, shrubs, and biennials that are commonly called foxgloves. This genus was traditionally placed in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae, but recent reviews of phylogenetic research have placed it in the much enlarged family...
poisoning. But Cornwell finds that the Pope's sister took them. His last will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
was a brief document bequeathing his goods to a Venetian convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
.
Yallop's one damning datum was a Swiss Guard
Swiss Guard
Swiss Guards or Schweizergarde is the name given to the Swiss soldiers who have served as bodyguards, ceremonial guards, and palace guards at foreign European courts since the late 15th century. They have had a high reputation for discipline, as well as loyalty to their employers...
’s observation of Marcinkus walking near the papal residence at an unusually early hour on the morning of the Pope’s death. But the guardsman, Hans Roggen, told Cornwell that his testimony was taken deceptively and misrepresented. Marcinkus was a demonstrably early riser and had driven in at his usual time.
Pulmonary embolism
Cornwell's research suggests that Luciani had indeed been in poor health, in which claim he is supported to an extent by the late Pope's niece Pia, herself a medical doctorPhysician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, and anecdotally by many senior but medically inexpert Vatican figures.
His niece, Pia, suggested that Luciani suffered from swollen ankle
Ankle
The ankle joint is formed where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle, or talocrural joint, is a synovial hinge joint that connects the distal ends of the tibia and fibula in the lower limb with the proximal end of the talus bone in the foot...
s and feet (a sign of poor circulation
Circulatory system
The circulatory system is an organ system that passes nutrients , gases, hormones, blood cells, etc...
and excessive coagulability of the blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
) such that he could not wear the shoes purchased for him at the time of his election. These conditions were also noted by Yallop, who talked with the Pope's doctor and found the swollen ankles a sign of low blood pressure. The late Pope did not drink, had never smoke
Smoke
Smoke is a collection of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires , but may also be used for pest...
d and ate sparingly.
Cornwell concluded that John Paul I died of a pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism is a blockage of the main artery of the lung or one of its branches by a substance that has travelled from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream . Usually this is due to embolism of a thrombus from the deep veins in the legs, a process termed venous thromboembolism...
(which was supported to a degree by the fact that Luciani had experienced a retinal embolism in 1976).
Cornwell suggested that John Paul died at about 9.30 p.m., perhaps 10.00 p.m., at his desk and was found on the floor by the priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
secretaries. These moved the body into the bed and placed it in what is truly an unusual position for a person who has died suddenly (sitting up, eyeglasses in place and papers in hand), with no indication whatsoever that he was experiencing a fatal attack. Lying next to the Pope was a report on the Jesuit Order that had just been completed, but history is unclear as to whether John Paul had just finished reading the report or had in fact been writing it.
Covering up health problems
Cornwell's rationale is that by moving the Pope's corpse, the two secretaries were trying to disguise the late Pope's supposed health problems. Cornwell claims that the Pope had suffered two episodes of acute chest painChest pain
Chest pain may be a symptom of a number of serious conditions and is generally considered a medical emergency. Even though it may be determined that the pain is non-cardiac in origin, this is often a diagnosis of exclusion made after ruling out more serious causes of the pain.-Differential...
that are consistent with a diagnosis of an imminent pulmonary embolism, as well as a severe coughing fit.
The two secretaries had suggested that in both cases of chest pain the Pope's doctors should be summoned, but the Pope had brushed them off. Cornwell claims that guilt drove them to want to make his death look sudden so that no blame would fall on them.
Both secretaries (one, John Magee
John Magee (bishop)
John Magee, SPS was a Roman Catholic bishop in Ireland. He resigned his episcopal seat on 24 March 2010.-Early life:...
, is now the Irish Catholic bishop of Cloyne) deny Cornwell's claims.
Cornwell's theory is held to explain strange comments by both men; Magee reportedly talked on the night
Night
Night or nighttime is the period of time when the sun is below the horizon. This occurs after dusk. The opposite of night is day...
of the Pope's death to the nuns in the Papal Household about the possibility of the Pope's death "that night".
Algor mortis
The other secretary reportedly spoke of the pope's backBack
- People :* Adam Back, British cryptographer* Charles Back, South African winemaker* Chris Back , Australian politician* Ernst Emil Alexander Back , German physicist* Frédéric Back , Canadian animator...
and feet still being warm when he lifted him. Even if the Pope had died in bed, Cornwell believes algor mortis
Algor mortis
Algor mortis is the reduction in body temperature following death. This is generally a steady decline until matching ambient temperature, although external factors can have a significant influence....
would mean his corpse would have been externally cold
Cold
Cold describes the condition of low temperature.Cold may also refer to:*Common cold, a contagious viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system*Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease...
by the time he was found (around 5.30 a.m., by which time rigor mortis
Rigor mortis
Rigor mortis is one of the recognizable signs of death that is caused by a chemical change in the muscles after death, causing the limbs of the corpse to become stiff and difficult to move or manipulate...
had set in). There is dispute over this suggestion, since Cornwell also claims that the summer of 1978 saw a high air temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
in Rome that was behind the decision to embalm the Pope as soon as possible (see above). Cornwell's conclusion of rigor mortis onset also contradicts his conclusion that the Pope's corpse was manipulated into position (sitting up in bed, holding papers) after discovery.