Pope John Paul I was assassinated: Author

LISBON: Pope John Paul I, who died from an apparent heart attack just 33 days after becoming pontiff in 1978, was in fact assassinated over his plans to radically reform the Catholic Church, a novel to be published worldwide next year charges.

Portuguese author and television scriptwriter Luis Miguel Rocha, 29, said he based The Last Pope on documents he obtained through an undisclosed Vatican source, which he will make public once the novel is published in April.

The novel expounds the theory that John Paul I had become a threat because he was aware of money laundering involving the Vatican Bank as well as due to his plans to liberalise some aspects of centuries-old Church doctrine. “He wanted to be the last wealthy pope. John Paul I wanted to redistribute the riches of the Church, open it to women and authorise the use of contraceptives,” Rocha said.

The novel depicts John Paul I’s assassination as the result of a conspiracy involving top financial officials, several European governments and a Mafia group that counted top officials of the Roman Curia, including the pontiff’s personal secretary.

It triggered huge interest at the October Frankfurt Book Fair, the world’s largest trade fair for books, as editors from over 50 nations indicated they wanted to buy the rights to the book.

John Paul I’s death on September 28, 1978 instantly gave rise to speculation due to discrepancies between the official story of his death, combined with the Vatican’s refusal to perform an autopsy.

Rocha’s Portuguese publishers Saida de Emergencia said the new book will be the first to be based directly on Vatican documents. “This book is a work of fiction based on real facts,” said the author’s Portuguese editor, Luis Corte Real.

The novel is one of several religious thrillers to be launched in 2006 following the runaway success of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.

‘New pope yet to make a mark’

VATICAN CITY: After Catholics bade adieu to pope John Paul II, they are still taking the measure of his timid successor Benedict XVI, whose thoughts on the future of the Church remain inscrutable.

Even after eight months as Pope, the new leader of the globe’s 1.2 billion Catholics is yet to make his mark on the Holy See, Vatican insiders say.

Benedict has made only one significant change to the Vatican hierarchy, installing US Archbishop William Levada as his own successor at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Some members of the Curia said they believe that rather than decree a quick shake-up at the Holy See, Benedict will continue to impose change slowly.