The
Princess stayed the entire day with Frank and the evening, too. The next morning they had breakfast in
bed again. She finally left about
9AM. Frank had not told the
Princess of his plans to go to Rome.
I packed the master’s bags and we headed out to LaGuardia for a four
o’clock flight to London. From
there we caught a Ryan Air flight to Fiumicino. Frank seemed to be tired for some reason and
slept during most of both flights.
Once
we got into Rome proper we checked into the Hotel Ponte Sisto. It was one of the older hotels that
still had great food and a good bar.
Both these were important to Frank’s happiness. Frank always liked to start his big
assignments fresh and so for the rest of the day he got adjusted to the time
zone by taking in a big meal and plenty of liquids.
In
the morning after Frank’s usual morning tasks he told me to arrange for a
car. He had me contact the Vatican
and made a request to see Monsignor Angelo Pietro on a private matter. Frank knew that once the request reached
the priest he would most likely want to see the journalist. The priest was no
fool.
“Frank, I have received a
confirmation from the Vatican that the Monsignor is available to meet with you
at 11:00 today. Shall I
confirm?”
“By all means. That
does not give us much time. Arrange
a car.”
Forty-five minutes later we
entered the rental car and drove off to the Vatican. The car took us to the back entrance of
the Vatican. This is the one all
the employees used. At the desk
Frank stated his purpose for being there and was given a badge. I could sense six different frequencies
in the microwave range and two in the infrared. They knew exactly what we had with us
and within us before we reached the receptionists. I was very impressed, if that is
possible for a machine, that the degree of scanning and security was better than
for the President of the United States.
Bullet proof doors could instantly close if they had any
fears.
We were told to take a seat and
that the Monsignor’s assistant would come down presently to guide us to his
office in the Apostolic Palace. A
very young South American sister arrived and introduced herself in English with
a very thick Spanish accent. Frank
knew a lot of the nuns came from South America. That was still where most of the old
time Catholics resided. If an
American or European Catholic entered into the service of Christ it was more
likely inspired by lesbianism and the realization that many nuns controlled a
lot of wealth and power. Schools,
colleges and especially hospital networks were big business for the Church.
“It is nice to meet you,
Sister. What name do you go by,
Sister?” asked Frank.
“I am Sister Maria
Delphina.”
“How long have you served at the
Vatican?”
“Four years, Senor
Huntington.”
“Have you been attached to the
Monsignor’s office all that time?”
“No, Senor, I was attached to
the merchandizing in the Vatican stores for the tourists. I was only promoted to the Monsignor’s
office this last December.”
“I imagine you find your new
work much more interesting.”
“I find all my work for God to
be interesting.”
I saw that Frank decided not to
pursue anymore conversation with the sister. It was very quiet in the lift up to the
third floor. The sister walked us
right into the Monsignor’s office.
Monsignor Angelo Pietro was already standing in front of his desk ready
to greet us. He had a wonderful
view of St. Peter’s plaza from his office.
It was rather large compared to a typical news bureau as well as very
posh. Religious art by minor
Renaissance artists covered the walls wherever there were not leather bound
books. It was as if every highly
placed Vatican official had a personal library and chapel.
“Monsignor, thank you for seeing
me.”
“It is good to see you, Mr.
Huntington. Thank you Sister, you
may go. Have a seat.” The Monsignor
pointed to a plush chair over by the windows. He sat on the matching chair on the
opposite side of the window. Frank
was glad they could talk in a less formal way. The Monsignor’s desk was very posh and
very braggadocio. The church had a
certain reputation to keep for all its office help.
“I read you piece on religion
and suicide. Very interesting take,
Mr. Huntington. However, I felt you
were holding back something.”
Frank gave a crooked smile,
“Only you would be aware of that.
We have seemed to run into each other a lot.” Frank paused for a second and when he
did not hear anything coming out of the Monsignor’s mouth he added, “Why were
you in California? You’re not
Buddhist.”
This time it was the Monsignor
that smiled, “No, I am not. “
“You said something to me before
you skipped out of the hospital that kindled my interest. You said that there were other events
where atheism has suddenly broken out.
What did you mean?”
“Mr. Huntington, before I can be
frank with you I need to know how much you know and why I should trust
you.”
“I know something caused the
sisters and the Buddhists to change their religious feelings instantly. I know that it causes many of these
people such a spiritual shock they are driven to suicide. I don’t know why, but in this world most
of the time there is a rational reason for something to happen – a cause. Someone has to be behind the cause. Normally, when someone becomes an
atheist it is because they rationally and emotionally don’t feel religion
answers the big questions in their mind or reflect on what they see in their
life that contradicts their religious beliefs. It is usually gradual and not
suicidal.”
“How do you think this could be
done?”
“The only way I know of is
brainwashing, but that takes time and I see no evidence of brainwashing. How could you secretly do an entire
group of people like the Buddhists?
It is impossible.”
“I think you are right, Mr.
Huntington. It would take a lot of
brainwashing to do this, but someone has found a new way to brainwash
people.”
“Then it has to be
drugs?”
“I thought of that, but drugs
don’t have such a predictable end.
People poison their brains all the time with drugs and many become
psychotic.”
“You are right. They can become violent, passive,
delusional, simple, and a whole bunch of other behaviors, but none are
predictable. Although suicidal seems to affect a lot of these new
atheists.”
“It may be someone has developed
a highly effective drug. It is
possible for a drug to affect the brain in a specific and very narrow way. The priests who have advanced medical
degrees do not have any answers as to what drug that might be. They only agree it might be possible to
create such a drug. As to the other
events I alluded to, you must promise me you will keep it a secret until this
mystery has been solved and these manmade conversions to atheism
stopped.”
Frank thought for only a second
and then said, “You have my word.”
The Monsignor got up and walked
over to his desk. Slowly he turned
to Frank and said, “First you need to turn off your office boy or send him
away.”
“Jack, power
down.”
“Yes, sir.”
I was down for only forty
seconds. I can’t tell you what
exactly they said. I can only
surmise that Frank convinced the Monsignor to turn me back on, but to encrypt my
data with a double password. What
that means is both the Monsignor and Frank whispered into my ear a personal
password that allowed me to record what was said, but encrypt it. Only if both Frank and the Monsignor
ordered me to relay what I heard and confirmed that order with their passwords
would I be able to recall it.
People do this when they want a record of a conversation, but don’t want
it available either voluntarily by me or by some hacker. Robots were often entrusted with secrets
that could only be revealed by password or sometimes when certain conditions
were met – say the sudden death of the human owner. Since the encryption was quantum
encryption it was impossible for any computer in the Universe to crack
it.
“Okay Jack, go stand over
there.”
The Monsignor got up again and
faced Frank directly. “One week
before the Buddhist were hit three people in the Vatican experienced the same
change the Sisters of St. Clara did.”
“Who?” Frank said quietly. I could tell Frank’s brain was racing,
because his heart took off like a bat out of hell. The priest was not exactly in a clam
state.
“One of our Swiss Guards and
Father Georg, the Secretary of State awoke afflicted. The Swiss Guard had served the Church
for ten years. He was found dead in
his officer’s quarters with a bullet in his head.”
I could tell the Monsignor was
conflicted because he spoke very slowly.
“Who was the third? Frank asked
just as slowly.
“His Holiness.”
Both men were quiet a long
time. I was surprised Frank did not
shower the priest with a thousand questions. The Monsignor got up out of his
chair and walked over to his desk.
He picked up a small box and opened it. He held it towards Frank and Frank
withdrew a cigarette. The priest
took one for himself and accepted a light from Frank who then lit his own. The Monsignor was letting Frank mull
over this incredible revelation.
Finally Frank looked at the Monsignor and asked, “How could anyone get at
the pope to do this?”
“A good question. No one in his Holiness inner circle has
shown any suspicious activity or has anything to gain from this. Our security is
so tight that even the food his Holiness eats is tested and comes from random
sources all over Italy.”
“What about the Swiss
Guard? How do you know it was not
him and the suicide was just a way to cover up his tracks?”
“He did not commit suicide right
away. He had already been confined
to a hospital bed due to depression from his new loss of faith. I and others had thoroughly questioned
him. Unfortunately, he walked out
of the Vatican medical suite at three in the morning and went to his office and
took his life. He left a note
asking God for forgiveness for his lack of faith and blamed himself for failing
the Pope.”
“So what is the status of the
Pope?”
“Complex. This whole affair is
complex. I feel like I am holding
the tail of a fractal. His Holiness
has become less religious shall we say.”
“I’m sorry Monsignor, but what
the hell does that mean?”
“The Pope has not privately been
a religious man. I am not saying he
was an atheist, but let me say he is more politician than saint.”
“So has he declared he is an
atheist?”
“No, but he is less circumspect
in his venal interests.”
“What does that mean? A secret subscription to
Hustler?”
“No, Mr. Huntington, nothing
that crude, but shall we say his Holiness has a lot in common with the Medici
Popes of olde.”
“Ah, a mistress. Anyone I know?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact you
do.”
The Monsignor at that point
decided to have another cigarette and went through the ritual of taking out a
smoke, getting it lit, and then taking a very long drag on it. I could see Frank’s mind was racing, but
it only took about two seconds and then I could see he was visibly shaken. I think humans call it
thunderstruck. Slowly the words
came out of Frank’s mouth, ”Not her Highness, Princess Marianne?”
“Yes.”
There was another long silence
as the Monsignor handed his box of cigarettes to Frank and the Frank went
through the ritual of lighting and inhaling. Once that was done Frank handed back the
box.
Frank’s color started to come
back and I could tell he was getting his focus back.
“How long has the Pope had her
as a mistress?”
“It surprised us all at the
curia. He had a two day conference
on healthcare for the impoverished of the world and the Princess came as a
representative of her husband’s business.
Sir Terrance's enterprise has revolutionized medicine. The Pope has been impressed with how Sir
Terrance did not make his cancer cures so expensive that only the rich could
afford it. On the second day of the
conference he asked the Princess to attend a private luncheon audience to
discuss several ideas his Holiness had.
One thing lead to another and the next thing we knew he was indisposed
for the rest of the afternoon with her.”
“How do you know they did
it?”
“While we do not bug the Pope’s
quarters we do monitor for security reasons the seismic vibrations. This is in case there is an attack or
attempt to force entrance into the area.
Making love seems to have a certain rhythm to it that our sensors picked
up.”
“No shit….excuse me Monsignor,
but this is too much. I mean, I
know the Pope is the third youngest Pope in history to be elected, but he is
still almost thirty years her senior.”
The Monsignor smiled at that
observation, but did not respond with any words. He put out his cigarette and said, “This
is all part of the picture I have pieced together that the Pope’s religious
state has been compromised. This
sudden rashness and the other two members of the curia leads me to believe the
Vatican has undergone the same attack on faith as the other two attacks that you
have investigated as I have.”
“Can I see the Pope?” Frank
asked in a direct tone
“What do you think you can gain
by an audience?”
“First off, I really want to
confirm the Pope’s new attitude.
Secondly, I would like to ask him what he thinks is behind this. He must have some ideas.”
“There is nothing he could add
that I have not discussed with you.”
“Maybe, maybe not. No offense, Monsignor, but you are part
of the cloak and dagger department – well maybe not daggers, but you know what I
mean.”
“Just remember, this is all off
the record. I am hoping you will
help us. Attacks like this can
cause a lot of damage to the world.
Are you familiar with Dostoyevsky?”
“Oh, I bet you are referring to
the Grand Inquisitor? Are you
afraid Jesus will come back?” Frank asks with a grin.
“No, it is not precisely like
that. My reference to Dostoyevsky’s
Grand Inquisitor is not a perfect one on one comparison with our situation. However, secularism has turned stones
into bread. I believe the Church is
the only thing forcing mankind to still deal with free choice of faith. Without faith most of mankind will
wallow in a race to the bottom.
Look at the culture championed by your country. Self indulgence and mass
consumerism. What passes for a
family these days barely talk to each other as they are too involved in posting
to their 200 friends on Facebook or Renren. I do not mean to give you a sermon, Mr.
Huntington, but I believe the world will not be served well if all of a sudden
we see religious group after religious group abandon their faith. Like the Grand Inquisitor told Christ
mankind is not ready for freedom.”
“While I believe in freedom and
truth, I see your point. We have
seen too many people flee life when they have suddenly stared at the truth there
is no god.”
“And on that last point I must
disagree. I do believe there is a
god. Off the record I would have to
say it may not be precisely the god of the Holy Church, nor of any religion, but
a God there is. I believe humans
are essentially ill equipped to understand God. The Church may be as imperfect as
humanity, but this is the best conception of true religion as we are going to
get. If every Muslim, Buddhist and
Christian in the world wakes up facing a godless world we would see millions of
deaths. It would lead to world
instability.”
“Do you really think this is a possibility? So far these religious failures have been isolated and affecting only a few people.”
“Let's go see his Holiness.”
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