A confidential CIA document, declassified under the Trump administration, sheds light on little-known exchanges between the Holy See and American intelligence services at the height of the Cold War. According to these archives, some media outlets are seizing the opportunity to suggest that Popes John XXIII and Paul VI were, unbeknownst to them, at the center of a spy web woven by former CIA Director John McCone. This is precisely why it is useful to also cite the book: The Vatican Spies by Yvonnick Denoel, in order to cut the ground from under the feet of media wolves who would use this to discredit the Papacy.
This analysis highlights an essential fact: the pontificate of John XXIII sounded the death knell for American hegemony over the Vatican. As Yvonnick details, intelligence services—American, Russian, German, French, or Italian—multiplied their maneuvers to influence the papal election, hoping to place men devoted to their interests. A cruel irony for sedevacantists, who persist in labeling these popes as "illegitimate": if electoral fraud had occurred, the CIA, furious to see Rome prioritizing peace and neutrality to the detriment of political alliances, would certainly have exposed these secrets. Its very silence confirms, a contrario, the regularity of the ballots—despite pressures from governments hostile to this new orientation of the Church.
As illness caught up with him, Pope John XXIII, aware of his approaching end, implemented a final initiative to guide the Church in a changing world. Pacem in Terris, his encyclical published in April 1963, marked a turning point: without renouncing past condemnations of communism, it called for prudent dialogue with Eastern regimes, emphasizing that the Church must "discern the signs of the times."
An Unprecedented Diplomacy
As early as March 1963, the Holy Father entrusted Norman Cousins, via Father Morlion, with a delicate mission: to deliver a Russian translation of the encyclical to Khrushchev before its publication. Met at his Baltic residence, the Soviet leader welcomed the calls for disarmament and peace. Three weeks later, Italy voted. The Italian Communist Party (PCI), skillfully leveraging the pontifical text, achieved a historic score, weakening Christian Democracy and pushing Rome toward a centrist coalition. The CIA then feared a Vatican-Moscow rapprochement, predicting imminent diplomatic relations.
The United States Grows Concerned
In May, John McCone, Director of the CIA, presented himself at the Vatican as an emissary of Kennedy. Arguing that Pacem in Terris had caused "scandal" among American Catholics, he urged the Pope to sever all ties with the East. John XXIII, calmly, retorted:
"The Church trades in souls. Its duty is to protect its faithful, even under persecution."
He defended his vision: promoting social justice weakens communism better than sterile confrontations.
Alarmed, CIA Director John McCone requested an interview with the pope. Tall, thin, austere, with gray hair, McCone was a patrician of the purest tradition. He presented himself as a direct emissary of President Kennedy. He asked the pope to halt his rapprochement with the Eastern Bloc. According to him, American Catholics were deeply shocked by the encyclical Pacem in Terris. The result of the Italian elections was disastrous for Catholic parties. All of this could end very badly.
The pope listened in silence, then replied that his perception of world affairs could not be the same as that of the United States. His will was to maintain relations with all countries and to promote reform and social justice everywhere in Europe and Latin America, which would be the best way to fight communism. McCone pointed out that behind their conciliatory discourse, communists persecuted Catholic priests:
– Does the United States government have communist sympathies? asked the pope.
– Of course not, replied McCone.
– Yet, the United States maintains diplomatic relations with the USSR.
– That's different. There are practical reasons, like trade.
– Well, the pope also has his own form of trade. The trade of souls. He must think of the welfare of Catholics in Eastern Europe. He must work for peace. These are his motives for keeping a line of communication open with the communist world.
The Vatican Spies – Yvonnick Denoel – Page 206
Toward a New Balance
From then on, Moscow and the Vatican dialogued without intermediaries. Monsignor Capovilla, the papal secretary, met with the Soviet ambassador in Rome. In Poland, Cardinal Wyszyński alerted the Holy See: the communist government was seeking a rapprochement. Monsignor Casaroli, sent to Hungary and Czechoslovakia, negotiated the release of five imprisoned bishops. In exchange, the regime demanded the departure of Cardinal Mindszenty, who had been a refugee at the American legation in Budapest since 1956. The latter, outraged by the new Vatican diplomacy, refused to "flee," seeing it as a capitulation.
Hope Despite the Shadows
John XXIII still believed a mediating role between Kennedy and Khrushchev was possible. American intelligence services, skeptical, decided to spy on the Vatican, seeing it as a source of information on the East. In Budapest, the clergy, deprived of resources, depended on subsidies from an anti-clerical state, forcing many priests to collaborate.
In this trial, the Pope maintained his creed:
"Peace is a gift from God, but it is built through charity and courage."
Despite criticism, he persisted, convinced that openness, even imperfect, preserved the Church behind the Iron Curtain. His death in June 1963 interrupted this work—but left a legacy: that of a shepherd who preferred to extend a hand rather than close doors.