Spies in the Vatican: The Soviet Union's Cold War Against the Catholic Church

by John O. Koehler

The shocking history of the Soviet Union’s espionage campaign against the Catholic Church.

Already infamous for the arbitrary, paranoid persecution of its own citizens throughout much of the twentieth century, the Soviet Union―as is revealed in John Koeher’s revelatory, eye-opening exposé―also waged a vicious espionage campaign against the Catholic Church and its followers. From the persecution of local priests to an assassination order against Pope John Paul II, the KGB viewed Catholicism as a threat to stability in Eastern Europe and treated the church as an enemy of the State.Lifetime journalist and former U.S. Army Intelligence Officer John Koehler has written the definitive book on this startling history. Using never before seen documents and transcripts, including an order against the Pope that was signed by Gorbachev and nine other Politburo members, Koehler paints a vivid picture of the network of spies and double agents who were working to infiltrate the Church’s infrastructure, from the Vatican down to local parishes. But what is most impressive is the overwhelming evidence of the extreme courage of everyday believers who offered shelter and protection to the persecuted, despite the danger of their own arrest or execution.The KGB’s efforts to purge the Soviet Union of the church’s “conspiratorial influence” would eventually backfire. The shared sense of unity that developed as a result of these attacks, compounded with the myriad of grievances brought on by decades of brutal Soviet rule, would culminate in the birth of the Solidarity movement after a visit by the Pope in the late 1980s.This unprecedented chronicle of the Soviet Union’s cold war against the Catholic Church is a vital and important contribution to the works of twentieth century history. 16 black-and-white illustrations

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Catholic

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

John O. "Jack" Koehler (1930–2012) was a German-born American journalist and executive for the Associated Press, who also briefly served as the White House Communications Director in 1987 during the Reagan administration.

Reviews

[Sharon Barrow Wilfong · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting account as to how Soviet spies infiltrated the Vatican hierarchy through priests and other Catholic officials from Satellite Soviet countries.

Not surprising since we know the same thing happened in many mainstream Protestant denominations as well, especially in the missionary movement in the Methodist and Episcopal denominations where the whole concept of "liberation theology" developed and became Marxist regime supporters in Latin American countries.

The history starts with WWII and traces the work of Soviet agents in the Holy See until the fall of the Soviet Union.

[kesseljunkie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book. It's interesting and revisits some key historical elements of the late 20th Century (especially the 1980s) that had to break the way they did because, if they hadn't, the world would have developed very differently. Not better or worse per se, but definitely different.

The author certainly highlights the role that Saint Pope John Paul II played in making that history happen. What he doesn't do, however, is cite and reference his source material in a sufficiently compelling manner. There are also moments of supposition based on circumstantial truths that lack definitive proof, which would have been nice to have. In short, I'm sure it's correct but if you're going to present it in a book dedicated to this topic, receipts really help.

I think, also, that his editor did him a disservice. The Epilogue would have been a better introduction to set the scene and whet the appetite for what's presented. It would have had to be expanded, but it would have made it a much more compelling and engaging experience. Just my two cents.

[Maggie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointed in this book. I expected this to be a thrilling tale of the communist spies infiltrating the Vatican during the Cold War, planting bugs and ultimately being unearthed after the defeat of the Soviet Union. Instead, I got a literally nearly-impossible-to-read book that reads like a tax form. The information is not chronological, there seems to be no order, rhyme, or reason to the chapters, and the discussions in the book are not actually of the spies, or even that much of the spying. Instead, it contains many dry accounts of the Papal See's meetings with foreign leaders, and those leaders' obvious opinions on communist nations under the guise that these were some of the meetings that the spies were able to bug and send to their Soviet leaders.

In the end, I could not finish this one. I'm sure the information it contained, especially parts about the attempted assassination of Saint John Paul II, could be very interesting. But I'd read enough of this author's "prose" to know that he would have made it unbearably dull in this book.

[Bob Carroll · Rating 1 out of 5]

While the premise was intriguing, the execution was horrendous. It reads like a term paper.

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Înainte să se crape de ziuă, în duminica Paştelui din anul 1923, monseniorul Con- stantin Budkiewicz îngenunchea pe treptele care duceau spre şirul de celule ale temutei închisori Lubianka din Moscova. Un singur glonţ, tras dintr-un revolver Nagant al unui asasin comunist, a explodat în ceafa monseniorului în vârstă de şai- zeci şi cinci de ani. Biserica Catolică din Rusia îşi avea astfel primul martir al seco- lului XX. Crima înfăptuită de el? Rezistenţa faţă de persecuţiile religioase ale bolşe- vicilor şi „săvârşirea de acte contrarevoluţionare“, după cum suna acuzaţia. Monseniorul a fost inculpat în primul proces important înscenat de bolşevici, în încercarea de a distruge Biserica Catolică din Rusia. Ţinta principală, arhiepiscopul Jan Cieplak, născut în Polonia, şi alţi zeci de preoţi, condamnaţi şi ei. Arhiepiscopul a fost condamnat şi la moarte, dar exilat apoi, în secret, la intervenţia Sfântului Scaun şi a unor guverne occidentale, ajungând în Letonia, iar, în cele din urmă, la Roma. Mai târziu, aflat într-o stare precară de sănătate, s-a mutat în Statele Unite ale Americii, unde a şi murit, în comitatul Passaic din New Jersey, în 1926, la vârsta de şaizeci şi opt de ani. Alţii au primit condamnări lungi pe care le-au executat în gulaguri, lagărele de concentrare comuniste, unde mulţi dintre ei au şi murit. Cu patru ani înainte, când bolşevicii s-au angajat să „elibereze clasa muncitoare de sub jugul prejudecăţilor religioase şi să pună la punct cea mai extinsă propagandă ştiinţifică, educaţională şi antireligioasă“, baronul Edward von der Ropp, arhiepi- scopul eparhiei Moghilev, a fost arestat în baza acuzaţiilor false de participare la
„speculaţii economice ilegale“¹. Cu siguranţă, a scăpat de un glonţ în cap atunci când conducerea bolşevică a decis să-l schimbe cu ucraineanul Karl Radek – om de încredere al lui Vladimir Ilici Lenin –, care era închis în Germania. A intrat ilegal în ţară, cu misiunea de a stabili dacă bolşevicii puteau spera la un ajutor din partea politicienilor şi intelectualilor germani. Şi, astfel, Radek a fost trimis la Moscova, iar arhiepiscopul von der Ropp, la Varşovia. La momentul execuţiei monseniorului Budkiewicz, înalţii prelaţi catolici erau la curent de circa şase ani cu faptul că biserica era sortită decimării, asistând la răz- boiul dur purtat împotriva Bisericii Ortodoxe Ruse, majoritare, care, în 1917, însuma aproximativ 118,24 milioane de adepţi, dintr-o populaţie de 147,8 milioane. În acea perioadă, existau 5 milioane de catolici vorbitori de limbă rusă.² Olga Vasi- lieva, de la periodicul Halicize al Bisericii Ortodoxe Ruse, scria că, între 1917 şi 1920, represiunea „a răpit circa nouă mii de vieţi“, adăugând: „Biserica rusă a luat- o pe calea către Golgota.“

[Raughley Nuzzi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to say, this was one of the biggest letdowns I've read recently. For such a promising premise, the book was not only shoddily crafted, but did not ultimately spend a lot of time talking about "Spies in the Vatican" or even "The Soviet Union's Cold War Against the Catholic Church." It was more of a broad discussion of Poland and the growth and spread of anti-Soviet sentiment within Poland and the Eastern Bloc. There is some discussion of Pope John Paul II's impact on the decline of Soviet power and his visits to Poland. Overall, there are only one or two chapters actually devoted to discussing how the USSR and its satellite states practiced espionage against the Catholic Church (or why). These chapters were interesting, but picked perhaps 3 case studies of Catholic "traitors." The epilogue referenced the fact that "10-15% of Polish priests and Catholic officials" were spies. Where is the discussion of [i]that[/i]?

On top of that, the book was poorly written. It repeated itself, reidentifying established acronyms time and again. It used a mishmash of styles for providing editorial comment on a quote and for footnoting quotes, generally. There were bizarre time jumps and stream-of-consciousness leaps of logic that were unbecoming of a book that purported to be a work of non-fiction, rather than an op-ed.

Overall, I was extremely disappointed with this book and finished it out of a sense of obligation more than anything else.

[Trudy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read about how the Soviet Union persecuted religion, especially the Catholic Church during WWII.

[Shay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great look into the subject of communist spies. It’s a topic that doesn’t get a lot of attention and it’s covered pretty extensively here.

[WTD JR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good content. The author seems to have done an exhaustive amount of research. His focus on Pope John Paul II, which was extensive, was very enlightening. I learned quite a bit about the role of the Vatican and or Pope in following its role in protecting the faith and faithful.

[Daniel Messer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good lord... when the Editor needs to break in on every third paragraph with an editor's note, you come to realize that the author isn't writing, he's typing.

[Nathan Harrison]

Still not sure about it. Interesting info not that well written or edited

[Audrey Mckay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting content but difficult to read