I always say that Godfather II is my favorite movie of all time, and my second favorite is the first Godfather. While, like almost everyone else, I was disappointed by Godfather III, it did have some redeeming qualities. First off, I think it would have been a great movie if Francis would have cast anyone else to be Michael Corleone’s daughter than his own daughter Sofia. She has proven to be a great director in recent years, but she ruined that movie. Even the climatic final scene was destroyed with her utterance of the single word, “Dad.” Anyway, one of the movie’s themes that I always found fascinating was Michael Corleone’s attempt to take control of the Vatican bank. Here’s a scene to spark your memory:

I remember at the time it sparked some controversy, but for the most part, the conspiracy theorists were dismissed, and it soon became yesterday’s news. Well it turns out that many of these “conspiracies” were true. Gerald Posner, has written a new book entitled, God’s Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican , and it is fascinating. Posner (who happens to be a Catholic) reveals how the bank has had a long history of money laundering, and not only did it actually do business with the Mafia, but profited from the Nazis as well. In a weak defense, he says that the Vatican tried to remain neutral, and were willing to invest in both sides of a conflict. Nonetheless, dealing with these criminal organizations was much preferred to dealing with the atheistic Bolsheviks. On the bright side, Posner says that Pope Francis is attempting to clean up the ancient institution. I admit this is admirable, but I agree with him that the Pontiff should turn over the bank’s records during World War II. This will prove if he truly has the aim of transparency. Here’s the interview Posner did with Huffpost Live:

Brother Richard

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