Pope John Paul I conspiracy theories Pope John Paul I conspiracy theories Pope John Paul I died suddenly in September 1978, 33 days after his election. Following contradictory reports about the circumstances of his death and apparent anomalies about the issuing of the death certificate and other procedures, several conspiracy theories have gained currency. Many of these concern the serious corruption in the Vatican Bank (Istituto per le Opere Religiose), possibly linked to Freemasonry, which is forbidden by church law. None of the claims have been substantiated. Discrepancies in the Vatican's account of the events surrounding John Paul I's death – its inaccurate statements about who
Pope Sabinian Pope Sabinian Pope Sabinian (, d. 22 February 606) was Pope from 13 September 604 to his death in 606, during the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) domination of the Papacy; he was the fourth former "apocrisiarius" to Constantinople to be elected pope. Sabinian was born at Blera (Bieda) near Viterbo. He had been sent by Pope Gregory I as Apostolic "nuncio", to Constantinople, but he apparently was not entirely satisfactory in that office. He returned to Rome in 597. He was probably consecrated pope on 13 September 604. The erudite Italian Augustinian Onofrio Panvinio (1529–1568), in his "Epitome pontificum Romanorum" (Venice,