...with debts (according to various sources) of between 700 million and 1.5 billion dollars. Much of the money had been siphoned off via the Vatican Bank, the Istituto per le Opere Religiose or IOR, the 'Institute of Religious Works'...
P2 is the common name for the Italian Freemasonic lodge, Propaganda Due.
It became the target of considerable attention in the wake of the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano (one of Milan's principal banks), and the suspicious 1982 death of its president Roberto Calvi in London, initially ruled a suicide but classified a murder and prosecuted.
Calvi's connections with the Worshipful Master Licio became a particular focus of press and police attention, and caused the lodge (then secret) to be discovered. A list of adherents was found in Gelli's house in Arezzo, containing over 900 names among which were very important state officers, a few politicians and a number of military officers, many of them enrolled in the Italian secret services. Notably, the current Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was on the list, although he had not yet entered elective politics at the time. Another famous member was Victor Emmanuel, Prince of Naples, current head of the House of Savoy.
Then-prime minister Arnaldo Forlaniwas forced to resign, and was eventually convicted of related corruption charges. His government was also brought down by the scandal, and at the subsequent election opposite parties of a left character won a mandate to replace it.
The lodge was then examined by a special commission of the Italian Parliament, directed by Tina Anselmi of the Democrazia Cristiana ("Christian Democrats") political party. The conclusion of the commission was that it was a secret criminal organization, even if no proof was found of specific crimes committed. Allegations of surreptitious international relationships, mainly with Argentina and with some people suspected of belonging to the American Central Intelligence Agency CIA were also partly confirmed; but soon a political debate overtook the legal level of the analysis.
It has been repeatedly alleged that P2 was involved in the assassination of Aldo Moro, murdered by the Red Brigades, but no concrete proof was ever found.
free dictionary
