# John Paul II and the CIA

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "John Paul II and the CIA," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-paul-ii-cia/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's account that CIA old-timers took credit for helping make the Polish cardinal John Paul II pope — a political move to weaken the Soviet Union — and that his later recognition of the state of Israel was seen as a bonus for the West.*

- **Per Kiriakou:** CIA old-timers took credit for his papacy
- **Aim:** Weaken the Soviet Union

**John Paul II and the CIA** is [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)'s recollection that CIA old-timers, when he first joined, *"took credit for making John Paul the Second pope."* Elevating a cardinal from Soviet-satellite Poland, they reasoned, would distract and weaken the Soviet Union.[1][2] The move dovetailed with the rise of the Solidarity movement in the Gdansk shipyard, and Kiriakou says the pope's later recognition of the state of Israel — long withheld by the Vatican — was regarded as an *"extra added freebie"* on top of the anti-Soviet benefits.[3] Kiriakou has repeated the same account in separate interviews, again citing "old-timers" from when he first joined the agency who claimed credit for making the Polish pope, framing it explicitly as a political decision made to weaken the Soviet Union and noting it coincided with the rise of Solidarity in Gdansk.[4][5]

Kiriakou frames the choice as deliberate: John Paul II was, in his telling, *"most definitely certainly the CIA choice because he was Polish"* — there had never before been a Polish pope, and the U.S. wanted a figure strong enough to face down the Soviets as Solidarity struck at the Gdansk shipyards. He is emphatic that no bribery was involved: *"nothing so crude."* Cardinals, in his account, needed no financial incentive — as politically engaged patriots for their home countries, they were well aware the Soviet Union stood on the brink of invading Poland, overthrowing the Jaruzelski government, and arresting Lech Wałęsa, and that the Soviets or their Bulgarian proxies had already allegedly tried to assassinate the pope.[6]

## See also

- [Doctor Zhivago operation](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/doctor-zhivago-operation)
- [Operation Gladio](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/operation-gladio)

## Sources

1. John Kiriakou Unleashed: The Real CIA History, Sexpionage, Black Ops & More (2026-05-08), at 1:21:03. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34ZPb1UuC7k&t=4863s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-05-08-jay-dyer-real-cia-history/
2. John Kiriakou Unleashed: The Real CIA History, Sexpionage, Black Ops & More (2026-05-08), at 1:21:33. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34ZPb1UuC7k&t=4893s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-05-08-jay-dyer-real-cia-history/
3. John Kiriakou Unleashed: The Real CIA History, Sexpionage, Black Ops & More (2026-05-08), at 1:22:05. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34ZPb1UuC7k&t=4925s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-05-08-jay-dyer-real-cia-history/
4. John Kiriakou: THEY Really Did THIS — Jay Dyer Show (2026-04-29), at 1:27:53. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqx0uSr1yYk&t=5273s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-04-29-jay-dyer-they-really-did-this/
5. CIA and the Vatican, Christian Zionism, and Living the Faith (2026-06-16), at 19:36. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99-EzDMH7ck&t=1176s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-06-16-the-third-way-orthodox/
6. CIA and the Vatican, Christian Zionism, and Living the Faith (2026-06-16), at 20:39. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99-EzDMH7ck&t=1239s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-06-16-the-third-way-orthodox/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-paul-ii-cia/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt