Story Highlights
- Historical event
- 21 May 1981
- The list of members contained the names of well-known Italians, for example, Silvio Berlusconi, Roberto Calvi (the leader of the collapsed Banco Ambrosiano), Admiral Giovanni Torrisi (Chief of the Defence Staff of Italy) and a whole string of generals. The lodge was headed by Licio Gelli, bearing the title "Maestro venerabile".
On this day, the Italian government announced the names of the secret Masonic lodge Propaganada Due (P2) members.
According to the Italian Constitution, secret associations are banned and the participation of government officials in secret organizations is prohibited.
Thus the activities of the secret P2 lodge were illegal. The list of members contained the names of well- known Italians, for example, Silvio Berlusconi, Roberto Calvi (the leader of the collapsed Banco Ambrosiano), Admiral Giovanni Torrisi (Chief of the Defence Staff of Italy) and a whole string of generals.
The list contained a total of 962 names, of which 44 were members of parliament, 49 were bankers, three ministers, and more than two hundred of them were military officers.
All the heads of the Italian secret services were also on the list. It is assumed that a considerable number of members remained undisclosed, because the lodge could number over 1600 members.
The lodge was headed by Licio Gelli, bearing the title “Maestro venerabile”. It was in his home that a police search turned up with a list of members of the Propaganda Due lodge.
Gelli was at that time under investigation because of the scandal that occurred involving the collapse of the mentioned Banco Ambrosiano.
