According to Koehler , " Irene returned from Czechoslovakia in the early 1980s , with a ceramic statue of the Virgin Mary , about 10 inches high , a beautiful work of renowned Czech ceramic art . The couple presented the statue to Cardinal Casaroli , who accepted gratefully . What a betrayal by his own nephew ! Inside the revered religious icon was a ' bug , ' a tiny but powerful transmitter , which was monitored from outside the building by the couple 's handlers from the Soviet Embassy in Rome . The statue had been placed in an armoire in the dining room close to Cardinal Casaroli 's office . Another eavesdropping device inside a rectangular piece of wood was hidden in the same armoire . Both were not discovered til 1990 during a massive probe initiated by Magistrate Rosario Priore in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II . The bugs had been transmitting until that time . " On 10 June 1981 , on the 100th anniversary of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin 's birth , '' L'Osservatore Romano '' , the official Vatican newspaper , published a letter by Casaroli that praised the " astonishing resonance of his research , as well as the brilliance of his personality and richness of his thinking . " Casaroli wrote that Teilhard had anticipated John Paul II 's call to " be not afraid " , embracing " culture , civilization and progress " . The letter was antedated 12 May 1981 , the day prior to Pope John Paul II assassination attempt but was published during his convalescence . On 20 July 1981 , a communiqué of the Press Office of the Holy See stated that the letter did not change the position of the warning issued by the Holy Office on 30 June 1962 , which pointed out that Chardin 's work contained ambiguities and grave doctrinal errors
Pope John Paul II assassination attempt
Pope John Paul II assassination attempt
Agostino Casaroli