GIOVANNI CADONICI. — Italian theologian, born in Venice in 1705, died on 27 February 1786, canon of Cremona. He was a staunch opponent of the papal court and supported Josephinism. To uphold his theses, he did not hesitate to distort the thought of the Fathers. He gained notoriety as an anti-Molinist. However, his greatest fame stems from the strange opinion he defended against common sentiment and Church tradition, namely that the saints in limbo enjoyed the beatific vision even before the Redemption.
His thought is preserved in his works: *Vindiciae augustinianae ab imputatione regni millenarii* (Cremona 1747); *Dialoghi tre in difesa delle vindicie agostiniane* (Rovereto 1753); *S. Augustini de piorum statu in sinu Abrahue ante Christi mortem sententia* (Venice 1763); *De dicto Augustini: & Ecclesiam Christi servituram sub regibus huius saeculi* (Pavia 1784).