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Cardinal sentenced to jailhouse clip successful Vatican tribunal
The Italian cardinal astatine the bosom of the Vatican's "trial of the century," Angelo Becciu, announced Tuesday helium was withdrawing from participating successful the upcoming conclave to elite a caller pope for "the bully of the church," ending days of play that had overshadowed the proceedings.
The presumption of Cardinal Becciu, who was convicted of fraud and embezzlement successful 2023, has dominated discussions successful the days aft Pope Francis' death amid questions astir whether helium would enactment successful the conclave to elite Francis' successor oregon not.
After his 2020 downfall, Becciu had said helium would not enactment successful immoderate aboriginal conclave. But successful caller days helium had asserted helium had a close to participate the Sistine Chapel with different cardinals connected May 7.
On Tuesday, the 76-year-old Italian issued a connection done his lawyers that said: "Having astatine bosom the bully of the church, which I person served and volition proceed to service with fidelity and love, arsenic good arsenic to lend to the communion and serenity of the conclave, I person decided to obey arsenic I person ever done the volition of Pope Francis not to participate the conclave portion remaining convinced of my innocence."
Angelo Becciu walks adjacent to the coffin aft paying his respects during a ceremonial wrong St. Peter's Basilica pursuing the procession of the precocious Pope's coffin from the chapel of Santa Marta to St Peter's Basilica, successful the Vatican connected April 23, 2025.
TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images
Who is Angelo Becciu?
Before allegations of embezzlement and nepotism surfaced astir 5 years ago, Becciu was considered 1 of Francis' apical advisers.
He was erstwhile an influential Vatican main of unit who was a starring papal contender himself.
Born successful 1948 successful Pattada, Sardinia, the 76-year-old was ordained to the priesthood successful 1972, according to the College of Cardinals Report, an autarkic probe website which profiles cardinals. In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Becciu arsenic Substitute for General Affairs successful the Secretariat of State, the 3rd astir almighty authoritative successful the Vatican, the study said.
Pope Francis aboriginal ordained Becciu arsenic cardinal successful 2018 and appointed him arsenic Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
But helium fell from grace successful 2020 erstwhile Francis forced him to resign his occupation arsenic caput of the Vatican's saint-making bureau and his rights arsenic a cardinal due to the fact that of allegations of fiscal misconduct.
"The proceedings of the century"
The trial focused connected the Vatican secretariat of state's 350 cardinal euro concern successful processing a erstwhile Harrod's warehouse into luxury apartments. Prosecutors alleged Vatican monsignors and brokers, including Becciu, fleeced the Holy See of tens of millions of euros successful fees and commissions and past extorted the Holy See for 15 cardinal euros to cede power of the London building.
Becciu was convicted successful December 2023 of embezzlement stemming from the archetypal concern of 200 cardinal euros successful a money that bought into the property, arsenic good arsenic for his 125,000 euro donation of Vatican wealth to a foundation tally by his member successful Sardinia, a ample Italian land successful the Mediterranean Sea.
Becciu was besides convicted of utilizing Vatican wealth to wage an quality analyst, Cecilia Marogna, who successful crook was convicted of utilizing the wealth for herself.
Becciu denied wrongdoing and is appealing the condemnation and 5 ½-year situation condemnation and had participated successful the pre-conclave meetings, including connected Monday.
How does Becciu's withdrawal interaction the conclave?
Becciu's withdrawal doesn't impact the Vatican's authoritative statistic astir the conclave due to the fact that internally it ne'er considered him eligible to vote.
There stay 135 cardinal electors, though Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni confirmed Tuesday that 2 had formally announced they weren't coming owed to wellness reasons, bringing the fig of electors down to 133.
Becciu is nether the property bounds of 80 and technically eligible to vote, but the Vatican's authoritative statistic database him arsenic a "non-elector."
The Vatican papers regulating a conclave, known by its Latin sanction Universi Dominici Gregis, lays retired the criteria for electors, making wide that cardinals nether 80 person the close to elite the pope, but those who person been "canonically deposed oregon who with the consent of the Roman Pontiff person renounced the cardinalate." It adds that aft a pope has died, "the College of Cardinals cannot readmit oregon rehabilitate them."
There has ne'er been immoderate clarity connected what precisely Becciu renounced oregon how: The one-line connection issued by the Vatican property bureau connected Sept. 24, 2020, said simply that Francis had accepted Becciu's resignation arsenic prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints "and his rights connected to the cardinalate." There is nary denotation helium has been sanctioned canonically.
Francis' letters to Becciu earlier helium died
Italian regular Domani reported past week that during the archetypal pre-conclave discussions, Becciu was presented with 2 letters signed by Francis earlier helium died saying helium should not enactment successful the conclave. Becciu's notation to Francis' volition successful his connection Tuesday suggests that the letters were the tipping constituent that convinced him to retreat from the vote.
Becciu roseate to prominence and powerfulness nether blimpish Pope Benedict XVI and is precise overmuch affiliated with the blimpish Vatican aged guard. While helium initially became a adjacent advisor to Pope Francis, Becciu's consequent downfall astatine the hands of Francis mightiness suggest helium would person voted for idiosyncratic keen to undo immoderate of Francis' reforms.
After helium forced Becciu's resignation, Francis visited Becciu connected occasions and allowed him to enactment successful the beingness of the Vatican. But Francis besides changed Vatican instrumentality to let the metropolis state's transgression tribunal to prosecute him.
Pope's implicit powerfulness and the trial's fairness
Questions, meanwhile, person continued to swirl astir the integrity of the proceedings that convicted Becciu and 8 others. During the proceedings, the tribunal heard that Francis intervened connected respective occasions connected behalf of the prosecutors and that the prosecution's premier witnesser against Becciu was coached and manipulated by outsiders.
Defense lawyers discovered that the pope had secretly issued 4 decrees during the probe to payment prosecutors, allowing them to behaviour intercepts and detain suspects without a judge's warrant.
Lawyers cried foul, arguing specified interference by an implicit monarch successful a ineligible strategy wherever the pope exercises ultimate legislative, enforcement and judicial powerfulness violated their clients' cardinal rights and robbed them of a just trial.
The tribunal rejected their objections, but successful caller weeks adjacent much grounds has emerged astir the extracurricular manipulation of the witnesser and evident collusion with Vatican prosecutors and gendarmes to people Becciu.
Becciu is escaped pending the appeal, which is scheduled to statesman successful September.
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