Cardinal Angelo Becciu, 76, once a leading papal contender and a longtime Vatican diplomat, is not participating in the conclave to elect a new pope to succeed Francis, who died on April 21 at the age of 88.
Becciu had asserted his rights to participate in the May 7 conclave but withdrew after he was reportedly presented with two letters written by Francis before his death, saying he shouldn’t participate due to allegations of corruption.
The cardinal’s statement released through his lawyer, Fabio Viglione, said, “Having at heart the good of the church, which I have served and will continue to serve with fidelity and love, as well as to contribute to the communion and serenity of the conclave, I have decided to obey as I have always done the will of Pope Francis not to enter the conclave while remaining convinced of my innocence.”
Becciu was forced by Francis to resign as the head of the Vatican’s saint-making office, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, and renounce his rights of the cardinalate on September 24, 2020, over several allegations of financial mismanagement. He is currently fighting a legal battle against the 2023 conviction by the Vatican’s criminal court.
The cardinal has denied all allegations and claimed that his trial was manipulated from the start.
Who is Cardinal Angelo Becciu?
A native of Sardinia, Becciu has served in Vatican embassies in several countries before taking up one of the most powerful jobs as “substitute” in the Vatican Secretariat of State. It was Francis himself who made Becciu a cardinal in 2018 before the allegations surfaced.
Known as a conservative from the old guard, Becciu rose to prominence under Pope Benedict XVI due to ideological affinity and became a close adviser to Francis, who advocated reforms and pursued social goals.
Case linked to the Vatican’s London investment
A 487-page chargesheet from Vatican’s prosecutors accused Becciu and nine others of money laundering, extortion and fraud among other serious allegations.
The accused allegedly fleeced the Holy See of tens of millions of euros in fees and commissions during its 350-million-euro investment in a luxury London property. Becciu, then serving as the Substitute for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State, was accused of authorising the investment without proper oversight.
Prosecutors also accused Becciu of sending 125,000 euros in Vatican money to a diocesan charity run by his brother in Sardinia. He argued that the money was meant for a local bishop who requested it for a bakery to employ at-risk youths, and the money remained in diocesan coffers.
Becciu is also alleged to have paid a company run by a Sardinian woman, Cecilia Marogna, for its intelligence services. Prosecutors claimed to have traced transfers worth some 575,000 euros paid by the Vatican and expenditures for high-end luxury goods.
The cardinal has said he thought the money was to be paid to a British security firm to negotiate the release of a Colombian nun who had been taken hostage by Islamic militants in Mali in 2017.
Manipulated trial?
The main allegation against the “trial of the century” is that the prosecution’s prime witness against Becciu and others was coached and manipulated by outsiders.
Defence lawyers also argued that the pope’s intervention, as an absolute monarch, during the trial violated their clients’ right to a fair trial. The Pope’s secret decrees to allow prosecutors to conduct intercepts and detain suspects without a judge’s warrant were discovered during the trial and cited as interference.
New evidence emerges
The Vatican’s tribunal had rejected these allegations, but new evidence that emerged in recent weeks about potential collusion between Vatican prosecutors and gendarmes (Vatican police) to target Becciu. An audio clip and WhatsApp chats published by the Domani newspaper suggested collusion to manipulate witnesses against the cardinal.
Becciu reacted to these revelations, saying, “From the very first moment I spoke of a machination against me: an investigation built on falsehoods, which five years ago unjustly devastated my life and exposed me to a pillory of worldwide proportions.”
Hearing of his appeal against the conviction is set to begin in September.
(With AP inputs)
