Cardinal in Vatican fraud trial: My conscience is ‘tranquil’
- Cardinal Angelo Becciu is one of 10 defendants charged with embezzlement and fraud over alleged mismanagement of the Holy See’s investments
- The 73-year-old prelate, who was elevated to cardinal but dismissed from his later post in charge of the church’s saint-making office, has denied wrongdoing
A fraud and embezzlement trial over alleged mismanagement of the Holy See’s investments began on Tuesday in Vatican City, with a once-powerful cardinal among the 10 defendants saying he remains “obedient” to Pope Francis, who stripped his privileges to bring him before the tribunal.
“He wanted me to be on trial, and I’m coming to the trial. I’m serene. I feel tranquil in my conscience,” Cardinal Angelo Becciu, one of two defendants who attended the largely procedural, seven-hour session, told reporters afterward.
Becciu, a former long-time Vatican diplomat, is charged with embezzlement and with pressing a monsignor to recant information he gave to prosecutors about the handling of disastrous real estate deal involving properties in London.
The 73-year-old prelate, who was elevated to cardinal by Francis in 2018 but later dismissed by the pope from his later post in charge of the church’s saint-making office, has denied any wrongdoing.
During the first day of the trial, held in a courtroom converted from a Vatican Museums hall, defence lawyers lamented they had not had time to digest about 28,000 pages of documents recently released by Vatican prosecutors.
Chief Judge Giuseppe Pignatone agreed, setting the next hearing for October 5. Pignatone is a former Rome chief prosecutor and earlier had spent decades investigating the Mafia in Sicily and criminal economic activity.