Convicted Cardinal Angelo Becciu pulls out of conclave to elect new pope. What to find out about his embezzlement sentence.

The Italian cardinal on the coronary heart of the Vatican’s “trial of the century,” Angelo Becciu, introduced Tuesday he was withdrawing from collaborating within the upcoming conclave to elect a brand new pope for “the great of the church,” ending days of drama that had overshadowed the proceedings.

The standing of Cardinal Becciu, who was convicted of fraud and embezzlement in 2023, has dominated discussions within the days after Pope Francis’ dying amid questions on whether or not he would take part within the conclave to elect Francis’ successor or not.

After his 2020 downfall, Becciu had stated he wouldn’t take part in any future conclave. However in latest days he had asserted he had a proper to enter the Sistine Chapel with different cardinals on Might 7.

On Tuesday, the 76-year-old Italian issued an announcement via his legal professionals that stated: “Having at coronary heart the great of the church, which I’ve served and can proceed to serve with constancy and love, in addition to to contribute to the communion and serenity of the conclave, I’ve determined to obey as I’ve all the time completed the need of Pope Francis to not enter the conclave whereas remaining satisfied of my innocence.”

Who’s Angelo Becciu?

Earlier than allegations of embezzlement and nepotism surfaced about 5 years in the past, Becciu was thought of certainly one of Francis’ high advisers.

He was as soon as an influential Vatican chief of workers who was a number one papal contender himself. 

Born in 1948 in Pattada, Sardinia, the 76-year-old was ordained to the priesthood in 1972, in response to the Faculty of Cardinals Report, an impartial analysis web site which profiles cardinals. In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Becciu as Substitute for Common Affairs within the Secretariat of State, the third strongest official within the Vatican, the report stated. 

Pope Francis later ordained Becciu as cardinal in 2018 and appointed him as Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
However he fell from grace in 2020 when Francis pressured him to resign his job as head of the Vatican’s saint-making workplace and his rights as a cardinal due to allegations of monetary misconduct.

“The trial of the century”

The trial centered on the Vatican secretariat of state’s 350 million euro funding in creating a former Harrod’s warehouse into luxurious residences. Prosecutors alleged Vatican monsignors and brokers, together with Becciu, fleeced the Holy See of tens of hundreds of thousands of euros in charges and commissions after which extorted the Holy See for 15 million euros to cede management of the London constructing.

Becciu was convicted in December 2023 of embezzlement stemming from the unique funding of 200 million euros in a fund that purchased into the property, in addition to for his 125,000 euro donation of Vatican cash to a charity run by his brother in Sardinia, a big Italian island within the Mediterranean Sea. 

Becciu was additionally convicted of utilizing Vatican cash to pay an intelligence analyst, Cecilia Marogna, who in flip was convicted of utilizing the cash for herself.

Becciu denied wrongdoing and is interesting the conviction and 5 ½-year jail sentence and had participated within the pre-conclave conferences, together with on Monday.

How does Becciu’s withdrawal affect the conclave?

Becciu’s withdrawal does not have an effect on the Vatican’s official statistics concerning the conclave as a result of internally it by no means thought of him eligible to vote. 

There stay 135 cardinal electors, although Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed Tuesday that two had formally introduced they weren’t coming as a consequence of well being causes, bringing the variety of electors all the way down to 133.

Becciu is beneath the age restrict of 80 and technically eligible to vote, however the Vatican’s official statistics checklist him as a “non-elector.”

The Vatican doc regulating a conclave, identified by its Latin title Universi Dominici Gregis, lays out the standards for electors, making clear that cardinals beneath 80 have the appropriate to elect the pope, besides those that have been “canonically deposed or who with the consent of the Roman Pontiff have renounced the cardinalate.” It provides that after a pope has died, “the Faculty of Cardinals can not readmit or rehabilitate them.”

There has by no means been any readability on what precisely Becciu renounced or how: The one-line assertion issued by the Vatican press workplace on Sept. 24, 2020, stated merely that Francis had accepted Becciu’s resignation as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints “and his rights related to the cardinalate.” There isn’t any indication he has been sanctioned canonically.

Francis’ letters to Becciu earlier than he died

Italian day by day Domani reported final week that through the preliminary pre-conclave discussions, Becciu was offered with two letters signed by Francis earlier than he died saying he shouldn’t take part within the conclave. Becciu’s reference to Francis’ will in his assertion Tuesday means that the letters have been the tipping level that satisfied him to withdraw from the vote.

Becciu rose to prominence and energy beneath conservative Pope Benedict XVI and could be very a lot affiliated with the conservative Vatican outdated guard. Whereas he initially grew to become an in depth adviser to Pope Francis, Becciu’s subsequent downfall by the hands of Francis would possibly counsel he would have voted for somebody eager to undo a few of Francis’ reforms.

After he pressured Becciu’s resignation, Francis visited Becciu on events and allowed him to take part within the lifetime of the Vatican. However Francis additionally modified Vatican legislation to permit the town state’s felony tribunal to prosecute him.

Pope’s absolute energy and the trial’s equity

Questions, in the meantime, have continued to swirl concerning the integrity of the trial that convicted Becciu and eight others. Throughout the proceedings, the courtroom heard that Francis intervened on a number of events on behalf of the prosecutors and that the prosecution’s prime witness in opposition to Becciu was coached and manipulated by outsiders.

Protection legal professionals found that the pope had secretly issued 4 decrees through the investigation to learn prosecutors, permitting them to conduct intercepts and detain suspects with no decide’s warrant.

Legal professionals cried foul, arguing such interference by an absolute monarch in a authorized system the place the pope workouts supreme legislative, government and judicial energy violated their purchasers’ basic rights and robbed them of a good trial.

The tribunal rejected their objections, however in latest weeks much more proof has emerged concerning the outdoors manipulation of the witness and obvious collusion with Vatican prosecutors and gendarmes to focus on Becciu.

Becciu is free pending the attraction, which is scheduled to start in September.