Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the man Pope Francis chose in 2013 to be his secretary of state, has vowed to testify at the next Vatican meeting trial for alleged financial crimes if the magistrates call him to the bar.

“I don’t know if I will be, but if asked, yes I am ready to go,” said the 66-year-old Italian. The crosslast Sunday during a visit to France.

“If they say ‘you are responsible for everything that happened’, I will probably have things to say, answers to give. If they think that I am not responsible, they will not call me. certainly not to testify, ”he noted.

Parolin was in Alsace to celebrate the 1300th anniversary of Mont Sainte-Odile.

It was the first time he had spoken to journalists from the Vatican, which was announced by the Holy See Press Office a day earlier.

A Vatican judge has indicted 10 people, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who was Parolin’s deputy (or Sostituto) until 2018.

Their trial is due to open on July 27.

What did Cardinal Parolin know?

To be clear, Parolin is not among those charged.

But he is the head of the secretariat of state. And that office, by putting pressure on the so-called “Vatican Bank” (Institute of Works of Religion-IOR) to approve a loan to buy a building in London, triggered the Pope’s decision to open an investigation.

The questions relate to what the cardinal of northern Italy might have known about the financial arrangements and the frauds involved. Or has it been left completely in the dark?

Cardinal Parolin welcomed the announcement of the trial.

“It took more than a year and a half for the judicial authority to arrive at this decision, and it is good that there is a decision, even if I am very sad of its conclusions”, he said. he declares. The cross.

The cardinal, who is considered one of the Vatican’s most astute diplomats and has even been mentioned as a possible future pope, declined to comment on the merits of the case.

He said he had not yet had time to read the documents, which had only been released the day before.

“I don’t judge people. Maybe someone behaved badly. Judgment will be that time when all the elements are put on the table, and we hope that it can come to the truth,” said he declared.

He added that he hopes it will be “a short trial, to give all the evidence, because [the case] made a lot of people suffer, and a lot of people continue to suffer. “

We must defend the honor of the Holy See

Asked about the fact that the Secretariat of State has filed a civil complaint, he replied: “It is the fruit of the will of Pope Francis“.

“We did not have direct knowledge of all the investigations. We consider ourselves to be victims,” ​​said Cardinal Parolin.

“We must defend the honor of the Holy See. We must also be able to recover part of the money,” he insisted.

Speaking to the press during his visit to France, the cardinal also confirmed that Pope Francis is still considering whether or not to make a one-day visit next fall to the city of Marseille, in the south of France.

And addressing the issue of German priests bestowing blessings on same-sex couples, Parolin said he hoped the dialogue would continue.

“We need just solutions, not solutions that do not respect the nature and tradition of the Church,” he said.