A cardinal walking past a tribunal is a rare sight. Cardinals are very high in the Roman Catholic clergy, taking the tile of “eminence” and having priority only over the Pope. Giovanni Angelo Becciu is a cardinal who has held important positions including that of Deputy for General Affairs in the Secretary of State, the second most powerful official in the Holy See bureaucracy who has direct and frequent access to the Pope. He was most recently the head of the office that decides on new saints and was forced to resign last year amid the embezzlement investigation.

Until last year, Vatican cardinals could only be tried by a tribunal of three peers. However, in April, Pope Francis decreed that senior members of the clergy could be prosecuted in lay criminal courts. Thus, on July 27, Cardinal Becciu had to be present in a courtroom, passing under the metal detectors for an audience that lasted eight hours. If he is found guilty, he can go to jail.

The trial has been adjourned until October 5.

What is the trial about?

The lawsuit focuses on the purchase by the Vatican Secretariat of State of a building in London’s upscale Sloane Avenue neighborhood, for which an initial payment of $ 200 million was reportedly made from funds from the Church intended for charitable purposes. The deal turned out to be in deficit, costing the Vatican millions of dollars donated by Christians around the world – a fund called Peter’s Pence – and thus attracting an internal investigation.

Who is Cardinal Becciu and what is he accused of?

Cardinal Becciu, 72, spent the first part of his career in the diplomatic service of the Vatican. From 2011 to 2018, he served as Deputy General Affairs at the Secretary of State. He was made Cardinal in 2018 by Pope Francis, and the same year, became Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

In September 2020, while the investigation into the London accord was underway, he had to resign and give up all the rights of a cardinal, including voting to elect the next pope. He was, however, allowed to retain the title of cardinal.

But his role in the London Accord is not the only accusation against Becciu.

After his resignation last year, which followed a meeting with the Pope, Becciu said Francis accused him of giving Church money to his family. “The Holy Father explained that I had granted favors to my brothers and their businesses with the money of the Church… but I am sure that there are no crimes”, he said. he told the Italian newspaper. Domani. According to Becciu, the money given to his brother’s cooperative in Sardinia was used for charitable purposes.

Becciu also approved payments to another defendant, Cecilia Marogna, allegedly spent on designer clothes, handbags and at spas. The defendants said the funds were intended, in Marogna’s words, to conduct “parallel diplomacy” to help missionaries in conflict areas and to secure the release of a nun kidnapped in Colombia. Marogna was arrested last year. According to BBC, she also denied being the cardinal’s mistress.

In the London Accord, he is accused of embezzlement, abuse of power and attempting to have a Vatican official recant.

During the trial, Becciu, quoted by The Washington Post, said: “Finally, the moment of clarity arrives … the court will be able to assess the absolute falsity of the allegations made against me and the obscure plots that clearly support and feed them. “

Pope Francis’ reforms

In his papacy, Pope Francis has taken several steps to make the functioning of the Church more accountable and transparent. In addition to allowing courts to prosecute cardinals, he abolished the “pontifical secret”, banned Vatican employees from accepting gifts over 40 euros, and mandated cardinals and rulers to disclose their investments, “to ensure they align with the doctrine of the ‘church’, according to NPR.

In the case of Cardinal Becciu, the pope allowing the indictment of such a high-ranking clergyman can be read as a declaration of intent. Indeed, The Guardian quoted Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, prefect of the secretariat for the economy, declaring: “I think [the trial] marks a turning point which can lead to greater credibility of the Holy See in economic matters. The fact that this trial is taking place shows that internal controls worked: the accusations came from inside the Vatican.

Challenges on the way

However, experts said the pope’s reform attempts had not exactly aroused the enthusiasm of the Vatican’s old guard, of which Cardinal Becciu was a member. Jason Berry, American journalist and author of “Render unto Rome: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church,” said indianexpress.com, that the “systemic inertia” of the Vatican bureaucracy “generates resistance to real reform”.

“The Roman Curia, or the Vatican bureaucracy, has historically been a largely Italian power structure. This dimension has changed to some extent in recent years, but most Curial staff do not leave when a new Pope arrives – as is the case with a new President or Prime Minister, who sets up his own. people. Systemic inertia breeds resistance to real reform, ”Berry said.

He added: “Pope Francis, for example, set up a Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, but the Curia officials who ran the meetings ignored much of what key members wanted. The most prominent member, Irish abuse survivor Marie Collins, has resigned in protest. “

The New York Times wrote of Becciu in a report: “He became a prominent fighter and a major figure in plots over alleged attempts to undermine financial reforms, when he suspended an audit of all Vatican departments by PricewaterhouseCoopers. This audit had been approved by Cardinal George Pell of Australia, whom Francis had brought in as the Vatican’s main economic official. “

Pell had to return to Australia to stand trial on charges of sexual abuse, of which he was cleared in May 2020. The same NYT According to the report, Pell’s supporters “consistently, albeit quietly, attributed his withdrawal to a master-conspiratorial coup by Becciu.”

Pope Francis attends his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall of the Vatican on Wednesday August 4, 2021 (AP Photo: Riccardo De Luca)

Concerns for the Church

For the Church, the lawsuit will bring increased light on its potentially murky money issues, with two of the defendants being officials of the Vatican’s financial watchdog. In addition, the defendants could throw dirt at other top Vatican officials, whether it sticks or not.

Who else is accused besides Becciu?

According to Vatican News, the accused are Mauro Carlino (former secretary of Becciu when he was deputy of the Secretary of State); Enrico Crasso (financial broker who has managed investments for the State Secretariat for decades); Tommaso Di Ruzza (former director of AIF, the Church’s financial regulator); Cecilia Marogna (who received considerable sums from the Vatican for intelligence services); Raffaele Mincione (financial broker accused of having subscribed to the Vatican large shares of the fund which owned the London property and then used the money for his own investments).

Among the 10 defendants are also Nicola Squillace (lawyer involved in the negotiations on the construction of London); Fabrizio Tirabassi (reporting officer at the Secretariat of State); Gianluigi Torzi (another broker); and René Brülhart (former president of the AIF).

The two AIF officials were accused, according to Vatican magistrates, of having ignored “the anomalies of the London transaction” and that “the behavior of the AIF in the person of its director and president seriously violated the fundamental control rules “.

All denied any wrongdoing.