Why the controversy over Cardinal Becciu is linked to Pope Francis' Vatican reforms

Italian cardinal Angelo Becciu's determination to retreat from the upcoming conclave to elite a successor to the precocious Pope Francis could spare the Catholic Church from embarrassment and ungraded that threatened to overshadow the proceedings.

The Vatican's transgression tribunal convicted Becciu successful 2023 of embezzlement and different finance-related charges astatine the extremity of the alleged "trial of the century".

He is escaped portion helium appeals against the condemnation and five-and-a-half-year situation condemnation and had participated successful the pre-conclave meetings, including connected Monday.

However, connected Tuesday, the 76-year-old said helium would not instrumentality portion successful the conclave for the "good of the church", and owed to his "love" for Pope Francis.

"I person decided to obey arsenic I person ever done the volition of Pope Francis not to participate the conclave portion remaining convinced of my innocence," Becciu said successful a statement.

The matter had go a headache for the Catholic Church and particularly for the credibility of the reforms that had been undertaken by the precocious pontiff, but not completed.

Pope Francis appointed 110 of the 135 oregon truthful cardinals who volition ballot successful the conclave opening connected 7 May, with immoderate Vatican watchers suggesting helium did truthful successful a bid to guarantee his values and priorities would beryllium carried into the adjacent papacy.

Becciu's condemnation hangs implicit the Vatican

Becciu was erstwhile an influential Vatican main of unit and a starring papal contender.

But helium fell from grace successful 2020 erstwhile Pope Francis forced him to resign his occupation arsenic caput of the Vatican’s saint-making bureau and his rights arsenic a cardinal due to the fact that of allegations of fiscal misconduct.

Becciu denied immoderate wrongdoing, but was convicted successful December 2023. His entreaty is scheduled to commencement successful September.

According to the Vatican transgression court's ruling, Becciu successful 2014 managed the acquisition of a London spot with funds from the Vatican Secretariat of State.

In 2022, the spot was sold by the Holy See, for astir €214 million, to the Bain Capital concern firm, resulting successful a nett nonaccomplishment for the Vatican of much than €100 million.

According to reports successful Italian media, Pope Francis had written letters expressing his tendency for Becciu to beryllium excluded from a conclave. Those letters were reportedly shown to Becciu by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, a elder Vatican authoritative who is seen arsenic a starring campaigner to beryllium the adjacent pontiff.

'Jarring note' for the faithful

The Becciu matter unfolded astatine a delicate clip for the Catholic Church. Pope Francis was overseeing large reforms, including a drastic downsizing of the cardinal relation of the Vatican's Secretariat of State successful favour of section communities astir the world.

Despite the ungraded surrounding him, Becciu was an state of Pope Francis successful his thrust to restructure the Vatican's institutions and finances.

According to the lawyer and vice-rector of the Luiss University successful Rome, Francesco Di Ciommo, Becciu "was precise adjacent to the Pope, helium was his trusted antheral and I judge helium besides enjoyed the Holy Father's relationship and idiosyncratic information successful immoderate way."

But regarding the ungraded astir the London spot purchase, Di Ciommo said it shows that the precocious pontiff was "uninformed" astir the absorption of the Vatican.

"If, instead, it had been ascertained that the Holy See's assets had been managed done investments agreed with the Holy Father oregon successful immoderate lawsuit without his reservations, it is wide that the proceedings would person unfolded otherwise and the result would person been different," Di Ciommo told Euronews.

The woody was risky due to the fact that it was not conscionable a elemental acquisition of a luxury property, but besides an concern successful a speculative money (the Global Opportunities Fund), the lawyer said.

"The Vatican's assets person historically besides been invested successful assets that person thing to bash with the Vatican's halfway mission. This is true," Di Ciommo said.

"However, to put successful a commercialized spot successful the centre of London, for the faithful I ideate it is simply a jarring note," helium added.

Dark past

Pope Francis' reforms besides acrophobic the Vatican's nationalist finances.

During his pontificate, an anti-money laundering authorization was established, whose task is besides to oversee the Vatican's bank, the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR).

The IOR has a arguable past dating backmost to the aboriginal 1980s.

For example, the slope was enmeshed successful the bankruptcy of Banco Ambrosiano, past Italy's biggest backstage bank.

Banco Ambrosiano's chairman, Roberto Calvi, known arsenic "God's banker" due to the fact that of his Vatican links, was recovered hanging from London's Blackfriars Bridge successful June 1982.

The IOR owned a tiny portion of Ambrosiano and was judged to beryllium partially liable for the $1.3 cardinal (€1.1bn) successful atrocious debts near by the backstage bank's collapse.

However, for astir observers, the Becciu lawsuit is rather antithetic from the acheronian times of decades ago.

"The matter took spot astatine the crook of an epochal passage. Before Pope Francis determination was nary transparency. There was nary committee of enquiry that brought up, among others, the matter of the London property," Di Ciommo explained.

"Without this interventionism of Pope Francis determination would astir apt ne'er person been this ungraded and this matter would ne'er person travel to light, and truthful it is surely imaginable that determination person been different akin events successful the past," helium added.