In a twist worthy of the film and novel “Conclave”, the Vatican’s secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin “allegedly had” two letters, signed “F” by Pope Francis, apparently indicating that “Becciu could not participate” in the election of his successor, according to Catholic news site The Pillar.
Becciu was convicted in 2023 on counts of embezzlement, aggravated fraud and abuse of office, and barred from holding public office. His jail sentence of five years and six months is pending an appeal hearing and he is allowed to remain living in a Vatican apartment while the process continues. Becciu strongly maintains his innocence and claims he was the victim of a conspiracy.
Opinions among Becciu’s fellow cardinals on his eligibility were “mixed”, said Jesuit magazine America. A source close to the case said his argument was “ridiculous”, said the National Catholic Register. Italian investigative journalist Maria Antoinetta Calabro said in HuffPost that Becciu “never raised the issue” while the Pope was alive, “perhaps because it would have triggered a public stance by Pope Francis” that would not have gone in his favour.
They made the Conclave movie into a real thing !
It goes way deeper than this! Cardinal Pell (Australia) was investigating financial abuse at the Vatican when Becciu bribed Australian officials to prosecute Pell for alleged crimes (some say they were trumped up, others disagree). Becciu was trying to get Pell out of the picture so he wouldn’t get caught in his financial crimes. Becciu was using the Vatican bank to launder money for the Italian Mafia who probably had dirt on him. Very bad stuff.
Eventually Pell’s guilt was dropped and he was released from prison and Becciu was arrested, tried, and found guilty.
Edit: Some basic information here, but it always goes deeper.
was investigating financial abuse at the Vatican when Becciu bribed Australian officials to prosecute Pell for alleged crimes (some say they were trumped up, others disagree).
Many disagree because he was accused before he became a cardinal. They also disagree because the investigation by Victoria Police and parliamentary inquiry started a year before he was appointed to the Secretariat for the Economy.
There’s also the whole Ridsdale thing, where he shared a house with a convincted offender, during the active time. He was part of a group who suggested he be moved, he didn’t think it was a good idea to send him on overnight trips with kids, etc. He ignored multiple complaints from many different people about the priest. He even walked the guy into trial over a decade later.
Not to mention his years of downplaying victim experiences while pretending he supports them.
Oh yes, and the royal comission that didn’t reveal anything during his trial. And only later revealed that they concluded he knew about child sexual abuse and tried to hide it from the public.
