On Saturday, Pope Francis met Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was accused at a Vatican trial, for a “friendly talk”. “Besides explaining to the pope, I have expressed my absolute commitment to him,” Becciu said. In 2020, Pope Francis fired Becciu on suspicion of nepotism. The 74-year-old is the first cardinal to stand trial at the Vatican.
The cardinal denies allegations that he financially favored his family. The process revolves around the purchase of a building in London by the Secretariat of State.
Among the 10 suspects are former Vatican employees and Italian intermediaries accused of blackmailing the Vatican.
Phone conversation secretly recorded
A Vatican court heard a secretly recorded telephone conversation between Becciu and Pope Francis on Thursday afternoon. The recording was made without the pope’s knowledge by a woman who was in a room with Becciu in July 2021, just before the Vatican trial had begun and while the pope was still recovering from major bowel surgery. Lawyers present in the courtroom who heard the recording reported that Becciu had asked the pope to confirm that he had approved payment for the release of a nun kidnapped in Africa.
The lawsuit is actually about a property purchase in London between 2014 and 2018, in which the Vatican lost a triple-digit million sum. Becciu was then a deputy in a high position in the powerful secretariat of state and had to answer for abuse of office.
Source: Krone
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