Cardinal Found Guilty In Vatican’s ‘Trial Of The Century’
Cardinal Angelo Becciu, a once-powerful prelate and close Pope Francis adviser, was found guilty on Saturday by a three-judge Vatican panel of embezzlement and fraud in a high-profile corruption case that rocked the Holy See’s hierarchy.
Following a marathon trial that began in July 2021, Becciu was convicted — along with eight others — in a courtroom located inside the Vatican Museums. He was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison for his crimes.
Becciu, 75, who served as the Vatican’s former deputy secretary of state, had become the first-ever prelate to be prosecuted in the Vatican’s criminal court system and the highest-ranking clergyman in the Catholic church to face justice by the Holy See.
READ: Guide To Recent Wrongdoing During Francis’ Papacy
Becciu’s legal team vowed to appeal.
The trial — featuring 69 witnesses and reams of documents — exposed to the public the Vatican’s notoriously murky finances.
During the lengthy case, Becciu denied any wrongdoing. His co-defendants — including financiers, lawyers and ex-Vatican employees — had also been charged with financial crimes, including fraud, money laundering and extortion. They, too, denied any wrongdoing.
Weeks before the case went to trial in July 2021, the pope gave the Vatican’s civilian courts authority to put clergy on trial. Previously, they were judged by a court presided over only by cardinals. The decision was part of an effort by Francis to reform the Vatican’s court system.
Much of the trial itself revolved around the purchase of a London building by the Secretariat of State, the Vatican’s administrative and diplomatic corps, though the help of donations. At the time of the deal in 2014, Becciu held the No. 2 position within the department when it began investing in a fund managed by Italian financier Raffaele Mincione, securing about 45% of the building.
The plan was to turn the building — a $200 million investment — into apartments. But the Vatican became dissatisfied with the investment property under Becciu’s watch. Prosecutors said Mincione had overvalued the deal and that the Secretariat of State had not informed of a $96 million mortgage on the property. As a result, Becciu’s successor, Edgar Pena Parra, decided to buy the building outright — but had to pay a hefty fee to Mincione.
Another Italian financier, Gianluigi Torzi, had been brought in to help — a move that compounded the problem. He was accused of structuring the deal in such a way that it left him in control of the building. Vatican officials said they were not properly told about this and had to pay Torzi millions to get out of the deal.
When it was discovered that the two businessmen who had taken part in the ill-fated real estate deal had fleeced the Vatican, the Holy See sold the building at a $153 million loss, prosecutors said.
Mincione and Torzi were also both found guilty on Saturday. Mincione was sentenced to five years in prison, while Torzi received six.
A ninth defendant, Mauro Carlino, a monsignor and former personal secretary to Becciu, was acquitted.
The prosecution’s key witness was Alberto Perlasca, a priest who had signed contracts related to the London property in 2018. Initially considered a prime suspect, Perlasca, a former Becciu aide, decided to cooperate with prosecutors.
Pope Francis had ordered the initial investigation into the deal after Vatican Bank officials raised directly with him their concerns about a loan application from the Secretariat of State to finance the London deal.
Becciu, meanwhile, had been accused of other crimes. Italian authorities said the cardinal funneled money and contracts to charitable organizations controlled by his brothers in his native Sardinia in Italy.
Another accusation involved Becciu hiring Cecilia Marogna, a self-proclaimed security analyst, as part of a plan to help win freedom of a Colombian nun who had been kidnapped in the African nation of Mali.
Marogna was paid $600,000 to help release the missionary, but authorities said she instead spent much of the money on things such as designer clothes and visits to health spas. She was also found guilty following Saturday’s verdict and sentenced to three years in prison.
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Clemente Lisi is the executive editor at Religion Unplugged. He is the author of “The FIFA World Cup: A History of the Planet’s Biggest Sporting Event” and previously served as deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and a longtime reporter at The New York Post. Follow him on Twitter @ClementeLisi.