Cardinal Becciu's fall from grace: Vatican's 'trial of the century' ends with a historic prison sentence over financial scandal

Among the crimes for which Cardinal Becciu was tried include embezzlement of funds and misuse of office. Alongside Cardinal Becciu, nine other people were tried in the Vatican, encompassing financiers and employees of the Secretariat of State.

The trial, which unfolded over approximately two-and-a-half years in the Vatican City court, concerned financial irregularities within the Secretariat of State of the Apostolic Capital. The media has labeled it as the "trial of the century".

Only a few weeks before the trial, Pope Francis granted Vatican civil courts the authority to judge cardinals and bishops. Prior to this, judgments were exclusively the purview of the Court of Cassation, a top-tier body composed mainly of cardinals and high-ranking clerics. It was speculated that these new regulations were created specifically for Cardinal Angelo Becciu's case.

Grave allegations of financial fraud were leveled against the 75-year-old Cardinal Becciu and two financiers, namely Raffaele Mincione and Gianluigi Torzi. Charges included embezzlement of substantial sums of money, specifically the funding of a luxurious property on Sloane Avenue in London in 2014. The funds used in this purchase came, in part, from the donations for the Pope's charitable activities, known as the "Obolo di San Pietro".

While the London townhouse incident formed the crux of the trial, charges were also leveled against the Sardinian cardinal for transferring funds from the Secretariat of State to a cooperative led by his brother based on the same island. Cardinal Becciu vehemently denied these allegations, insisting that the money - over 100,000 euros - was intended for charitable purposes.

Once the transaction was exposed, the Vatican sold the property at a significant loss. The losses incurred by the Secretariat of State range from 139 to 189 million euros, according to the balance presented to the court by Alessandro Diddi, the promoter of justice and the equivalent of a prosecutor.

The proceedings also examined another aspect related to the cardinal's efforts to free a nun kidnapped in Mali by jihadists. In this instance, Becciu engaged the services of Cecilia Marogna, who claimed to be an expert in international affairs. She received half a million euros from the Vatican but used the funds for personal indulgences instead of helping to secure the nun's release. Marogna too, was on trial.

In the wake of these media allegations, Pope Francis persuaded Cardinal Becciu to immediately resign from his role as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in the fall of 2020. Pope Francis also withdrew the cardinal's privileges, including the right to participate in the next conclave.

This trial was unprecedented in the history of the Church. One of the most important dignitaries (Cardinal Becciu was the third highest ranking individual in the Apostolic See hierarchy), who was also the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, was accused of financial abuse. None of the defendants pleaded guilty.

Some referred to the trial as a "stress test" for Pope Francis’s pontificate, exploring his approach to crisis management.

Closely watched by journalists, over 80 hearings took place under the leadership of Giuseppe Pignatone, a veteran of the Italian judiciary.

Among the defendants were the former president of the Vatican Financial Information Authority (AIF), Swiss Rene Brulhart, and Tommaso di Ruzza, the former director of the same critical supervisory institution, along with Father Mauro Carlino, a former secretary to Cardinal Becciu, former lay employee Fabrizio Tirabassi of the Secretariat of State and other financiers and financial intermediaries. The charges against them were not limited to fraud and irregularities, but also included money laundering.

The prosecutor requested a seven-year-three-month prison sentence for the Italian cardinal and proposed sentences varying from a few to 13 years, along with fines for the other defendants.

The plaintiffs in the proceedings demanded nearly 700 million euros in compensation.

All ten defendants proclaimed their innocence and sought full acquittal.

The court, however, found them all guilty of their respective crimes. In addition to the five-and-a-half-year prison sentence given to Cardinal Becciu, the other defendants also received prison sentences ranging from three to seven years. Among them was financier Gianluigi Torzi, who received a six-year sentence.

The cardinal's defense team has announced plans to appeal, emphasizing once again that he is innocent.

The trial was plagued with shocking revelations and surprising scenarios. For instance, a conversation between Cardinal Becciu and Pope Francis was secretly recorded by the Italian financial guard in July 2021. This conversation took place three days before the trial's commencement and shortly after the Pope had undergone serious intestinal surgery.

In the five-minute conversation, the transcript of which has been released by the media, Becciu accused the Pope of having pre-judged him, rendering the trial unnecessary. Furthermore, the cardinal sought confirmation from Francis that he had agreed to pay a ransom for a Colombian nun kidnapped by jihadists in Mali. However, the Pope did not seem convinced by this in their conversation. The recording clearly reflected that his recovery post-surgery was incomplete and that he was still weak.

As per an evaluation by the newspaper "Corriere della Sera", the Vatican trial uncovered numerous scandals, financial irregularities, negligence in handling financial matters, corruption suspects, dubious real estate investments, and conflicts between organizations. As a result, it led to significant harm to the Secretariat of State of the Apostolic See's reputation, competence, and influence.