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By Myke Agunwa
A Cardinal convicted of financial crimes by the Vatican, Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu is demanding to partake in the conclave and election of a new Pope despite being listed as a “non-elector.”
Cardinal Becciu, once one of the most powerful figures in the Vatican, was ordered by Pope Francis in 2020 to resign the “rights and privileges” of a cardinal after he became embroiled in a financial scandal at the Vatican.
Giovanni Angelo Becciu (born 2 June 1948) is an Italian Catholic prelate who served as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints from 2018 until his resignation under duress in 2020. Pope Francis made him a cardinal in 2018.
On 24 September 2020, he resigned the rights associated with the cardinalate. In July 2021, a Vatican judge ordered Becciu and nine others to stand trial on charges of embezzlement, abuse of office and insubordination.
On 16 December 2023, the Vatican announced that he had been found guilty and sentenced to five years and six months’ imprisonment, fined €8,000 and permanent disqualification from public office. He is the first cardinal to be convicted by the Vatican’s criminal court.
The cardinal previously held the position of “sostituto” (“substitute”) in the Holy See’s Secretariat of State – a papal chief of staff equivalent.
The role offered Becciu walk-in privileges to see the pope and he commanded huge authority across the church’s central government. He was later moved to a position running the Vatican’s saint-making department.
But the cardinal, who has always maintained his innocence, launched an appeal that’s currently still under consideration. He’s allowed to continue to live in a Vatican apartment while this process is underway.
While the Holy See press office has listed him as a “non-elector,” Becciu told a Sardinian newspaper on Tuesday that “there was no explicit will to exclude me from the conclave nor a request for my explicit renunciation in writing.”
The decision of his participation will likely be made by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who will oversee the conclave proceedings inside the Sistine Chapel.
The investigation into Becciu centred on the Holy See’s disastrous investment in a London property that saw the church lose tens of millions of dollars.
During his papacy, Francis sought to clean up Vatican finances and changed the law to ensure that Becciu, as a cardinal, could be judged by a Vatican tribunal of judges.
Although Becciu lost his rights and privileges as a cardinal, he was never technically removed from the College of Cardinals. He is allowed to take part in the pre-conclave discussions.
Only cardinals under the age of 80 are allowed to vote in a papal election. As it currently stands, there are 135 eligible cardinals who will participate in the conclave. Becciu is 76 and still eligible to participate in the process.