Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu has appealed a jail sentence imposed on him by the Vatican criminal court. Photo: AFP / Alberto Pizzoli
A cardinal convicted of financial crimes by the Vatican claims he can take part in the forthcoming conclave, despite being listed as a 'non-elector'.
Once one of the most powerful figures in the Vatican, Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu was ordered by Pope Francis in 2020 to resign the "rights and privileges" of a cardinal, after he became embroiled in a Vatican financial scandal.
The Sardinian 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.
Becciu was convicted of embezzlement and fraud in 2023, and handed a five-and-a-half-year jail sentence. He was the first cardinal convicted by the Vatican's criminal court, but the cardinal, who has always maintained his innocence, launched an appeal that's currently still under consideration.
He can continue to live in a Vatican apartment, while this process is underway.
While the Holy See press office 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 come from College of Cardinals dean Giovanni Battista Re and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who will oversee the conclave proceedings inside the Sistine Chapel.
Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu at St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Photo: Tony Gentile/Reuters
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 tried to clean up Vatican finances and changed the law to ensure 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, 135 eligible cardinals will participate in conclave.
Becciu is 76 and still eligible according to age.
- CNN
