Rome
Cnn
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A cardinal found guilty of financial crimes by the Vatican says that he can participate in the upcoming conclave despite his listed as an “non -electric”.
Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, formerly one of the most powerful figures in the Vatican, received the order of Pope Francis in 2020 to resign the “rights and privileges” of a cardinal after being involved in a Vatican financial scandal.
The Sardinian Cardinal previously held the position of “Sostitoto” (“substitute”) in the secretariat of the Holy See-a Papal Staff.
The role offered privileges without an appointment to see the Pope and commanded enormous authority through the central government of the Church. He was then moved to a managerial position the Vatican Saints Manufacturing Department.
Becciu was found guilty of embezzlement of funds and fraud in 2023 and sentenced a sentence of five and a half years in prison. He is the first cardinal to be sentenced by the Criminal Tribunal of the Vatican.
But the cardinal, who has always maintained his innocence, has launched an appeal which is currently being studied. He is allowed to continue living in an apartment in the Vatican while this process is underway.
While the Holy See the press office listed it as an “non -electric”, Becciu told a Sardinian newspaper on Tuesday that “there was no explicit will to exclude me from the conclave or a request for explicit renunciation”.
The decision of his participation will probably be decided by the dean of the college of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who will supervise the procedures conclave inside the Sistine Chapel.
The investigation into Becciu focused on the disastrous investment of the Holy Sière in a London property which saw the church lose tens of millions of dollars.
During its papacy, Francis sought to clean the Vatican finances and changed the law to ensure that Becciu, as a cardinal, could be tried by a tribunal of the Vatican judges.
Although Becciu has lost his rights and privileges as a cardinal, he has never been technically removed from the College of Cardinals. He is authorized to participate in pre-contract discussions.
Only cardinals under the age of 80 are authorized to vote during a papal election. In the current state of things, there are 135 eligible cardinals that will participate in Conclave. Becciu is 76 years old and still eligible for his age.
