April 29 (UPI) — A Catholic cardinal convicted of embezzlement and fraud has announced he won’t take part in the conclave to choose a successor to the late Pope Francis.
The Vatican reported Tuesday that Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu released a statement that he will follow the wishes of Francis and not enter the conclave.
“Having at heart the good of the church, which I have served and will continue to serve with faithfulness and love and in order to contribute to the communion and serenity of the conclave, I have decided to obey — as I have always done — the will of Pope Francis not to enter the conclave, while remaining convinced of my innocence,” Becciu’s statement said.
The Vatican City State Court ruled in December of 2023 that Becciu was guilty of three counts of embezzlement and received a five-year, six-month prison term. He has not been incarcerated because he lodged an appeal that is still under consideration, and lives in an apartment in the Vatican, but Pope Francis ordered in 2020 that Becciu surrender the “rights and privileges” of a cardinal as the case against him came to light.
Formerly the “sostituto” within the Holy See’s Secretariat of State, the equivalent to a papal chief of staff, Becciu had walk-in privileges to see the pope and had great authority with the central government of the church, he later ran the Vatican’s department that named saints.
Becciu, as well as a group of people connected to him, were convicted of misappropriating more than $200 million as part of the purchase of a high-end building in London.
Upon the pope’s death last week, Becciu put forth an appeal in support of his right to take part in the conclave but withdrew that appeal with the announcement made Tuesday.
“Having at heart the good of the Church, which I have served and will continue to serve with faithfulness and love, and in order to contribute to the communion and serenity of the conclave, I have decided to obey,” Becciu said, “as I have always done, the will of Pope Francis not to enter the conclave.”
