VATICAN CITY: Cardinals in meetings ahead of the start of a secret conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis are scratching the hair under their red skull caps as they try to decide whether a cardinal convicted of embezzlement and fraud can join in the vote.
Their quandary concerns Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who in December 2023 was sentenced to 5-1/2 years in jail. He was the most senior Catholic Church official ever to stand trial before a Vatican criminal court.
Becciu has denied all wrongdoing and is appealing the court’s ruling. The Italian cardinal, who is free pending his appeal, did not immediately return a message asking for comment on Thursday (Apr 23).
His complex legal standing in Church law goes back to the night of Sep 24, 2020, when Francis summoned Becciu to his residence and summarily fired him from the job as head of the Vatican department that decides who will be saints, as the cardinal recounted.
