Vatican prosecutor appeals verdict that largely dismantled his fraud case but convicted cardinal
Vatican CityAP The Vatican’s chief prosecutor has appealed a court verdict that largely dismantled his theory of a grand conspiracy to defraud the Holy See of millions of euros but found a cardinal guilty of embezzlement. Prosecutor Alessandro Diddi filed his appeal this week of the three-judge tribunal’s decision in a complicated financial trial that aired the […]
Senior cardinal convicted in Vatican corruption trial
Vatican CityReuters Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the most senior Catholic Church official ever to stand trial before a Vatican criminal court, was convicted on Saturday of embezzlement and fraud and sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail. The Italian prelate’s lawyer, Fabio Viglione, told reporters in the courtroom he would appeal, saying his client was innocent. Becciu, […]
Some 200 witnesses to testify in ‘Vatican trial of a century’ on financial scandals
Vatican CityRNS Earlier this month, Giuseppe Pignatone, one of the judges overseeing the Vatican’s “trial of a century”, concerning corruption and money laundering by Catholic Church officials, joked that he hoped the proceedings would end by 2050. At least, it was thought to be a joke: At Wednesday’s session, the judges announced that the prosecution […]
Banker says he warned Vatican about London fund investor
Vatican CityAP The Vatican’s longtime investment banker testified Monday that he repeatedly voiced concerns about a fund that was investing in a troubled London property, but said the Holy See’s secretariat of state insisted on pursuing the deal even as it lost money. Enrico Crasso said he was very much on the sidelines of the […]
Lawyers: papal decrees violated fraud suspects’ human rights
Vatican CityAP Defence lawyers in the Vatican’s fraud and extortion trial on Friday accused Pope Francis of violating their clients’ human rights by issuing four secret, executive decrees that gave prosecutors free reign to investigate in ways that deprived the suspects of basic legal guarantees. The lawyers argued that the resulting trial into the Vatican’s […]