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, […]
Vatican prosecutor seeks seven-year sentence for cardinal
Vatican CityReuters The prosecutor at a Vatican corruption trial linked to a botched London real estate deal asked a court on Wednesday to convict Cardinal Angelo Becciu and sentence the former Holy See power broker to seven years and three months in jail. Prosecutor Alessandro Diddi made the request at the end of his summing […]
Prosecutor cites risky investments as “grave” violations, in closing of Vatican financial case
Vatican CityAP The Vatican prosecutor insisted Tuesday that his indictments of 10 people, including a cardinal, for alleged financial crimes held up under two years of testimony, criticism and defense motions, as he began closing arguments in a trial that exposed the unseemly financial underbelly of the Holy See. Prosecutor Alessandro Diddi opened two weeks […]
Vatican reports income boost in charitable fund, even as donations dip following financial scandals
AP The Vatican has reported that a key charitable fund, Peter’s Pence, doubled its income in 2022 to €107 million, or more than $US166 million, even as donations from the faithful dipped slightly following years of scandal over financial mismanagement at the Holy See. Overall, the Peter’s Pence fund, which finances the Vatican bureaucracy and […]
Cardinal blasts vendettas, “plots against me” in Vatican financial trial
Vatican CityAP A Vatican cardinal on trial in the Holy See’s big financial crimes case complained Friday that he can’t properly defend himself from “the nightmare of these accusations” because prosecutors have withheld key evidence from the defence. Cardinal Angelo Becciu spoke out in court after Judge Giuseppe Pignatone rejected his lawyers’ latest appeal for […]
Pope doubles down on need for financial trials in Vatican
Rome, ItalyAP Pope Francis said Saturday that financial misconduct by Vatican personnel harms the church’s mission and scandalizes the faithful, doubling down on the need for trials in the tiny city state to find justice. Francis made the comments during an address to prosecutors, judges and employees of the Vatican City State’s civil and criminal […]
Pope nationalises Vatican assets, property in new reform
Rome, Italy AP Pope Francis has essentially nationalised all assets and property owned by Vatican departments and affiliated institutions, declaring them to be sovereign patrimony owned by the Holy See and not any individual or office. The action outlined in a new law published Thursday marks Francis’ latest initiative to centralise Vatican assets so they […]
Pope’s role in Vatican financial probe again centre stage
Vatican City AP Pope Francis’ own role in the investigation into financial wrongdoing at the Holy See took centre stage on Friday in the Vatican tribunal, with witnesses saying he encouraged a key suspect to cooperate with prosecutors and a key defendant accusing him of interfering in the trial. Friday’s hearing was one of the […]
Credibility of key prosecution witness questioned in Vatican financial trial
Vatican CityRNS The Vatican’s sprawling megatrial addressing alleged financial mismanagement and corruption among its top officials encountered a new hurdle on Thursday as the credibility of a key prosecution witness, Monsignor Alberto Perlasca, was thrown into question by new information from an unexpected source. On Wednesday, the Vatican’s chief prosecutor, Alessandro Diddi, told the Vatican […]
Pope further tightens controls, centralisation of Vatican finances
Vatican City Reuters Pope Francis on Tuesday acted to eliminate wiggle room or foot- dragging by Vatican departments in imposing tighter financial controls, setting a deadline for the closing of investment portfolios in foreign banks, including in Italy. Francis issued a document known as a “rescriptum”, or re-writing, making clear that all investments by all […]