3 key things to know about Giovanni Angelo Becciu — the convicted cardinal demanding to be part of the conclave to choose the next pope
A cardinal convicted of financial crimes by the Vatican is claiming he should be able to participate in the upcoming conclave that will meet to decide who will replace Pope Francis.
Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, 76, was asked by Francis to step down from his position and resign all 'rights and privileges' of being a cardinal at the Vatican in 2020 after he was accused of being involved in embezzlement and fraud. Three years later, Becciu was convicted of the charges and given a five-and-a-half-year sentence.
Since his conviction, Becciu has maintained his innocence. On Tuesday, he told a Sardinian newspaper that despite being labeled by the Holy See's press office a 'non-elector' in the conclave, 'there was no explicit will to exclude me from the conclave nor a request for my explicit renunciation in writing.'
Here's what we know about Becciu:
Becciu has been involved with the Vatican since 2001. In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as substitute for general affairs in the secretariat of state, similar to a chief of staff position, making him the third most powerful person at the Vatican.
Francis made Becciu a cardinal in 2018 and then appointed him prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, another powerful position where he was in charge of the Vatican's saint-making department.
The Vatican issued a statement in September 2020 announcing that Francis had accepted Becciu's resignation from his position at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and 'his rights connected to the cardinalate.' The Vatican identified Becciu as 'His Eminence Cardinal,' which means that Becciu still had the cardinal title but none of the rights.
At the time, it was reported that Becciu was involved in a financial scandal involving the Vatican's investment in a real estate deal in London.
In 2014, the Vatican entered a real estate venture by investing $200 million in a fund run by Raffaele Mincione, an Italian businessman, to grant the Vatican 45% ownership of a luxury building in London's Chelsea neighborhood, the Associated Press reported. The investment funds came from the asset portfolio of the secretariat of state, which Becciu had been No. 2 in at the time, and is funded by Peter's Pence donations from Catholics around the world. Peter's Pence donations are forwarded to the pope to help maintain the Vatican and donate to charities.
When Becciu left the position in 2018 after Francis named him a cardinal, Becciu's successor wanted to end the fund and buy out the full building to avoid losing more money. Instead, the buyout deal cost the Vatican millions of euros, which launched the investigation into Becciu and other Vatican employees involved in organizing the deal in 2014.
Becciu wasn't investigated only because of the London building. He was also accused of funneling money to his home diocese of Sardinia, BBC News reported.
In 2022, Becciu was accused of sending large amounts of money to Australia when an Australian cardinal was on trial.
Becciu and nine other defendants — including financiers, lawyers and former Vatican employees — faced charges including embezzlement, fraud, money laundering and abuse of office, according to BBC News.
After two years of trials, the Vatican court sentenced Becciu to five and a half years in jail for financial crimes in December 2023. Becciu became the first cardinal to be tried and convicted by the Vatican's criminal court.
'We reaffirm Cardinal Angelo Becciu's innocence and will appeal,' Becciu's lawyer, Fabio Viglione, said after the verdict. 'We respect the ruling, but we will definitely appeal.'
Becciu and his lawyer have appealed the 2023 ruling. While the appeal process is ongoing, Becciu has avoided jail and has been allowed to live in his Vatican apartment.
Whether Becciu can participate in the upcoming conclave will likely be decided by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who is overseeing the conclave proceedings, CNN reported.
The official start date of the conclave has not been formally announced, so it's unclear when Re and Parolin will make their decision.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
This Woman Is Showing The Effects Of The Tariff War In China, And Hooooo Boy You Are Not Ready For This
Here in the US, we're experiencing the effects of President Trump's tariff wars every single day as prices continue going up. If you're wondering how the tariffs are affecting people in other countries, Emily ( a Canadian living in China, recently shared a video explaining exactly how things have changed for her in the grocery store over there. Emily's video starts out, "Hello from China. So, I'm in a grocery store right now, and I wanted to show you how the American tariffs are affecting Chinese customers." @ / Via "So, I was gonna get some beef for dinner tonight, and I saw this," she says, holding up a package of beef. "What used to be here is American beef. But now, as you can see, it says Australian beef." @ / Via "And I did look around," she added. "I couldn't find one single pack of beef from America. So I guess China just stopped buying beef from America, and it went straight to Australia." @ / Via "The whole idea that China is hurting because of the American tariffs? Well, they're not, because they are not as dependent on the US. In fact, only 18% of Chinese imports come from America. And for stuff like beef and soy, they can just go somewhere else easily." @ / Via Trading Economics says that the number is even lower than Emily suggested, putting the percentage of China's imports that come from the US at around 7% in 2023. According to the USDA, the US exported $1.58 billion worth of beef to China in 2024. Reuters also notes that in 2022, "soybeans were the No. 1 U.S. product imported by China," but that "the U.S. has lost competitive advantage to Brazil." "So I guess I'm having Australian beef for dinner tonight instead of American beef," Emily continued. "And honestly, because of the food quality, I probably trust Australian beef better." "And this box of beef right here is 50 RMB, which is about $7 USD." "So to answer the question, China ain't hurting. And if anything, I think we're probably doing even better because now [we have] better beef that tastes better and at a better price." @ / Via "So, thank you, Trump, for that," she concluded. Unsurprisingly, commenters had a lot to say on the topic. "USA put sanctions on themselves," one said. "No country is hurting apart from the US," said another. "I don't see China going back to the USA for those products in the next 4 years. Sadly a lot of American farmers are big fans of Trump." The video even made its way over to Twitter (now known as X), where even more people shared their opinions. "So Trump trying to beef up American exports, actually lead to losing customers to export to," said one. "Our tariff tiff countries have other options. America isn't the only trade partner in the world. We're even less desirable now because we aren't trusted." "There's nothing the United States can offer that the rest of the world doesn't already have. Except for serial killers and deep-fried hot dogs." You can watch Emily's full video below, and follow her over on TikTok. What do you think? Were you surprised to learn how the tariffs are affecting people in other countries? Let us know in the comments.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
'High risk': The Star's $167m credit to money launderer
The Star was willing to offer millions in gambling credit to a known money launderer and wrote falsified letters to enable overseas bank transfers from unknown individuals. These details and many more have been exposed as financial watchdog AUSTRAC pursues the embattled casino giant in the Federal Court. The Star made "innumerable contraventions" of Australian anti-money laundering laws through its conduct, including a willingness to do business with 117 high-risk customers, barrister Daniel Tynan told a Federal Court hearing on Thursday. The casino has admitted that 70 of these customers - who were junket funders, operators or players - each posed a high money laundering risk. "They would have the opportunity to gamble that money, get the returns, wash it, do it again," Mr Tynan told Justice Cameron Moore. One of these customers, Suncity junket operator Alvin Chau, was provided with credit of up to $266.67 million. Chau funded at least 3690 junket programs at The Star's Sydney casino, bringing in a turnover of about $12.6 billion. Despite media reports linking him to overseas crime syndicates, The Star continued to engage with the Suncity head, Mr Tynan said. It was only after Chau was arrested by Macau police and hit with a number of charges - including money laundering - that the casino stopped dealing with him, the court has heard. Another customer was given almost $167 million in credit despite The Star knowing from at least 2014 that he had been involved in alleged money laundering, Mr Tynan said. The casino also facilitated high-risk transactions from 1221 customers who transferred money in and out through channels that obscured their identity, the court was told. Staff at EEIS, a Macau-based subsidiary of The Star, wrote up falsified letters for local customers wanting to send funds through the Bank of China directly to the casino, Mr Tynan continued. These letters contained false claims about the source of the funds being deposited, the barrister said. Almost $990 million in deposits were made through The Star's hotel debit cards, allowing gamblers to transfer money directly to the casino without going through an Australian bank. The cards also allowed gamblers in countries like China with restrictions on gambling to disguise their transactions by claiming they were for other purposes like hotel accommodation, Justice Moore was told. The Star advanced money to customers who complained about the 24 to 48-hour waiting period before funds hit their accounts. Individuals could also withdraw cash directly, Mr Tynan said. "This is coming in anonymously, taken out in cash - it can be used for anything." AUSTRAC is seeking $400 million in penalties over the breaches while the casino has argued it can only pay $100 million without being pushed into administration. In April, the failing casino business received a $300 million rescue package from US gaming giant Bally's Corporation. The hearing continues on Friday.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
TotalEnergies on trial in landmark greenwashing case in France
French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies goes on trial in Paris on Thursday over allegations of misleading climate claims, an unprecedented "greenwashing" case against a fossil fuel firm in France. The civil case stems from a March 2022 lawsuit by three environmental groups accusing the French energy giant of "misleading commercial practices" for saying it could reach carbon neutrality while continuing oil and gas production. Starting in May 2021, TotalEnergies advertised its goal of "carbon neutrality by 2050" and touted gas as "the fossil fuel with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions". At the time, the company had also changed its name from Total to TotalEnergies to emphasise its investments in low-carbon energy, such as electricity. The plaintiffs have logged around 40 "false advertisements" in their lawsuit. The ads "don't sincerely reflect the reality of TotalEnergies' operations", Apolline Cagnat, a legal counsel at Greenpeace, told AFP. Cagnat said the NGOs want the court to send a "strong signal" to fossil fuel companies by ordering "an immediate stop, under penalty, of the misleading commercial practices". TotalEnergies disputes the charges, insisting the messages are part of its institutional communication, regulated by financial authorities -- not consumer law. It argues no consumer organisation is party to the case, and that the NGOs are misusing consumer protection rules to challenge its corporate strategy. Environmental groups in recent years have turned to the courts to establish case law on companies misleading consumers by appearing more eco-friendly than they are. In Europe, courts ruled against Dutch airline KLM in 2024 and Germany's Lufthansa in March over misleading consumers about their efforts to reduce the environmental impact of flying. In Spain, utility Iberdrola failed to secure a conviction against Spanish oil and gas company Repsol over similar allegations of "false" environmental claims. A greenwashing case against Australian oil and gas producer Santos, challenging its claim to be a "clean fuels" company, has been ongoing since 2021. Based on a European Union directive targeting unfair commercial practices, the TotalEnergies lawsuit is the first time a French court has heard such a case against a fossil fuel company. The NGOs said the Paris court will rule, for the first time in the world, on the legality of ads presenting gas as essential to the energy transition. Climate experts say methane leaks from the gas industry have a powerful warming effect on the atmosphere. TotalEnergies maintains it has not engaged in misleading commercial practices. The company says it plans to show that its messages "about its name change, strategy and role in the energy transition are reliable and based on objective, verifiable data". nal/ak/lth/gil
