Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, former chief of staff to Pope Francis, was convicted by the Vatican’s criminal court in 2023 of various financial crimes.
Today, his conviction was overturned on appeal.
The NYT article is mostly bullet points:
Most charges related to a London real estate deal that cost the Vatican millions of euros.
In a 16-page ruling, the appeals court said that Vatican prosecutors committed procedural errors that warranted a new trial.
The court ruled that the prosecutors had unfairly withheld evidence.
One of Pope Francis’s secret law changes let prosecutors act without judicial oversight. The appeals court said the defendants should have known of the change.
The NYPost also has a story that is less bullet-pointy and more sensational.
…
The case had as its main focus the Vatican’s investment of $413 million in a London property. Prosecutors alleged brokers and Vatican monsignors fleeced the Holy See of tens of millions of dollars in fees and commissions to acquire the property, and then extorted the Holy See for $16.5 million to cede control of it.
The original investigation spawned two main tangents involving Becciu, once a leading Vatican cardinal and future papal contender. He was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to 5½ years in prison. The tribunal convicted eight other defendants of embezzlement, abuse of office, fraud and other charges and imposed tens of millions of dollars in restitution to the Holy See.
This whole thing seems kind of crazy. And I’m looking forward to the true crime book.
By the way: Catholic Answers explains papal infallibility for you.