Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, once a powerful Vatican official, was sentenced to five and a half years in prison for financial crimes by a Vatican criminal court, raising concerns about financial wrongdoing in the church. Becciu, who previously served as Pope Francis’ chief of staff, was convicted of embezzlement and fraud related to a London real estate deal that caused the Vatican to lose millions of euros.
The trial became a subject of debate, as it touched on the competence of the Vatican’s judicial system and the pope’s style of governance. Pope Francis changed Vatican law to allow Cardinal Becciu to stand trial in a Vatican criminal court rather than being tried by his cardinal peers, an unprecedented move that led to questions about the independence of the Vatican’s judicial system. The trial also spotlighted Francis’ power as the head of the world’s smallest city-state.
Cardinal Becciu, who maintained his innocence and plans to appeal, was also banned from holding public office. The trial also involved nine other defendants and raised concerns about the international implications of having a court composed solely of Italian judges and prosecutors given the global scope of the Roman Catholic Church. Despite the various convictions, the trial sparked a larger debate about Pope Francis’ papacy, with supporters viewing it as a sign of his efforts to reform the Vatican, while detractors criticized it as a display of autocracy.