In addition, the section “attends to the preparation of whatever documents the Holy Father entrusts to it” and “enacts the provisions for appointments within the Roman Curia.” It also “attends to all that concerns the embassies accredited to the Holy See” and “supervises the Holy See’s official communication agencies,” among other functions.
Becciu held this position until Pope Francis made him a cardinal in 2018, the year he appointed him prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
In an unprecedented move, a year and a month after Becciu assumed the new position, on Oct. 1, 2019, the Vatican prosecutor’s office raided the offices of the Secretariat of State and five of its officials were suspended.
Purchase of London building and financial scandal
During Becciu’s time serving in the Secretariat of State, the Vatican acquired a building located in an exclusive area of London, a purchase full of irregularities that led to the prelate’s trial for embezzlement, which lasted from July 2021 to December of this year.
After the raid on the Secretariat of State, the British Financial Times revealed that the Vatican was carrying out an investigation into possible irregularities regarding an investment authorized by Becciu, consisting of the purchase of the building on Sloane Avenue for $364 million. In 2022, the Vatican had to sell the property for just $223.6 million.
Faces charges
In September 2020, Pope Francis summoned Becciu to a meeting after which the prelate lost his rights as cardinal and the position of prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
A few months later, the Holy Father signed a motu proprio to modify the regulation according to which cardinals could only be tried by the Vatican Court of Cassation, made up of three cardinals.
The pope decided that ordinary courts can also judge cardinals, with prior authorization from the pontiff, and authorized the Vatican court to proceed against Becciu.
Vatican trial
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The first court hearing took place on July 27, 2021. The trial not only focused on the purchase of the property but also on the financial contribution of 125,000 euros that the Secretariat of State directed to Caritas of the Diocese of Ozieri during Becciu’s tenure.
The trial proceedings also investigated the transfer of 570,000 euros that the Vatican department made to Cecilia Marogna, an expert in international geopolitics, to supposedly use in hostage ransom operations, such as the case of Sister Cecilia Narváez, a Colombian nun kidnapped in Mali by Muslim terrorists linked to Al Qaeda,
Although the cardinal stated that the pope was aware of this operation, Promoter of Justice Allesandro Diddi pointed out that Francis had not authorized the transfer of the money to the woman “but to the British company Inkerman” in charge of mediating the release of the Colombian nun.
Sentence
Finally, on Dec. 16 at its 86th session, the Vatican court ruled that Becciu was responsible for the irregular purchase of the building on Sloane Avenue in London, since this was made “at the request of the cardinal.”
The court also found him guilty of embezzlement for transferring 125,000 euros from the Secretariat of State to Caritas of the Diocese of Ozieri through a cooperative chaired by his brother Antonio Becciu.