Cardinals welcome Becciu’s decision to withdraw from conclave

ANSA, Philippine News Agency

Despite reportedly expressing a desire to join the conclave, which is set to begin on May 7, the 76-year-old Sardinian prelate ultimately stepped aside after Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin presented him with two documents signed by the Pope reiterating that he was not permitted to participate. (Pexels Photo)

ROME – The College of Cardinals welcomed Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu’s decision to withdraw from participating in the upcoming conclave to elect Pope Francis’s successor.

Becciu, the former Substitute for General Affairs in the Vatican Secretariat of State, is currently appealing a 2023 conviction for embezzlement and aggravated fraud.

The charges stem from the alleged mismanagement of Church funds, including a controversial investment in a luxury property on London’s Sloane Avenue.

In 2020, Becciu resigned as Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and was stripped of his cardinal privileges by Pope Francis amid the fallout from the financial scandal.

Despite reportedly expressing a desire to join the conclave, which is set to begin on May 7, the 76-year-old Sardinian prelate ultimately stepped aside after Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin presented him with two documents signed by the Pope reiterating that he was not permitted to participate.

In a statement issued Wednesday following a General Congregation, the College of Cardinals said Becciu had “at heart the good of the Church” and had chosen to withdraw “in order to contribute to the communion and serenity of the conclave.”

The cardinals also expressed hope that “competent juridical bodies may definitively ascertain the facts” surrounding the case. (ANSA)