Becciu is already on trial on charges of financial mismanagement and corruption.

However, on March 17, Becciu testified in the Vatican Court that he was innocent of the embezzlement, abuse of power and witness tampering charges.

He said he claimed his innocence with a "clear conscience".

Now prosecutors say the clear conscience cardinal secretly recorded a call with the Pope just days before the trial began for alleged offences involving financial mismanagement and corruption.

Becciu knew that, at the time, Francis was convalescing after major invasive colon surgery.

During the call, Becciu allegedly attempted to coerce the pope to say something that could have redeemed him at the trial.

"You have already condemned me; it's useless to go to trial," Becciu told the pontiff in the recorded phone call, referring to a letter he received from Francis in which the pope presented him with the charges by Vatican prosecutors.

The cardinal then asked Francis to confirm that he authorised the expenditure of 500,000 euros for an agency to negotiate the liberation of a nun who had been kidnapped in Mali.

"See, I recall that I informed you about all of this … remember?" Becciu said, according to the transcript of the conversation published by Italian news outlet Adnkronos.

Becciu also asks whether Francis intended to remove a seal of pontifical secrecy on the Vatican's international dealings, including ransoms paid for its clergy.

"This is your decision Holy Father, I won't force you if we won't observe the pontifical secret," he said.

In the recording, the voices of Becciu's niece, Maria Luisa Zambrano, and an unidentified man can be heard listening in on the conversation.

Prosecutors claim that their presence violates Vatican secrecy laws.

Francis can be heard answering simply, "I understand," but the pontiff insisted he intends to remain above the dynamics of the trial, asking Becciu to send a written declaration of his case.

Then on Saturday, just two days after prosecutors filed the new evidence against Becciu, Becciu told reporters he had another meeting with the Pope who said he could continue attending public events as a cardinal.

According to The Pillar, Becciu described the conversation as 'cordial', and that he had offered the Pope the clarifications he deemed necessary about Becciu's mounting scandals.

Becciu did not tell reporters precisely what he clarified for Francis nor why he deemed it necessary to meet with him.

Becciu's private visit with the Pope did not appear on the Holy See's daily list of papal audiences.

Becciu served as sostituto at the Secretariat of State, a role which practically serves as papal chief of staff, from 2012-2018.

The cardinal was formally charged with embezzlement, conspiracy, abuse of office, and subornation of witnesses on July 3, 2021, though he had been at the centre of several roiling financial scandals at his former department for years, including the London property deal on which the Vatican lost more than 100 million euros.

Sacked in September 2020 from his curial positions and made to resign the rights and privileges as a cardinal, Francis subsequently allowed Becciu to participate in the Consistory convoked by Pope Francis for the creation of new cardinals and in the discussions in the following days on the reform of the Roman Curia.

Source

• Religion News Service
• Religion News Service
• The Pillar

A hearing Thursday produced both a previously unknown, and unauthorised, recording of a phone call with Pope Francis, as well as testimony from the prosecution's star witness, who essentially blamed everyone in the system - both above him and below him, but not himself - for what went wrong.

Let's begin with the phone call.

The recording apparently was made by a relative of Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, one of the defendants in the trial, who's facing charges related to transfers of Vatican money to a Catholic charity in his native Sardinia and also his financial dealings with a self-described lay security consultant named Cecilia Marogna.

Although reporters and other members of the public were escorted out of the hearing room Thursday before the recording of the conversation was played, the news agency AdnKronos provided a transcript.

The recording occurred in late July 2021, just three days before the trial opened and not long after the pope's colon surgery, and the recording was apparently preserved on a cell phone belonging to one of Becciu's nephews.

In the call, Becciu clearly wanted Pope Francis to acknowledge that he had authorised payments through Marogna to a British firm to secure the release of a Colombian nun who had been kidnapped by Islamic militants in Mali in 2017.

The firm was paid roughly $350,000 for its expenses, and then $500,000 was paid in ransom.

The nun, Sister Gloria Cecilia Narvaez, was eventually released and met Pope Francis in the Vatican afterwards.

Asked if he remembered being briefed on the transactions, Francis appeared to confirm that he had been: "I remember that, vaguely, but I remember, yes, I had it [the information], yes."

Becciu then says he can't call the pope as a witness but asks him for a written statement that he had authorised the expenses. Francis suggests that Becciu put something on paper and send it to him, promising to look it over.

Prosecutors in the Vatican trial introduced the recording after having obtained it from Italian financial police, who are conducting their own investigation of a charity in Sardinia linked to Becciu.

Clearly, the prosecution hoped it would put Becciu in a bad light for having taped the pontiff surreptitiously, though defence attorneys pounced on it to argue that it illustrates why the pope needs to be questioned to establish what he knew and what he approved.

From the beginning, defence lawyers have argued that the people charged in the trial didn't do anything that wasn't fully approved by their superiors - including the "substitute," meaning the number two official in the Secretariate of State, at the beginning Becciu and now Venezuelan Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra; the Secretary of State, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin; and Pope Francis himself.

Prosecutors don't dispute that authorisation occurred but insist it was granted under false pretences because, they claim, the defendants misrepresented the nature of the transactions involved.

As for the star witness... continue reading

He has tried and failed twice to convince the court of his entitlement.

Not only have Becciu's claims been dismissed, but he has been ordered to pay thousands in damages and court costs to Italian newsmagazine L'Espresso.

Becciu filed the lawsuit against L'Espresso in November 2020.

His foray into the court came just weeks after Pope Francis sacked him from his curial positions and ordered him to resign his rights as a cardinal.

In his lawsuit, Becciu claimed L'Espresso's coverage of the financial scandal at the Secretariat of State had contributed unfairly to the pope's decision to fire him.

The media damaged his reputation so badly, Becciu told the court it would cost him the chance of being elected pope in a future conclave.

He sought 10 million euros in damages from L'Espresso.

The court has not stated exactly what Becciu said in his case, or how much he will have to pay in costs.

This is Becciu's second legal setback in as many weeks.

A losing streak

Becciu's attempts to prove his entitlement to compensation via Italy's legal system isn't working.

Earlier this month, a court in Como ordered him to pay nearly 50,000 euros in legal costs and damages. That judgement was the outcome of a lawsuit he filed against his former deputy at the Vatican Secretariat of State, Msgr Alberto Perlasca.

The Como court had already rejected Becciu's suit last December.

It picked up the case again this month, with a secondary ruling, where the judge found Becciu liable for abusing the legal process in trying to sue Perlasca.

Perlasca is the star witness for the prosecution in Vatican City, where Becciu is one of ten defendants on trial for financial crimes.

Becciu sought half a million euros from Perlasca. He claimed his former deputy's cooperation with Vatican investigators caused injury to his (Becciu's) health and lifestyle.

The Como court ruled last year there was "no concrete harmful conduct in the plaintiff's narrative".

It found Becciu's claims of harm "completely lacking in any … quantification" that would justify the damages he sought.

This month the court directed Becciu to pay 40,000 euro in court costs to Perlasca and a friend of Perlasca's named in Becciu's lawsuit. He was also ordered to pay Perlasca 9,000 euros in damages.

The Vatican City trial

In the ongoing Vatican City trial, Becciu is accused of abuse of office, embezzlement and conspiracy. He is also charged with attempting to suborn Perlasca's testimony.

In leaked footage of Perlasca's interviews with Vatican prosecutors, he confirmed that, acting on Becciu's instructions, he helped arrange over half a million euros in money transfers to Cecilia Marogna.

Marogna, a self-styled geo-political analyst, claims to have been Becciu's personal spy at the Secretariat of State.

Perlasca also said he prepared an envelope with about 15,000 euros in money transfers for Becciu, who told him Francis had approved them.

He said Becciu "became very angry" with him for discussing the transfers and had demanded to know why he had not deleted records of the transactions from secretariat records.

Source

• The Pillar

Francesca Chaouqui said this during testimony at the trial of five defendants, including herself, at the Vatican.

Ms Chaouqui, a public relations expert who used to work at the Vatican, wrote further about the matter on her Facebook page.

She was writing about Italian Archbishop Angelo Giovanni Becciu, the number two official at the Vatican's Secretariat of State.

Ms Chaouqui wrote that the archbishop has staked his credibility on her going to prison, so she'll be "condemned without evidence".

She also wrote that she's "not afraid of four feet of pure evil", in reference to Archbishop Becciu's diminutive height, and that she stands by her accusations.

Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi, SJ, stated in response: "It has become necessary — without desiring in any way to condition the action of the Court — to deny, in a most absolute way, such accusations and to state that, since they are calumnious affirmations, they are absolutely unacceptable, and subject to legal action".

Ms Chauoqui responded on Facebook that "the calumny and unacceptable thing is what the Vatican, in the figure of the substitute, is doing against me".

Archbishop Becciu's post is referred to as the "substitute" because he acts on behalf of the Cardinal Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Ms Chaouqui wrote of a "dossier of lies" about her which, she stated, Archbishop Becciu received when she was hired by the Vatican three years ago.

She claimed the dossier was leaked to the press by the archbishop.

She also claimed Archbishop Becciu repeatedly called investigators during the questioning of her after her initial arrest nine months ago.

Last week, a police witness told the Vatican tribunal that, during questioning, Ms Chaouqui had admitted leaking confidential documents.

Ms Chaouqui, who is nine months pregnant, subsequently insisted she was not involved in leaking the documents.

Sources

• Crux
• Catholic World News
• Image: Crux

The trial has been adjourned for three months to enable computer experts to recover deleted email, text and WhatsApp messages between some of the accused.

Francesca Chaouqui, a pregnant former PR adviser to the Vatican and one of the accused, has been granted the right to call as witnesses Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, and Cardinal Santo Abril y Castello.

Chaouqui has been accused of conspiring with Spanish priest Lucio Vallejo Balda and his assistant Nicola Maio, to leak secret documents they had access to as members of a commission appointed by Pope Francis to spearhead a financial clean-up shortly after his election in 2013.

The two journalists on trial, Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi, have published books based on the documents at the heart of the trial.

All five accused have been prosecuted under anti-leaks legislation, which could see them receive prison terms of between four and eight years.

The Vatican has been criticized by press freedom groups for pursuing the prosecution of the two journalists, who say they were only doing their jobs by revealing problems that believers and the broader public have a right to know about.

Sources

AFP/Yahoo News
The Irish Times
ANSA
Image: ANSA

The trial of Msgr Angel Vallejo Balda, Francesca Jaouqui, Nicola Maio and journalists Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigu Nuzzi started with a 70-minute initial hearing.

Recently published books by the two journalists outline instances of past questionable Vatican spending and financial practices.

The books cite leaked documents.

Fittipardi said he chose to participate in the trial as a sign of respect, but was incredulous at the Vatican's move against himself and Nuzzi.

He said all he did was publish news.

The journalist added that such activity is "protected and guaranteed" by the Italian Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Outside the trial, the International Association of Journalists Accredited at the Vatican issued a statement on Tuesday expressing "consternation and worry" that two journalists were being prosecuted for publishing leaked documents and essentially just doing their jobs.

The association stated " . . . the decision to try our two colleagues is not acceptable".

The Vatican is charging each of the five in the trial according to updates made to Vatican city-state law in July ,2013, alleging they each "illegally procured and successively revealed news and documents . . . ."

One of the four judges at the trial said that the issue was how the documents were obtained from inside the Vatican.

All five defendants are represented by lawyers belonging to the equivalent of a Vatican bar association.

The two journalists applied to be represented by their normal Italian lawyers, but this was denied by the Vatican court of appeals.

The full list of accusations and charges runs about 10 pages and has not been made public.

Nuzzi and Fittipardi said separately that they had received that list only on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

The trial resumes on November 30.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: National Catholic Reporter

Former archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, 67, was found dead "during the first hours of the morning", the Vatican said in a statement on August 28.

He was reportedly found in a room with the television turned on at 5 am by a Franciscan priest who works as a confessor at St Peter's Basilica.

Wesolowski had been under modified house arrest.

The Vatican stated that initial autopsy results indicated a "cardiac event".

Further detail on the cause of death could come from subsequent laboratory results, the Vatican added.

Pope Francis "has been duly informed" of the death, the Vatican stated.

Wesolowski served as the Pope's representative to the Dominican Republic until being accused of sexual misconduct with minors in 2013.

The first and only hearing of the former nuncio's trial in the Vatican took place on July 11, but was suspended when he failed to appear.

The court heard that Wesolowski had been transferred to the intensive care unit of a public hospital following the onset of an unexpected illness.

The July hearing by the Vatican city-state court was the first such hearing by the court for an allegation of sexual abuse of minors.

Wesolowski was also being charged by Vatican authorities for accessing pornographic material involving children after being removed from the Dominican Republic and during his reported house arrest.

The criminal charges against the Polish national became possible after 2013, when Pope Francis approved new criminal laws applicable to all Vatican employees across the world.

Any direct employee of the Holy See, including those working in a nunciature, can face a criminal trial at the Vatican as well as criminal prosecution in the country where the alleged crimes occurred.

Wesolowski was dismissed from the clerical state in June 2014 after an investigation by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• The Tablet
• Crux Now
• Image: Angelus News

His is the first trial in the Holy See's criminal court of a senior official on charges of paedophilia and possession of child pornography.

Wesołowski, a former archbishop, was the nuncio to the Dominican Republic.

There, he is alleged to have paid teenage boys for sex.

The trial of the 66-year-old Pole was suspended on Saturday and postponed until a later date, yet to be announced.

No further details of his medical condition were given by the Vatican.

Pope Francis recalled Wesołowski to Rome in August, 2013, after he was made aware of the claims against him.

Wesolowski has since been defrocked.

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