Vatican tribunal report explains ‘trial of the century’ verdicts
October 30, 2024
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CWN Editor's Note: The Vatican has released a 700-page judgment by the tribunal that heard the “trial of the century,” in which nine people—including Cardinal Angelo Becciu—were convicted of various criminal charges stemming from the handling of a Vatican investment in a London real-estate deal.
The Vatican tribunal issued its verdicts in December 2023, sentencing six defendants to prison terms ranging from three to seven years. But the full explanation of the court’s judgment was withheld until October 30, 2024.
That explanation opens with a defense of the Vatican’s procedures in the case, which had been strongly criticized by defense lawyers. The tribunal insists that its procedures—which were altered several times during the course of the investigation and trial—were adopted “to international models and best practices” regarding due process for the defendants.
Regarding the grounds for the criminal convictions, the tribunal reports that the defendants showed “a willingness to use the assets in conflict with the interests” of the Holy See. It was not necessary, the tribunal explains, to prove that the defendant gained personally from the misconduct, and so in the case of Cardinal Becciu “it is of no importance that he did not intend to act for profit, nor that he did not gain any benefit from it.”
The tribunal finds that financier Raffaele Mincione invested Vatican funds in a speculative venture, acting contrary to the Vatican’s own rules, with which he should have been familiar. (Mincione has launched his own suit in a English court, contending that he did not act improperly and charging that the Vatican has damaged his reputation.) Cardinal Becciu had no authority to allow Mincione to handle the Vatican’s large investment, the tribunal adds.
Another financier, Gianluigi Torzi, commited fraud and extortion in handling the Vatican funds, the tribunal reports. And Cecilia Marogna, employed by Cardinal Becciu as a consultant, misused a substantial portion of a €600,000 payment that was intended to secure the release of a kidnapped nun, diverting the funds for her own personal expenses.
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