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Cardinal Angelo Becciu has resigned from his post as Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Saints and Beatifications. He also renounces his rights as a cardinal. The Vatican press office announced this unusual step by a senior Catholic Church official on Thursday.
No reason was given for the 72-year-old Italian’s withdrawal. Media reports linked the move to a scandal over a Vatican investment in a luxury property in central London. The message only said that Pope Francis had accepted the resignation on Thursday.
The resignation of a cardinal is extremely rare. At first it wasn’t entirely clear whether Becciu would at least retain the title, if not the rights. As a general rule, according to experts, the liberation of this state is not planned within the church. When asked about his retirement, the former ecclesiastical diplomat of the Italian news agency Adnkronos said only: “I prefer to remain silent.”
In a previous position at the Secretariat of State, the Vatican’s central bureaucracy, Becciu oversaw the controversial real estate deal that, according to media reports, cost the Holy See millions of euros in payments to intermediaries. Vatican prosecutors have been investigating the case for some time. In June, investigators arrested Gianluigi Torzi, a London-based Italian financier.
Becciu denies wrongdoing
He was reportedly acting as an intermediary when the Vatican tried to gain full control of the property. Torzi, who denies wrongdoing, has been charged with extortion, embezzlement, serious fraud and money laundering. He was released on bail a few days later.
Becciu has always insisted on his innocence and has claimed that he acted in the exclusive interest of the Holy See. She was not responsible for the business in question. According to media reports, Becciu would be the highest-ranking church official to resign from his Vatican offices due to a financial scandal.
Although normally rare, it is now the second resignation by a cardinal in 2020. In March, French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin resigned in connection with the alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the church by a priest.
