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On Thursday, September 24, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu from the position of Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and from the rights attached to the cardinal. As reconstructed so far by the newspapers, Becciu’s decision is linked to the major investigation into the financial operations of the Secretary of State that began about a year ago. Among other things, the investigation concerned the Vatican’s purchase of a luxury property in London for a few hundred million euros. The purchase took place in 2014, when Becciu was a substitute in the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. Now, however, the case is expanding and from the documents that theEspresso It appears that Becciu stole money from alms and donations to finance the activities of people close to him.
Future He wrote that at the moment “no one knows the reasons” for Becciu’s resignation. the Corriere della Sera He explained that it is the first time that a cardinal has renounced both the office and cardinal “rights” since Pope Francis was elected. Becciu, who without ceasing to be a cardinal will no longer be able to participate in the conclave and take part in the consistory, instead of commenting on his resignation, said he prefers silence.
Becciu had ended up at the center of the investigation related to the Vatican’s financial operations, but as the Messenger Service he had always defended himself by claiming that someone had taken advantage of the situation. Becciu is not currently under investigation, but Future wrote that he “came spontaneously to think about this matter,” which he did when he was an alternate to the Secretary of State, a function assigned to him by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011. Becciu had always said that he had a clear conscience and that he was always interested in of the Holy See “and never on his own.”
According to the latest revelations fromEspressoHowever, the cardinal would have used the money obtained from the so-called Obolo di San Pietro – money donated by Catholics around the world – of eight per thousand and those from the CIS, the permanent assembly of Italian bishops of the Catholic Church, to reverse them. into hedge funds or divert them to cooperatives run by his brothers.
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Republic He wrote that over the years Becciu had developed “a real method” and that twenty years ago he had already obtained the contract for the furniture and modernization of several churches in Angola and Cuba. to the signature of his brother Francesco, a carpenter. The documents that theEspresso, then, they would prove that from 2013 Becciu has stolen significant sums of money: in particular, he would have given 600 thousand euros in non-repayable loans to the cooperative “Spes” owned by his brother Tonino, who collaborated with Cáritas de Ozieri (Sassari ) – 300 thousand of which after a fire, plus another 100 thousand that the cooperative used to make adjustments in the reception facilities for migrants.
Becciu also allegedly used Vatican funds to also favor “Angel’s SRL”, which has Brother Mario, a professor of psychology at the Salesian University of Rome, as its legal representative and majority shareholder of 95 percent. The company deals with the advice and distribution of food and beverages, and has produced a beer called Pollicina, which is distributed only “in some places and under orders duly directed by the ecclesiastical bodies.” Republic He wrote that, when asked about the matter, the people involved “jointly stated that the indication to buy” Angel’s “products came directly from Cardinal Becciu or from people close to him.”
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The investigation into some unclear financial operations of the Secretary of State had begun last October at the request of Pope Francis and had led to searches at the offices of the Secretary of State and the Financial Information Authority, the Vatican body. for the fight. money laundering, which led to the suspension of some managers of the offices involved. According to the investigations, the Vatican would have spent about 300 million euros on the sale of the luxury building in London, also using donations from St. Peter’s Pennies, money from the faithful donated to the Pope so that he can meet the material needs of the Church.
Last June, the Vatican arrested financier Molise Gianluigi Torzi in connection with the sale of the property. Torzi had acted as an intermediary in the sale of the building, bought by the Secretary of State through the subscription of the shares of the Athena Capital Global Opportunities fund of the financier Raffaele Mincione.
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