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The reason for the resignation is not specified. Asked about his withdrawal, Becciu told the Italian news agency Adnkronos: “I would like to remain silent.” Italian media have linked the cardinal’s resignation to a scandal over the Vatican’s investment in luxury real estate in central London.
Having made a career as a Vatican envoy, GA Becciu has served as the Vatican’s Under Secretary of State for General Affairs for the past six years. This position amounts to the job of the head of administration and means that GA Becciu was seen daily by Pope Francis and was one of his closest assistants.
GA Becciu, 72, became a cardinal in the summer of 2018. He also headed the authority that oversees the beatification and canonization processes.
Your unexpected resignation can be a punishment. In the past, GA Becciu has been linked to a Vatican investigation into real estate in the prestigious London Borough of Chelsea, paid for by tax-exempt companies and funds.
The investment in the luxury apartment construction plan began in 2014, when GA Becciu worked for the Vatican Secretariat of State.
Last year, the Vatican police confiscated documents and computers during searches carried out at the Secretary of State and the Financial Supervisory Authority; the mandate of five members of the secretariat was suspended.
In an interview earlier this year, Becciu justified the investment that the Vatican had lost millions of euros to intermediaries.
The Vatican prosecutor has launched an investigation into various Vatican officials and intermediaries, but not GA Becciu.
The last time the cardinal was deprived was in July 2018, when the American Theodore McCarrick renounced his rights and privileges in the course of an investigation into sexual exploitation. Last year, Francisco was removed from the priesthood for sexual exploitation of minors and adults.
In 2015, the late Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien renounced the cardinal’s rights and privileges when some priests suspected sexual misconduct. However, K. O’Brien was allowed to retain the title of cardinal.
The phrase “Your Eminence Cardinal” used in the Vatican report on GA Becciu would mean that he would remain a cardinal, but would no longer have any of his rights.
GA Becciu could have participated in a possible future conclave to elect Francis’ successor, but could no longer do so if he renounced the cardinal’s rights. The new pope cannot be elected by cardinals over 80 years old either.
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