In April 2021, Pope Francis invited Cardinal Becciu to celebrate Holy Thursday Mass with him in the chapel of Becciu’s private apartment — a move some thought to mean the pope was going to reinstate the cardinal’s privileges.
But sources close to the Vatican said afterward that the visit was pastoral, not a reinstatement.
3. Becciu goes to court
In summer 2021, Vatican prosecutors formally charged Becciu and nine other defendants in the so-called Vatican “trial of the century” after a two-year investigation.
Since July 27, 2021, the cardinal has been on trial on charges of embezzlement, money laundering, fraud, extortion, and abuse of office.
The trial marks the first time a cardinal is tried by lay judges in the Vatican court.
In early 2021, Pope Francis changed Vatican law to allow cardinals to be tried by the city state’s court and not only by a special tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.
A little over a month after the trial’s start, the pope told…
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