Cardinal Angelo Becciu said he would not participate in the conclave beginning next Wednesday, out of obedience to Pope Francis. Source: The Tablet.
In a statement published yesterday, Cardinal Becciu said: “Having at heart the good of the Church, which I have served and will continue to serve with faithfulness and love, and in order to contribute to the communion and serenity of the conclave, I have decided to obey – as I have always done – the will of Pope Francis not to enter the conclave, while remaining convinced of my innocence.”
Cardinal Becciu, the former sostituto of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, was forced to resign his rights and privileges as cardinal – though he retained his title and Vatican apartment – during an investigation of financial crime in the curia.
In December 2023 he was convicted of embezzlement during the Vatican’s “trial of the century” and sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison. He was permitted to appeal his conviction.
After Pope Francis’ death on Easter Monday, Cardinal Becciu claimed he was entitled to participate in the conclave because Francis had expressed “no explicit will to exclude me from the conclave nor a request for my explicit renunciation in writing”.
There were unconfirmed reports last week that Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was the secretary of state when Cardinal Becciu was sostituto, had told him Pope Francis had signed letters confirming that he should be excluded. Cardinal Becciu reportedly announced he would withdraw his claim at the Congregation of Cardinals on Monday.
FULL STORY
Becciu will not attend conclave ‘out of obedience to Francis’ (By Patrick Hudson and Bess Twiston Davies, The Tablet)
