Convicted Cardinal Challenges His Exclusion from Papal Conclave, Setting Up Vatican Standoff

A Vatican showdown is brewing as Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was convicted of financial crimes by the Vatican, insists that he should be allowed to participate in the upcoming conclave to elect a new pope. Despite being listed as a “non-elector,” Becciu, who once held immense power within the Vatican, argues that there was no explicit decision to exclude him.

Becciu, a former high-ranking Vatican official, was removed from his influential position by Pope Francis in 2020, following his involvement in a financial scandal that rocked the Holy See. The Sardinian cardinal, who served as the Vatican’s chief of staff—or “sostituto” in the Secretariat of State—had significant sway in church matters. He later took on a role overseeing the Vatican’s saint-making department before his legal troubles began.

In 2023, Becciu was convicted of embezzlement and fraud, making him the first cardinal in history to be convicted by the Vatican’s criminal court. He was sentenced to five and a half years in prison. However, Becciu has maintained his innocence and has launched an appeal, which is still under consideration. While the appeal is ongoing, Becciu has been allowed to stay in a Vatican apartment.

Despite being stripped of his “rights and privileges” by Pope Francis, Becciu has never been formally removed from the College of Cardinals. The Vatican’s official stance lists him as a “non-elector,” meaning he is not currently eligible to vote in the papal election. However, Becciu disputes this, telling a Sardinian newspaper, “There was no explicit will to exclude me from the conclave, nor a request for my explicit renunciation in writing.”

The decision on Becciu’s participation in the conclave is now set to be made by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, along with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who will oversee the conclave proceedings in the Sistine Chapel. The Vatican is grappling with this issue as the election process for the new pope approaches.

The investigation that led to Becciu’s conviction centered on the Vatican’s failed investment in a London property, which caused the church to lose millions of dollars. During his papacy, Pope Francis took decisive steps to address financial corruption within the Vatican, even enacting new laws to ensure that cardinals like Becciu could be judged by a Vatican tribunal.

While Becciu lost his privileges as a cardinal, he remains a member of the College of Cardinals and is still eligible to take part in pre-conclave discussions. Only cardinals under the age of 80 can vote in the papal election, and at 76, Becciu meets the age requirement.

As the Vatican prepares for the conclave, this unresolved issue with Becciu adds yet another layer of complexity to the already tense and highly anticipated process of choosing the next pope.