MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Convicted cardinal intends to join conclave to choose Francis' successor

Becciu was the Vatican's number three for seven years

Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, convicted of financial corruption and stripped of his privileges by Pope Francis, insists on participating in the upcoming conclave to elect the next pope, despite being officially listed as a non-elector.

Becciu, sentenced to over five years in prison in 2023 for financial crimes, including a controversial €200 million London property deal, claims his cardinal rights remain intact, allowing him to join the election. While he attended preparatory meetings, his eligibility for the conclave remains debated.

The conclave, involving 135 cardinals, is set to begin following Pope Francis' funeral on April 26. Other cases, like Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo’s eligibility due to a corrected birth date, also raise questions.

Becciu was stripped of his Cardinal privileges by the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires. However, he is 76 -i.e., below the maximum age of 80- but listed by the Vatican as a non-elector. The Holy See's press office said he can participate in preparatory arrangements but should stay out of the conclave.

In an interview with Italian newspaper Unione Sarda, Becciu argued that in 2020 Francis suspended him from the “rights associated with the cardinalate” but kept the title of cardinal, albeit without any positions in the Curia. However, no specific suspension from his other duties was issued, which include electing a new pope.

“The pope recognized my cardinal prerogatives as intact since there was no explicit will to exclude me from the conclave or request for my explicit resignation in writing,” Becciu said. ”I will be there (...). The list published by the Press Office has no legal value and must be taken for what it is,“ he insisted.

Becciu, the first cardinal to be tried by a Vatican criminal court, was also sentenced to ”perpetual” disqualification from holding office in the Holy See. In 2023, he was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison.

The scandal erupted when the purchase of a € 200 million London property in Sloane Avenue, a former headquarters of Harrods galleries in the exclusive neighborhood of Chelsea, came to light. Other financial crimes allegedly committed by Becciu came to light during the trial, such as donations of € 125,000 paid to the Sardinian Caritas organization of Becciu's native Ozieri. The entity was, at the time, presided over by one of the cardinal's brothers.

Becciu was the Vatican's number three for seven years, as a substitute for the Secretary of State. He also became one of the favorites for the eventual succession of Pope Francis, to whom he was close until 2021.

Other strange cases involve Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo of Burkina Faso, who had his birthdate (Jan. 25, 1945) corrected in the new pontifical yearbook of 2024, while his 80th birthday would happen on Dec. 31, thus allowing him to enter the Sistine Chapel. “In my village, there were no hospitals or schools. I was born at home and I was not given a date of birth,” Ouédraogo told a Dutch newsman. In addition, Kenya's John Njue had his birth year changed from 1944 to 1946, so that he too would be an elector.

Francis' funeral is scheduled for April 26, while the Novendiales (nine days of mourning after a Pope's death) would end on May 4. While mourning begins immediately upon the pope’s death, marking the official start of the “sede vacante,” the Novendiales begin on the day of his funeral. Hence, the conclave could begin between May 5 and 10.