The ex-chief of staff to the Pope, previously a key figure in handling church finances, has been found guilty along with nine co-defendants over a complex real estate transaction in London worth β¬350 million that resulted in significant financial losses.
In a landmark trial on Saturday, the Vatican court imposed a 5.5-year prison sentence on Italian Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, a once-powerful papal dignitary.
This unprecedented sentencing is the first time a curial cardinal has faced imprisonment by a pontifical court. The case, initiated by Pope Francis amending Vatican law, represents a seismic shift in addressing internal corruption and accountability. It allowed for Cardinal Becciu’s trial rather than by a court of his peers, breaking centuries of tradition with no recent precedent since the 16th century.
