Vatican, Becciu: “Pope said he believed in my innocence”

“Despite the media hype, President and Judges, I trust in your third and impartial judgment. It will be the fruit, I am sure, of justice: arriving at the truth with the incontrovertible examination of the facts. you the truth “. Cardinal Angelo Becciu, accused in the trial for the financial scandal linked to the sale of the London building on Sloane Avenue, offered spontaneous statements at the beginning of this morning’s hearing before the Vatican Court. “I owe it above all to the Holy Father, who recently declared that he believed in my innocence,” said the cardinal. Cardinal Angelo Becciu made his debut in the Hall: “Mr. President, Gentlemen, Judges, I confess that it is not easy for me to take the floor and defend my integrity in this See. I was preceded by an unprecedented massacre in the media. Worse than the cardinals. A violent and vulgar campaign. Accusations of all kinds with a worldwide echo. I have been described as a corrupt man. Greedy for money. Unfair towards the Pope. Concerned only with the well-being of my family. They have insinuated slanders about the Pope. integrity of my priestly life, having financed witnesses in a trial against a brother, even being the owner of oil wells or tax havens. Absurd accusations. Incredible. Grotesque. Monstrous “.” One wonders who wanted all this and for what purpose Of course, – observed the cardinal – he counted on demonizing and destroying me. They wounded and struck me in my being a priest and in my family affections. But they did not p clerk. No, Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: I am here with my head held high. With a clear conscience. I defend my right to innocence. Despite the media hype, President and Judges, I trust in your third and impartial judgment. It will be the fruit, I am sure, of justice: arriving at the truth with the incontrovertible examination of the facts. I declare my total willingness to seek and tell the truth with you. I am not afraid of it. On the contrary, I want the truth to be proclaimed as soon as possible. I owe it to my conscience. I owe it to my former collaborators, to all the men of the Curia, to the ecclesial communities who knew me as the Pope’s delegate for the beatification of numerous servants of God and in the numerous countries I served during my diplomatic service. I owe it to my family. I owe it to the whole Church. I owe it above all to the Holy Father, who recently declared that he believed in my innocence “. Becciu addressed the judges openly:” Here I am, Mr. President: I am ready to answer your questions. But before I begin, I want to declare here, immediately, with the strength and transparency of my conscience: I never wanted a euro, or rather a cent that I had managed or even just acquainted with, to be distracted, misused or destined to purposes that were not exclusively institutional. I have always acted for the good of the Apostolic See and of the whole Church “. THE DEFENSE – Cardinal Angelo Becciu, their defenders, lawyers Fabio Viglione and Maria Concetta Marzo,” with the serenity and firmness of innocence that ‘have supported since the beginning, welcomed the willingness of the Court to listen to the clarifications on the charitable purposes that have assisted and distinguished in every aspect the disbursements of the two contributions contested by the prosecution “.” He explained – the lawyers of Becciu – that the first contribution, for 25,000 euros in 2015, requested by the Bishop of Ozieri, was used to restart the production of a charitable bakery, conceived by the Diocese, in agreement with the local Caritas, which was destroyed in a fire, as part of the social inclusion project “The bread of the last”, thanks to which over fifteen disadvantaged workers have been able to support themselves and their families for years. The second contribution, for 100,000 euros in 2018, was paid, again in response to requests from the Bishop of Ozieri, to support the construction of a multifunctional center, called the “Citadel of Charity”, aimed at hosting, among other things, Caritas offices. , assistance to the elderly and refugees. This center, after a long phase of fundraising by the Diocese of Ozieri, saw the start of work just last February 28 “.” Everything the cardinal claims is documented by documents that we have already deposited. Today the correct use of the sums managed by the Secretariat of State has thus been demonstrated, with the force of absolute evidence, for the sole and exclusive purposes of charity. Thus, even the suspicion of irregularity was eliminated, declaring the innocence that the cardinal has always maintained. “THE INTERROGATION – It must have been the day of the interrogation of Cardinal Angelo Becciu, accused in the trial in the Vatican for the financial scandal linked to the the purchase and sale of the London building on Sloane Avenue but the prosecutor Alessandro Diddi – at the beginning of the hearing – made it known that due to Covid and other problems related to the office, he could not proceed with the interrogation of the cardinal. Court, Giuseppe Pignatone, who asked Becciu three questions, urged the prosecutor by telling him: “The Promoter’s Office should give priority to this process” and inviting him, “by the next hearing to file the missing material”. Result: Cardinal Becciu will be questioned on April 6 not only on the Sardinian affair linked to the SPES funds but on all the accusations. The President of the Vatican Tribunal Giuseppe Pign atone reserved the right to request information from the Vatican secretariat of state whether the papal secret is valid for Cardinal Angelo Becciu or not. At the beginning of the hearing, Pignatone, in the absence of the interrogation of the prosecutor, asked Becciu if he considered valid the papal secret on the affair linked to Cecilia Marogna, the Sardinian manager linked to the former substitute of the Secretariat of State. The cardinal replied, leaving an open door: “I tend to confirm the secret but I am willing to accept what will be decided by the competent authorities.” to alleged anomalies in the audio-video interrogation of the key witness Monsignor Perlasca, Pignatone pointed out that at the moment it would be an “exploratory” type report. SPES FUNDS – What was Cardinal Angelo Becciu aware of about the alleged irregularities linked to the Spes funds? The president of the Vatican Court Pignatone asked the former number two of the Vatican secretariat of state, accused in the trial for the financial scandal linked to the sale of the London building in Sloane Avenue. Cardinal Becciu explained that “there was the bishop and there is a dicastery for the Bishops in charge of control. If there is fumus, they are the ones who intervene”. Becciu, after having pointed out to President Pignatone that the first contribution, for 25,000 euro in 2015, requested by the Bishop of Ozieri, served to restart the production of a charitable bakery, conceived by the Diocese, in agreement with the local Caritas, which was destroyed in a fire, as part of the social inclusion project and that the second contribution, for 100,000 euros in 2018, was paid, again in response to requests from the Bishop of Ozieri, to support the construction of a multifunctional center, called the “Citadel of charity”, he recalled that “charity is not only organizing dinners for the poor but it is also something else “. And he quoted a Pope’s homily in which Bergoglio said that “only work ennobles man”.