Cardinal Becciu bows out of Vatican conclave after Pope’s letter

[Cicada 5]

An Italian cardinal convicted for his role in a scandal involving Vatican spies and property investments in Chelsea has bowed out of the conclave to elect a new pope after reportedly being shown a request signed by Pope Francis before he died.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu backtracked on Tuesday on his earlier insistence that he would be voting in the conclave, stating: “I have decided to obey the will of Pope Francis, as I have always done, and not enter the conclave despite remaining convinced of my innocence.”

The reports of letters left by Francis asking a cardinal not to vote recall the plot of the recent film Conclave, in which the dean of the college of cardinals played by Ralph Fiennes searches for a letter left by a late pope before he died which demanded that a cardinal should resign.


Pope Francis stripped Becciu of his rights as a cardinal in 2020 after an investigation into the Vatican’s €350 million investment in a former Harrods car showroom in Chelsea which was set to be converted into luxury flats.

Cardinal Becciu bows out of Vatican conclave after Pope’s letter

Reports of a request made by Francis for the scandal-hit Becciu not to vote echo the plot of the recent film Conclave

www.thetimes.com

 

[Gordon_4]

Cardinal Becciu bows out of Vatican conclave after Pope’s letter

Reports of a request made by Francis for the scandal-hit Becciu not to vote echo the plot of the recent film Conclave

www.thetimes.com

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