{"id":2427861,"date":"2025-04-26T16:34:02","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T20:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cardinal-demands-vote-for-new-pope-despite-5-year-prison-sentence-after-unheard-of-vatican-trial\/"},"modified":"2025-04-26T16:36:47","modified_gmt":"2025-04-26T20:36:47","slug":"cardinal-demands-vote-for-new-pope-despite-5-year-prison-sentence-after-unheard-of-vatican-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cardinal-demands-vote-for-new-pope-despite-5-year-prison-sentence-after-unheard-of-vatican-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinal Demands Vote for New Pope Despite 5 Year Prison Sentence After Unheard of Vatican Trial"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcardinal-demands-vote-for-new-pope-despite-5-year-prison-sentence-after-unheard-of-vatican-trial%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2427861&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who faced conviction in a historic Vatican court trial and was compelled to resign from his position, claims he can still participate in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hong-kong-gives-cardinal-his-passport-back-for-pope-franciss-funeral\/\" title=\"Hong Kong gives ... his passport back for ...&#039;s funeral\">upcoming papal conclave<\/a>. Becciu, a former prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, stated in an interview that his privileges as a cardinal remain intact, despite losing his title\u2019s voting rights due to his conviction for embezzlement, aggravated fraud, and abuse of office. He is the first cardinal to be convicted in Vatican history and has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>The case against Becciu includes accusations of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elon-musk-sued-by-sec-for-failure-to-comply-with-twitter-investigation\/\" title=\"Elon Musk sued by SEC over Twitter probe non-compliance.\">financial misconduct related<\/a> to a failed real estate investment in London and allegations of misdirecting funds to benefit his family. Despite these serious charges, he maintains his innocence, asserting that he was a loyal servant to Pope Francis until his dismissal. He is currently appealing his conviction, but sources point out that he cannot reclaim his voting privileges while the legal ruling is active. the Vatican website categorizes him as a non-elector for the conclave, casting doubt on his assertion of eligibility to vote.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was convicted in an unprecedented Vatican court process and forced to resign his position, insisted he can still vote in the upcoming papal conclave.<\/p>\n<p>Becciu told Italian media on Tuesday that he would be participating in the conclave, and that his <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">cardinal privileges remained intact<\/a>, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncregister.com\/news\/pentin-cardinal-becciu-wants-to-vote-conclave-ineligible\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Catholic Register<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 2020, Becciu forfeited his position as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, after an investigation alleged he committed financial <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/death-row-inmate-convicted-heinous-crimes-argues-obese-executed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">crimes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Pope Francis also required Becciu to forfeit his rights as a cardinal, including the right to vote at conclaves. Becciu agreed, though he was allowed to keep his cardinal title.<\/p>\n<p>Becciu was allegedly at the center of a 2014 London real estate fiasco, in which the Vatican ultimately spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a disastrous property investment, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-europe-67738595?at_bbc_team=editorial&amp;at_medium=social&amp;at_link_type=web_link&amp;at_format=link&amp;at_ptr_name=twitter&amp;at_link_id=C03857C6-9C2A-11EE-9726-0A67D9B5F045&amp;at_campaign=Social_Flow&amp;at_campaign_type=owned&amp;at_link_origin=BBCBreaking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>He was also accused of funneling money to his home diocese in Sardinia, Italy, much of which allegedly benefited his own family.<\/p>\n<p>He also reportedly sent &euro;600,000 (about $684,000) to Cecilia Marogna, a woman who claimed she needed it to rescue a nun in Mali, an African country. Instead, she reportedly spent much of the money on luxury items and vacations.<\/p>\n<p>But Becciu said he is innocent.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Until 6:02 p.m. on Thursday I felt like a friend of the Pope, a faithful executor of his will,&rdquo; Becciu said after Francis fired him in 2020. &ldquo;Then the Pope says he no longer has faith in me.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In 2023 he was convicted of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/former-teachers-union-president-charged-embezzling-400000\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">embezzlement<\/a>, aggravated fraud, and abuse of office, becoming the first cardinal to ever be convicted in a Vatican court.<\/p>\n<p>He was sentenced to five and a half years in prison.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Vatican court sentences Italian cardinal Angelo Becciu, a former adviser to Pope Francis, to five-and-a-half years in jail for financial crimes<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PUM1EzjBdw\">https:\/\/t.co\/PUM1EzjBdw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BBCBreaking\/status\/1736051035636977900?\">December 16, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>He is currently appealing the conviction through the Vatican&rsquo;s Court of Appeal, which has not yet made a ruling.<\/p>\n<p>Despite losing his rights and privileges, Becciu was never removed from the College of Cardinals, meaning he can still participate in the pre-conclave discussions, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/04\/23\/europe\/cardinal-becciu-conclave-controversy-intl\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNN reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But the <a href=\"https:\/\/press.vatican.va\/content\/salastampa\/it\/documentation\/cardinali---statistiche\/elenco_alfabetico.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vatican website<\/a> currently lists Becciu as a non-elector in the upcoming conclave.<\/p>\n<p>Becciu&rsquo;s claim that he is eligible to vote is &ldquo;ridiculous,&rdquo; a source close to Becciu&rsquo;s case said, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncregister.com\/news\/pentin-cardinal-becciu-wants-to-vote-conclave-ineligible\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Catholic Register<\/a>. He &ldquo;cannot reclaim this privilege when the legal ruling remains in force.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was convicted in a historic Vatican court case and compelled to resign, claims he can still vote in the upcoming papal conclave. He stated to Italian media on Tuesday that he intends to take part in the conclave and believes his cardinal privileges are still valid, as reported by the National Catholic Register. In 2020, Becciu lost his role as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints following allegations of financial misconduct. Pope Francis also required him to relinquish certain cardinal rights, including voting at conclaves; however, Becciu retained his title. He was reportedly involved in a costly real estate deal in London that resulted in significant losses for the Vatican. Additionally, he faced accusations of misappropriating funds intended for his home diocese and sending \u20ac600,000 (around $684,000) to Cecilia Marogna under false pretenses. Despite these allegations, Becciu maintains his innocence and expressed feelings of betrayal after being dismissed by Pope Francis. In 2023, he was found guilty of embezzlement and other charges\u2014the first cardinal ever convicted by a Vatican court\u2014and sentenced to five and a half years in prison. Currently appealing this conviction with no ruling yet from the Vatican\u2019s Court of Appeal, Becciu remains listed as a non-elector for the upcoming conclave on the Vatican website despite claiming eligibility to vote\u2014a stance described as &#8220;ridiculous&#8221; by sources close to his case<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2427862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Becciu.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[14328,9592,4853,9367],"class_list":["post-2427861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cardinal","tag-pope","tag-trial","tag-vatican"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Becciu.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2427861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2427861"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2427861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2427865,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2427861\/revisions\/2427865"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2427862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2427861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2427861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2427861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}