(LifeSiteNews) — A Vatican appeals court has annulled key parts of the trial against Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu following accusations of financial crimes and ordered a new hearing due to violations of procedural guarantees.
On March 17, the Court of Appeal of the Vatican City State, presided over by Archbishop Alejandro Arellano Cedillo, declared the “relative nullity” of the original trial that had sentenced Becciu to more than five years in prison for fraud and embezzlement related to the Secretariat of State’s financial management. The court ruled that procedural guarantees – particularly the effective “right to defense” – had not been respected, and ordered a complete renewal of the trial proceedings with the full deposit of all investigative documents by the Vatican’s Promoter of Justice.
Beside Becciu, the mistrial affects eight other defendants who stood accused of financial crimes.
“The rights cannot be limited except by provisions of law,” said the lawyer for Gianluigi Torzi, a businessman who acted as a commissioned broker for a 2018 Vatican deal on a luxury London property, arguing that “the arrest of my client and the seizure of his devices were illegal because they were based on a measure unknown to the defense, namely the rescript of July 2, 2019.”
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The ruling does not declare a total nullity of the original proceedings: both the trial phase and the original sentence formally retain legal effects. However, the court determined that the procedural flaws were sufficient to invalidate the integrity of the earlier judgment and necessitate a new trial. A hearing has been scheduled for June 22, 2026, at which time the calendar for subsequent sessions will be established.
The appellate decision also requires that all documentation from the investigative phase be filed in full with the court registry by April 30, 2026, without omissions or selective disclosure. Judges accepted the objections raised by defense teams, which had argued that crucial materials had not been made available, and that some of the documents previously disclosed were partially redacted.
The case concerns the controversial purchase of a property in London’s Sloane Avenue and the broader management of funds by the Secretariat of State. In the original trial, nine other defendants were convicted alongside Becciu, while his former secretary, Mauro Carlino, was acquitted and will not be required to appear again in court.
A central issue in the appellate ruling involves a secret rescript issued by Pope Francis on July 2, 2019, which granted extensive investigative powers to the Promoter of Justice. This and other related decrees remained confidential until they were introduced during the trial on June 29, 2021. According to the judges, a normative act with direct consequences for defendants should have been made public.
This finding led to the unprecedented conclusion that the rescript could not produce valid legal effects in the manner it had been applied. As a result, questions now arise regarding the validity of precautionary measures previously taken, including arrests and the seizure of assets reportedly amounting to around 100 million euros ($115 million).
The appellate decision has been described as a significant setback for the office of the Promoter of Justice, particularly for its head, Alessandro Diddi, who had led the prosecution during the original trial. Conversely, defense teams have expressed satisfaction, interpreting the ruling as confirmation of their long-standing objections.
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As a consequence of this judicial process, Becciu was unable to participate in the most recent Papal Conclave. On April 29, 2025, the cardinal himself announced his decision to abstain: “I have decided to obey – as I have always done – the will of Pope Francis not to enter the conclave, while remaining convinced of my innocence.” In the final days of Pope Francis’ life, two letters circulated in which Bergoglio reportedly confirmed Becciu’s exclusion from the conclave, signed simply with the initial “F,” though its authenticity was widely questioned.
It increasingly appears that the Becciu trial may have functioned as a political process aimed at removing a perceived opponent of the previous pontificate. In this perspective, the case would form part of a broader pattern involving figures such as the late Cardinal George Pell, previously accused and imprisoned before acquittal.
Furthermore, as noted by journalist Nico Spuntoni, the Court of Appeal’s recognition of violations of the “right to defense” directly contradicts prior assertions by the Vatican Dicastery for Communication. In particular, Andrea Tornielli had described the original ruling as a model of “fair trial and transparency,” at a time when inconsistencies in the proceedings had already begun to emerge.