Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the
highest-ranking Catholic cleric to be charged with financial
crimes, allegedly knew his friend Cecilia Marogna was syphoning
off funds from the Secretariate of State, a Vatican police
commissioner told his trial in the Vatican on Thursday.
"On October 3, 2020, when we had our meeting with him, Cardinal
Angelo Becciu was aware that Cecilia Marogna was syphoning off,
with personal expenses, the money sent to her by the
Secretariate of State," said Gendarmerie Commissioner Stefano De
Santis.
"He had known for months. He did not show surprise at what we
told him about the woman's behaviour. He was only concerned by
the fact that Cecilia Marogna's name might come out because
that, he said, would have caused great damage to himself and his
relatives".
Becciu is among 10 people on trial in the Vatican for fraud,
including in relation to the loss-making acquisition of a London
property on Sloane Avenue when he was the Substitute for General
Affairs in the Secretariat of State.
The cardinal, who resigned as head of the Congregation for the
Causes of Saints in 2020 when the scandal broke, is also accused
of directing Church funds and contracts towards bodies linked to
his relatives in Sardinia.
Pope Francis restored Becciu's cardinal's rank despite the trial
on August 22.
The pontiff has repeatedly said he believes the cardinal is
innocent.
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