Angelo Becciu, an Italian cardinal convicted of embezzlement and stripped of his privileges by Pope Francis, confirmed Tuesday he will not take part in the conclave to elect a new Catholic leader.
In a statement from his lawyer, Becciu said he would abide by the late pontiff’s will, ending days of speculation on whether he would join other cardinal electors in the Sistine Chapel on May 7.
“I have decided to obey, as I have always done, the will of Pope Francis not to enter into conclave,” Becciu said, while continuing to protest his innocence.
The 76-year-old said he decided to take a step back “having at heart the good of the Church” and “to contribute to the communion and serenity of the Conclave”.
Becciu, a former adviser to Francis who was once considered a papal contender himself, was removed from office and stripped of his cardinal “rights and privileges” in September 2020.
He subsequently went on trial along with nine others in a case focused on a disastrous investment by the Vatican in a luxury building in London.
In 2023, he was sentenced to five years and six months in jail for financial crimes, although he is appealing the conviction.
Becciu, once one of the most powerful figures in the Vatican, had reportedly been pushing to take part in the conclave, despite not being on the official list of electors.
On Monday Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who as secretary of state was Francis’s number two, presented him with two documents signed by the Argentine pontiff which said he could not, according to Italian media.
The letters dated from 2023 and last month, according to the Domani newspaper.
Becciu was the most senior clergyman in the Catholic Church to face a Vatican criminal court.
His very rare punishment came as Francis enacted a series of reforms aimed at cleaning up the Vatican’s notoriously murky finances.
Becciu was number two in the Secretariat of State from 2011 to 2018, during most of which time Parolin was his boss.
Parolin is considered by many to be a frontrunner for the next pope, due to his vast diplomatic experience.
But Vatican expert John L. Allen Jr sounded a note of caution last week, saying questions over his role in the London real estate scandal could play against him.
