“From that moment on, a public pillory of worldwide proportions began for me: even in Angola, where I had been nuncio for seven and a half years, I was told that the national TV devoted a week of debates to the subject; I was thrown on the front pages of newspapers from all over the world; deprived of any ecclesiastical office; relegated to the margins of the Curia and the Church. It grieved me and continues to grieve me, then, having exposed my family to a lacerating and unjust suffering “.
It was the cardinal’s day Angelo Becciu in the Vatican. The former deputy of the Secretariat of State read a text of spontaneous statements in the trial for the financial scandal linked to the sale of the London building on Sloane Avenue. A long text full of details and in which Becciu also comes to reveal for the first time every detail relating to the hearing in which Francesco accepted his resignation.
Cardinal Pell: “I could have saved a lot of money from the London palace, but they prevented me from doing it”
by Paolo Rodari
03 November 2021
“In underlining the groundlessness and gravity of the accusations” on the money sent to the Sardinian diocese of Ozieri – he explained – “I cannot fail to refer to the moment in which they were addressed to me for the first time, that is to say in the pontifical audience in the evening of 24 September 2020 “. And again: “The Holy Father told me that following ad hoc investigations he was told that the sums from the Pence of St. Peter sent by me to the Caritas of my diocese of Ozieri had served to enrich my brothers, in particular my brother Tonino – he recalled -. He also added that it saddened him that an Italian weekly had already the news of this serious accusation and that shortly thereafter he would come out with an article on the subject. I confess that I was speechless, it was so absurd and that accusation is unfounded, as today the facts finally demonstrate “.
“The transfer of the 125 thousand euros was the only accusation he made of me. The Holy Father explicitly told me that he had no other,” he said again. “Having taken note of this accusation, albeit certain of his groundlessness, for the love of the Church I therefore considered it necessary, with immense pain, to resign from the office I held, that of Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints”.
“For more than a year and a half I have been tormented by a question: why were these false accusations reported to the Holy Father? For what purpose? How was it possible to exploit the person of the Holy Father, creating a scandal of unprecedented gravity in the Church? that day my life was shocked, but many believers from all over the world were also disturbed in their faith “, he added.
Becciu spoke for two and a half hours. Questioned by the prosecutor Alessandro Diddi, he reiterated “forcefully” his “absolute innocence” with respect to what is being contested, indicating “some events” that “particularly disturbed” him, saying he was “torn apart by a profound inner conflict”. In the spontaneous statements deemed “useful for understanding the facts”, Becciu focuses on the individual disputes contained in the charges that have been hypothesized against him and tries to clarify the various points: from the role of his brother Tonino in the Spes cooperative, all’Obolo di San Pietro, to investments during the seven years at the Secretariat of State in the role of Substitute (including the proposed purchase of the right to exploit fields in Angola and the Athena Fund), to the relationship with the then Monsignor Office Manager Alberto Perlascato the alleged concessions a Cecilia Marogna. “In obedience to the Holy Father – he says -, I am ready to give my contribution to ascertain the truth”.
In today’s audience there is also a twist: Monsignor Alberto Perlascaconsidered the key witness of the trial, through the lawyer Alessandro Sammarco, presented a request for a civil party in the trial both against Cardinal Becciu and against four other defendants, Gianluigi Torzi, Fabrizio Tirabassi, Enrico Crasso, Nicola Squillace. The Court reserved the decision. It should also be noted that the lawyers of the other defendants opposed.
But Becciu also spoke of Perlasca: “Under the character profile” Monsignor Perlasca “He was short-tempered and touchy, perhaps even jealous of his autonomy and the absolutely directing role he had in the Office. He then cultivated a great desire: to become Apostolic Nuncio”. And again: “The temperamental excesses of Perlasca they were however balanced, in my eyes, by an undisputed technical competence “.
Becciu also spoke of the Cardinal Pell: “For over a year I have been exposed to unbearable public pressure, with the shameful accusation of having even financed false testimony to the detriment of a confrere, the Cardinal Pell, with money from the Secretariat of State. I now want to sweep away this very serious insinuation with the words of the cardinal secretary of state, Parolin, who has ascertained and accounted for the absolute falsity of this ignoble and unbearable inference “.
Cardinal Pell was acquitted at home of the charges of sexual abuse of minors. Becciu said: “I deliver to the Court the letter of April 29 us in which, among other things, the cardinal Parolin It states verbatim that: ‘Cardinal Pell continues to raise doubts about the transfer of AU $ 2.3M to Australia, suspecting that these funds were used by Cardinal Becciu to negatively affect the criminal trial that saw him accused of child abuse. The sum, on the other hand, as mentioned several times, was used to pay for the Catholic Internet domain. This information was appropriately communicated to the Australian Embassy to the Holy See with verbal note 2112/21 / RS of 18 February 2021 ‘. So over a year ago. But it doesn’t stop there, Mr. President “, Becciu said.” My bitterness is even more profound – he added – in learning, from reading the correspondence I produce, that Cardinal Pell himself authorized the payment of this sum, with a letter dated 11 September 2015 “.
Finally, the words dedicated to the ex Sardinian manager Cecilia Marogna: “Here and now I have to express a strong and vibrant indignation at how this relationship has been distorted with offensive inferences, of the lowest nature, damaging – also – to my priestly dignity. I believe that this attitude betrays a similar treatment would have been reserved for a man” .
And again: “I met Mrs. Marogna in 2016, when she asked me for an interview. I immediately appreciated her expertise in geopolitics and intelligence – Becciu recalled -. The lady proposed for a professional collaboration with the Secretariat of Status on these matters of his choice. I specify that I do not understand it as a request for employment but as a simple offer of external collaboration “. For this reason “I sent it to the Commander of the Gendarmerie, Dr. Giani, who received it. The same, then, informed me that he had drawn a good impression from the meeting, but that there was no immediate possibility of accept his proposal “. To increase trust in women, also “a series of meetings at a high institutional level promoted by Mrs. Marogna: for example, with the Generali Carta and Caravelli, which took place starting from October 2017, which she sponsored, participating in her own time, in which I was able to further measure his competence, also by deducing it from this qualified professional knowledge “. “The same, moreover, was able to introduce me to the then European parliamentarian Lorenzo Cesa, with whom she had carried out institutional collaboration”. Becciu thought of availing himself of the collaboration of Cecilia Marogna on the occasion of the kidnapping, which took place in Malì on February 7, 2017, of Sister Gloria Cecilia Navaes Goti, Franciscan of Maria Immacolata, of Colombian nationality. She then returned to freedom on October 10, 2021. “The lady told me about an English intelligence agency, Inkerman, with which, according to her, she could have interacted profitably by taking action for all the operations necessary for Sister Gloria’s release – he explained. – So, in one of the table audiences I exposed the question and the first considerations matured to the Holy Father. He was happy that efforts were made for the liberation of the nun and immediately understood the need not to expose the Vatican to a useless one, and indeed harmful, advertising “.
“He gave me the authorization to proceed”, and then “I met in London, in the first half of January 2018, officials of the Inkermann agency. In the presence of Mrs. Marogna, who had organized the meeting at my request”. Having obtained the subsequent authorization from the Pope, “I confirm, therefore, that Mrs. Marogna took care of the security operations aimed at the release of Sister Gloria. The fiduciary credit obtained in the manner described, together with the inherent confidentiality of this kind of operations, led me to put the utmost confidence in its work, following the indications that I received from time to time, always accompanied by information about the activities carried out and to be carried out “. “As for the payments that are contested to me, I would like to point out that they were arranged – again on the recommendation of Mrs. Marogna – on current accounts that she indicated to me from time to time, and which I have always considered related to the transaction-negotiation conducted by Inkerman and, therefore, aimed at the release of Sister Gloria and the expenses to be incurred for this purpose “. “I want to emphasize that no sum was destined as compensation to Signora Marogna”, added the cardinal.