Becciu, the former Substitute for General Affairs in the Vatican Secretariat of State, is the highest ranking Vatican official ever to face financial charges. The defendants were ordered by the court to pay damages of over 200 million euros in total. Many Vatican observers saw the trial as a test of whether Pope Francis' attempts to reform and modernize Vatican management of its finances -- after years of financial scandals -- are really working. PHOTO: In this June 28, 2018 file photo, Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu leaves after kneeling before Pope Francis to pledge allegiance and become a cardinal at St. Peter's basilica in Vatican City. Cardinal sentenced to 5 1/2 years in Vatican's financial 'trial of the century' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Source: ABC News December 16, 2023 14:29 UTC