Becciu dispensed from pontifical secret
Cardinal Angelo Becciu can testify against his fellow defendant in the Vatican finance trial, the self-described “security consultant” Cecilia Marogna, a judge ruled on Wednesday.The Vatican’s chief judge said on March 30 that Pope Francis had dispensed Becciu from the obligation of the pontifical secret, a rule of confidentiality protecting sensitive information regarding the governance of the universal Church.
Giuseppe Pignatone’s decree on the pontifical secret was issued during a hearing in a finance trial that began last summer.
The Vatican is holding a landmark trial to prosecute 10 defendants accused of financial malfeasance, mostly in connection with a London property purchased as an intended investment by the Secretariat of State.
Wednesday’s audience consisted of more than four hours of questioning of Msgr. Mauro Carlino, a former official of the Secretariat of State, who served as personal secretary to Becciu and later Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, Substitute (Sostituto) of the Secretariat of State.
Carlino has been charged with extortion and abuse of office.
Becciu had invoked the pontifical secret regarding his dealings with Marogna, a 40-year-old from Sardinia, who has been accused of misappropriating more than 500,000 euros (around $600,000) she received from the Secretariat of State through her Slovenia-registered company in 2018 and 2019.
Marogna has said that she worked for the Secretariat of State as a security consultant and strategist under Becciu’s direction.
In his testimony, Carlino made numerous references to God and to his priesthood, even recounting the story of his calling to be a Catholic priest.