Vatican Reeling After the ‘Mistrial of the Century’ in the Case of Cardinal Becciu, Accused of Financial Misconduct
Late Pope Francis rebuked by appeals tribunal.
The Vatican, center for the Catholic Church, has been rocked today by a judicial decision.
The Vatican appeals tribunal declared a mistrial in what was called the ‘trial of the century’ over alleged financial crimes, in a blow to Pope Francis’ legacy and to Vatican prosecutors.
The Vatican’s Appeals court declares a mistrial in the trial that led to the conviction of Angelo Cardinal Becciu. They ruled that both Pope Francis and Vatican prosecutors made procedural errors that nullified the original indictment and have ordered a new trial. Wow, massive… pic.twitter.com/zRb6LgPv9V
— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) March 17, 2026
Associated Press reported:
“In a 16-page ruling, the appeals court ruled that Francis and Vatican prosecutors both made procedural errors that nullified the original indictment against Cardinal Angelo Becciu and the others and required a new trial. The court set a June 22 as the date for the new trial to begin.
Defense lawyers said such a ruling was significant if not historic, since it amounted to a Vatican court declaring that an act of the pope had no effect.
The ruling was a win for the defense and a huge setback to Vatican prosecutors, who have been scrambling to salvage their case. The prosecution and 2023 convictions against Becciu and others had been held up by the Vatican and late pope as evidence of his willingness to crack down on financial misconduct in the Holy See.”
The tribunal ruled that prosecutors deprived the defense of due process by withholding discovery and improperly redacting items.
Deutsche Welle reported:
“’It shows that from the first moment, we were right to raise the violation of the right to defense and to request that the law be respected to have a fair trial’, Becciu’s lawyers Fabio Viglione and Maria Concetta Marzo said in a statement.
The court also ruled that one of then-Pope Francis’ decrees, which allowed prosecutors to proceed without a preliminary judge overseeing their work, ultimately amounted to a new law. However, it said that Francis’ failure to publish the decree meant that it was void and not in legal effect when implemented. This ruling could throw other rulings that used the same decree as a basis for the case into question.
‘The historic decision by the Court of Appeals — which, for the first time in Vatican history, ruled that a papal rescript was invalid and void due to failure to publish it — in our view results in the complete nullity of the entire investigation and trial’, attorneys Massimo Bassi and Cataldo Intrieri, who represent former Vatican official Fabrizio Tirabassi, said in a statement. They added that they anticipated a swift acquittal at retrial.”
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