Sassari “I have not committed any fraud or embezzlement and I shout it out loud.” Monsignor Angelo Becciuformer Deputy of the Vatican Secretariat of State, sentenced to 5 years and 6 months, breaks his silence to continue to proclaim his innocence.
He does so through the columns of the Corriere della Sera, which yesterday published a long interview signed by Massimo Franco.
«In a trial we need to find those responsible for those who made careless use of money – claims Becciu, regarding the careless use of Vatican funds that was attributed to him -. And above all those who have committed a crime. I deny having been among them, I acted on the basis of what was studied and proposed by our offices. Furthermore, the investment of the sum was authorized by my Superior, the then Cardinal Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone.”
«In any case, I wasn’t involved in investments – we read again in the interview -. As a Substitute I had much else to think about. For the Secretariat of State there was a special office that dealt with this matter and I limited myself to following their instructions. Furthermore, the office presented me with the investment which also included the Palace of London as being most advantageous for the Holy See. Where was the crime? Have I perhaps obtained a personal benefit? Nobody! And then mind you, when the Secretariat of State decided to purchase the entire property of the Palace, I was no longer Substitute.”
Becciu then explained the dynamics linked to the famous phone call with Pope francescowhich he recorded. «I immediately ran to Pope Francis to explain and apologize. And he understood – explains Monsignor Becciu –. I was desperate and the desperation of the innocent accused is even more dramatic. The Pope had just left the hospital and there were alarming rumors about his health, with the trial looming. Not wanting to indicate him as a witness, I asked him if he could write down the things that only he and I knew: that he had authorized me to mediate for the release of a Colombian nun in Mali. He asked me to write the letter that I then sent him. But in response I received a harsh, severe one, signed by him but in a language that was not his, in which I did not recognize him. I had doubts. I called him back, because he was my only salvation. And I recorded our conversation. But I never used that recording, nor was it me who made it public».
Then also a passage on the silence of the other cardinals. «I went from the phase of the isolated leper, to the phase in which during the trial, when it began to be understood that the accusations were all inconsistent, I received a crescendo of certificates of solidarity».
