Controversial cardinal withdraws from conclave after pope’s final letter emerges

London: Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu has announced he will not take part in the election of Pope Francis' successor after a posthumous request from the late pontiff emerged expressing his wish that his once-powerful aide be excluded.

Becciu, 76, whose meteoric rise in the Vatican was followed by an equally dramatic fall, had defiantly insisted in recent days that he retained the right to vote in the conclave beginning on May 7.

Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu attending Pope Francis’ in St Peter’s Square last week.Credit: Getty Images

But pressure from within the College of Cardinals, coupled with the revelation of a letter signed by Francis before his Easter Monday death, appears to have forced his hand.

In 2023, Becciu became the first cardinal in history to be convicted by the Vatican’s own criminal court, receiving a five-and-a-half-year sentence for embezzlement and abuse of office. He is appealing the verdict.

“I have decided to obey the will of Pope Francis, as I have always done, and not enter the conclave despite remaining convinced of my innocence,” Becciu said in a statement issued through his lawyer.

Becciu said in stepping aside he hoped his decision would “contribute to the unity and serenity of the conclave.”

The letter, reportedly shown to Becciu by Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, was said to have been written in the final days of Francis’ life and signed simply “F”.

According to Italian newspaper Domani, the document urged Becciu to refrain from taking part in the conclave for the good of the Church – a final act by a pope who had publicly distanced himself from his once close aide.

Becciu’s exit removes a potentially explosive element from the highly anticipated conclave, the third of the 21st century, which could have been overshadowed by a criminal conviction of one of its members.

At the heart of the scandal was a disastrous €350 million ($624 million) property deal in London’s Chelsea, which led to heavy financial losses for the Vatican and triggered a sweeping investigation. The saga also ensnared Becciu in allegations of nepotism and secretive payments, including €575,000 funnelled to a self-styled Sardinian intelligence expert, Cecilia Marogna – dubbed the “Mata Hari of the Vatican” – who spent church funds on designer handbags and furniture.

Despite his conviction and the Vatican’s 2020 declaration that he had resigned “the rights connected to the cardinalate,” Becciu re-emerged in Rome last week, appearing at general congregations of cardinals and granting interviews insisting, as a cardinal aged under 80, he remained an elector.

His determination to attend had sparked concerns of a potential constitutional crisis within the conclave. Some conservatives argued that excluding a cardinal without due process could undermine the legitimacy of the next pope. Others feared Becciu’s presence would politicise and destabilise the centuries-old ritual of electing the Bishop of Rome.

Becciu came to be a nemesis of the late Australian Cardinal George Pell who was appointed by Francis to clean up the Church’s murky accounting systems as the Vatican’s first-ever finance czar. His work quickly put him on a collision course with Becciu, then the Vatican’s chief of staff, who Pell accused of resisting reforms and obstructing transparency.

In a private memo published posthumously, Pell described the Vatican under Francis as “a catastrophe” and called Becciu’s financial conduct “scandalous.” Pell’s allies claim he was targeted by a factional campaign in Rome – one that may have influenced his own legal travails in Australia, though no link was ever proven.

With 133 electors confirmed to enter the Sistine Chapel next week, a two-thirds majority of 90 is needed to elect the new pope. The absence of Becciu avoids a potential standoff but does not eliminate the deep ideological divides that now define the Church hierarchy.

Among the leading potential popes, is Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Francis' powerful Secretary of State and diplomatic heavyweight. Though seen as a centrist, Parolin’s growing profile in recent weeks – including a high-profile meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – has raised concerns he may be overreaching in his bid for the papacy.

Close behind is Maltese Cardinal Mario Grech, a key figure in advancing Francis' synodal reforms, who reportedly has the support of around 30 cardinals. Hungarian conservative Cardinal Péter Erdo, popular among traditionalists, is said to be nearing a bloc of 25 votes.

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.