George Pell challenges Cardinal Angelo Becciu to explain ‘mystery’ of more than $2m sent from Rome to allegedly adversely affect his trial

George Pell has challenged a fellow Cardinal to explain the ‘mystery’ of more than $2m sent to Australia to allegedly adversely affect his trial on historical sexual abuse.

Cardinal George Pell in Rome. Picture: Victor Sokolowicz

Cardinal George Pell has raised formal concerns about more than $2m paid to Australia from the Vatican during the period of a police investigation and his trial on historical sexual abuse and challenged a fellow Cardinal to explain the “mystery of the funds” which were allegedly sent to adversely affect the case.

Cardinal Pell, the former head of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy, questioned the “incomplete” evidence given in Rome by his long-term nemesis in the Vatican, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, to a Vatican court hearing allegations of embezzlement, fraud and money laundering.

In a statement given to The Australian, Cardinal Pell said Cardinal Becciu’s evidence in the trial, to primarily investigate Cardinal Becciu’s alleged embezzlement in relation to a London property deal, raised more questions than it answered.

Cardinal Pell’s public challenge to Cardinal Becciu, who was removed from his formal position and stripped of the powers of a Cardinal by Pope Francis, increases the prospect the Australian church leader will be called to give evidence in the trial on financial matters.

Cardinal Becciu is charged with abuse of office, embezzlement, and witness tampering in a trial in which 10 individuals connected to the Secretariat of State have been charged with a range of financial offences.

Cardinal Becciu had to appear in the Vatican court and answer the judge’s questions after Pope Francis waived the application of state secrecy, allowing him to speak about his confidential work at the secretariat.

Giovanni Becciu in 2018 in the Apostolic Palace at St Peter's basilica in Vatican.

Before the fraud trial there have been allegations that payments of more than $2m were sent to Australia between 2016 and 2017, which coincided with the investigation and trial of Cardinal Pell on sex abuse charges in Australia.

Cardinal Pell was initially convicted and served more than a year in prison before the High Court unanimously found him innocent.

In Rome, after Cardinal Becciu’s evidence of several payments totalling $2.3m sent during Cardinal Pell’s trial to the Australian tech security firm, Neustar, Cardinal Pell said that his fellow cardinal’s narrative raised more questions about the affair.

Cardinal Pell said Cardinal Becciu gave Vatican judges “a spirited defence of his blameless subordinate role in the Vatican finances” during the court hearing but “his account was somewhat incomplete.” Cardinal Pell was appointed by Pope Francis to clean up the Vatican finance and until 2017 led the Secretariat of the Economy.

In his statement Cardinal Pell said the use of a Vatican charity, Peter’s pence, which included allegations of hundreds of thousands of Euros begin used for luxury items for his “niece”, was “bizarre” and “at odds with the official publicity for the fund”.

But, in his statement, Cardinal Pell said, “my main purpose is to comment on Cardinal Becciu’s final remarks on the $2.3 million paid to Neustar for the internet domain ‘.catholic’ on 4/9/2015.”

Cardinal Becciu confirmed in Rome previous reports that the $2 million he authorised to the office of Neustar, a tech security firm, in Melbourne, Australia, were for the registration of internet domain .catholic.

“No one disputes that the Pontifical Council for Social Communications paid amounts to Neustar Australia for their expensive services and to ICANN, the registry, for the reservation of the title ‘Catholic’ in 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018,” Cardinal Pell said.

“Doubts, of course, are removed by facts, by evidence, not assertions,” Cardinal Pell said. “Unfortunately, I do not have information on payments to Neustar Australia in 2015 beyond $US150,000 the Council for Social Communications paid as a deposit. It was not my usual practice to sign off on payments from the Secretariat of State.

“My interest is focused on four payments with a value of $2.3 million made by the Secretariat of State in 2017 and 2018 to Neustar Australia, two of which with a value of $1.236 million were authorised by Monsignor Becciu on 17/5/2017 and 6/6/2018. Obviously, these are different payments from those of 11/9/2015 which I allegedly authorised. What was the purpose? Where did the money go after Neustar?’’ Cardinal Pell said.