Cardinal Angelo Becciu told an Italian television interviewer: “I’m going to do everything I can, everything to demonstrate my innocence,” after his conviction on financial-misconduct charges.
“I absolutely did not commit any of the crimes of which I’ve been accused,” the cardinal said. He suggested that the primary responsibility for a disastrous London real-estate venture lies with his former subordinate, Msgr. Alberto Perlasca, who was a star witness for the Vatican prosecutors. “I wasn’t the one who made the decision,” he said, protesting that in the powerful post that he held as sostituto his many responsibilities prevented him for delving into details. “I didn’t have the time to follow economic and financial matters step by step.”