Vatican Court Declares Mistrial in 'Trial of the Century'

The Vatican appeals tribunal declared a mistrial Tuesday in the Holy See's big "trial of the century," a stunning blow to both Pope Francis' legacy and Vatican prosecutors who had put a cardinal and several other people on trial over alleged financial crimes. 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, reports the AP. The court set a June 22 as the date for the new trial to begin. Defense lawyers said such a ruling was enormously significant if not historic, since it amounted to a Vatican court declaring an act of the pope null.

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. Becciu's lawyers said the ruling showed they were right in arguing that the defense was put at an unfair disadvantage from the start. "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 case had as its main focus the Vatican's investment of $413 million in a London property. Prosecutors alleged brokers and Vatican monsignors fleeced the Holy See of tens of millions of dollars in fees and commissions to acquire the property, and then extorted the Holy See for $16.5 million to cede control of it. The original investigation spawned two main tangents involving Becciu, once a leading Vatican cardinal and future papal contender who had to bow out of the conclave that elected Leo. He was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to 5 and a half years in prison. The tribunal convicted eight other defendants of embezzlement, abuse of office, fraud, and other charges and imposed tens of millions of dollars in restitution to the Holy See.