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VATICAN CITY — With prosecutors conducting the first round of interrogations of 10 suspects accused of providing tens of millions of euros to the Holy See, the Vatican's sprawling financial trial may not yet produce any convictions or any new smoke guns.
But so far, the testimony has provided plenty of insight into how the Vatican works, with characters worthy of Dan Brown's thriller or Shakespeare's tragicomedy. Recent hearings have shown that the church bureaucracy uses espionage to allow outsiders with unverified qualifications into the Apostolic Palace and relies on universal mantras that do not allow papal responsibility — until someone's neck is in jeopardy.
Here are some of the revelations from this unusual ventilation of dirty clothes in the Vatican so far:
What is the trial about?
The investigation was a 350 million euro ($370 million) investment by the State Secretariat in a Property in London that the disaster was so disastrous that the Vatican sold the building this year for a cumulative loss of more than 200 million euros ($210 million).
Prosecutors accused Italian brokers, vatican long-term money managers and Vatican officials of defrauding the Holy See of tens of millions of dollars in fees and commissions and extorting 15 million euros (nearly $16 million) from it to eventually take control of the London building.
Pope Francis wants a trial to show his willingness to crack down on alleged financial misconduct. Three years on, however, the survey highlights some of Francis's own decisions and how the Vatican bishop managed his €600 million ($630 million) portfolio with little external oversight or expertise.
What about fractals?
Initial investigations produced tangential lines, including the once-powerful Cardinal Angelo Becciu accused of embezzlement for donating 125,000 euros ($130,000) of Vatican funds to a Sardinian charity run by his brother.
Linked to him is another co-defendant, Cecilia Marogna, a security analyst accused of embezzling 575,000 euros (more than $6 million), which Becciu intends to pay for the liberation of a Colombian nun held hostage by al-Qaida militants. They all denied wrongdoing, as did the other defendants.
Spies, spies everywhere
Marogna's story, first detailed last week, is an extraordinary story that, if confirmed, would be a chapter of its own in the Vatican's diplomatic saga.
She and Becciu said she entered the Palace of Apostolics based on an email she wrote to Becciu in 2015 about security issues. Based on her mastery of geopolitics and her apparent connection to Italian intelligence, she became bethe second adviser to the Secretariat of State at the time.
According to her statement, Marogna became a conduit to Beciu, from Russian emissaries seeking to return the holy relics to Catalan separatist leaders working to establish a channel of communication with the Vatican.
Becciu testified that after a Colombian nun was kidnapped in Mali in 2017, he turned to Marogna, who suggested a British intelligence company could help free her. Becciu testified that Francis approved the cost of up to 1 million euros for the operation and insisted that even the Vatican's own intelligence chiefs should keep it secret.
The story suggests that, with the pope's approval, Bechu used Italian freelancers to create parallel Vatican intelligence operations.
It's not the only espionage that has questioned the Status of the Vatican's sovereign state: Bechu testified last week that Francis himself ordered the removal of the Vatican's first auditor-general because he hired an outside company to monitor the Vatican's hierarchy, which he suspects is wrong.
In previous testimonies, a Vatican official told prosecutors that Bechu's successor, Archbishop Edgar Penha Parra, once again bypassed the Vatican's own gendarmes and brought members of the Italian Secret Service to the Holy See in search of bugs.
Perlasca official cameo appearance
The trial was no more interesting than that of Bishop Alberto Perlasca, the chief internal treasury manager of the Secretariat of State, responsible for the Vatican equivalent of a sovereign wealth fund with estimated assets of 600 million euros (about $630 million).
It was Perlasca who recommended certain investments or advised not to invest, and it was he who signed a contract at the end of 2018 to give Italian broker Gianluigi Torzi operational control over London properties. The extortion charges against Torzi are based on the prosecutor's allegations that he quickly unleashed control of the Vatican, only to relinquish control after receiving 15 million euros (nearly $16 million).
Perlasca was initially the prime suspect in the case. But after the first round of interrogations in April 2020, Perlasca fired his lawyer, changed his story and began working with prosecutors.
Although Perlasca was involved in all the deals under investigation, he escaped prosecution. Last week, the court allowed him to join the trial as an injured party, making it possible for him to obtain civil damages.
Hours after court president Jupsepe Pinatonet admitted him as a civil party, Pelasca suddenly appeared in court, sat in the front row of a public gallery and declared "I will not move".
Prosecutor Alessandro Didi immediately objected, Pinatone ordered him to leave, and he did.
Forgive the Pope at all costs
Many of the defendants testified that at the crucial crossroads, Francis was not only informed of the issues, but also approved of them, including the crucial moment when the Vatican had to decide whether to sue Tolzi for the London property or to repay him.
Several witnesses and defendants said Francis wanted to "turn the corner" and negotiate a deal. Prosecutors said Francis had largely been deceived by his own subordinates.
But blaming the pope marks an unusual development, as Vatican culture often seeks to absolve the pope of responsibility for anything that went wrong.
Becciu explained the tradition in his testimony, quoting the Latin phrase "In odiosis non faceat nomen pontificis," which roughly means that the pope should not be drawn into unpleasant things.
Becciu answered a question about why the pope only approved financial decisions verbally, not in writing.
"I'm from the old school... There, you try to protect the pope, to protect his moral authority, without letting him get too involved in secular affairs. That doesn't mean not informing him, but not holding him accountable for certain decisions," he said.
Becciu persevered until Francis freed him from the Pope's secret so he could defend himself. Bechu later revealed that Francis himself had authorized the Columbia Nuns Liberation Operation and ordered the auditor general to resign.
At the end of the week, testimony from Fabrizio Tirabassi, one of Perlasca's deputies, explained how investment decisions were made and the origins of london property deals. His lawyer said Tilabas's testimony proved that there were no crimes in the deal.
"The only mystery of this story is why anyone wants to put on trial on the issue of what the holy sees want to end through the deal," the lawyers said. ”