Convicted cardinal skips conclave to elect new pope to succeed Francis

By Joshua McElwee and Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -An Italian cardinal who was convicted of embezzlement and fraud said on Tuesday he would not take part in the secret conclave to elect a new pope, as thoughts turned to who will succeed Pope Francis who died last week.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the most senior Catholic Church official ever to stand trial before a Vatican criminal court, was sentenced to 5-1/2 years in jail in December 2023. He denies all wrongdoing and is free pending an appeal.

Francis, who died on April 21 at the age of 88, had fired Becciu from a senior Vatican job in 2020 before his trial.

The pope allowed Becciu to keep his ecclesiastical title and his Vatican apartment but stripped him of what the Vatican said at the time were "the rights associated with the Cardinalate", leaving ambiguity over whether he could join the conclave.

"Having at heart the good of the Church... I have decided to obey, as I always have, the will of Pope Francis and to not enter the conclave, still remaining convinced of my innocence," said the cardinal.

The resurfacing of the Becciu issue could deal a blow to Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, a senior Vatican official who is seen as a leading candidate to succeed Francis.

The Becciu case centred on the messy $200 million purchase of a building in London by the Secretariat of State, the Vatican's key administrative and diplomatic department, headed by Parolin, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

"As far as the conclave is concerned, it has been resolved. Regarding (Becciu's) person, it is my personal opinion that he was not treated very well," German cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, a conservative who clashed with Francis, told Reuters.

CONCLAVE PREPARATIONS

Some 135 cardinals under the age of 80, from all corners of the globe, are eligible to take part in the vote for the next head of the 1.4-billion-member Church, which is beset by concerns over its finances and divisions over doctrine.

Two cardinals have said they cannot take part for health reasons, the Vatican said on Tuesday, bringing the possible number of electors to 133 - the largest number ever.

Cardinals must decide whether to continue the reformist path and open approach followed by Francis or return to something more traditional.

"I believe that the path of dialogue, in which the Church has long been engaged and which Pope Francis has intensified on all fronts, should be pursued without fear," said Father Donato Ogliari in a sermon on Tuesday to a group of cardinals.

The previous two conclaves, held in 2005 and 2013, lasted just two days but there have been suggestions that things might take longer this time.

Some of the cardinals appointed by Francis, who named cardinals from numerous countries that had never had them before, have not previously met. They have taken to wearing name tags to help them make introductions, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. 

However, Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez of El Salvador said on Tuesday he felt this conclave could be wrapped up swiftly.

"I have the impression that the conclave will be short, two or three days, this is the feeling we have inside the room," he told reporters.

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; additional reporting by Philip Pullella; writing by Keith Weir; editing by Crispian Balmer, Mark Heinrich and Gareth Jones)