In his first major media appearance since being convicted of financial crimes by a Vatican tribunal and sentenced to five and a half years in prison, Cardinal Angelo Becciu told an Italian TV host Monday that “I want to shout to the world that I’m innocent.”
“I’m going to do everything I can, everything to demonstrate my innocence through the legal system and in every way possible,” Becciu said, speaking on the program Cinque Minuti (“Five Minutes”), hosted by Bruno Vespa, one of the country’s most renowned television journalists.
“I want to shout to the world that I’m innocent,” Becciu said. “I absolutely did not commit any of the crimes of which I’ve been accused.”
With regard to the complex London property deal at the heart of the recent Vatican trial, Becciu appeared to suggest that primary responsibility rested with Italian Monsignor Alberto Perlasca, who headed an administrative office within the Secretariat of State that oversaw the London operation but who escaped indictment by becoming a witness for the prosecution instead.
“I wasn’t the one who made the decision. As substitute, do you know how many offices I had to follow? There are 17. I didn’t have the time to follow economic and financial matters step by step,” Becciu said.
All posts by Light of Truth
Cardinal sentenced to five and a half years in jail in Vatican ‘trial of the century’
In the long-awaited denouement of the Vatican’s “trial of the century,” which has been seen widely as a litmus test of Pope Francis’s press for reform, a Vatican tribunal on December 16 sentenced Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu to five years and six months in prison for his role in various financial crimes.
Becciu was also fined roughly $8,700 and permanently barred from holding any public office in the Vatican City State. An attorney representing Becciu immediately indicated plans for an appeal.
Becciu, 75, was already the first cardinal ever to stand trial on criminal charges before a Vatican civil court, and he now becomes the first ever to be convicted and sentenced. Prosecutors had asked for seven years and three months of prison time for the cardinal.
From 2011 to 2018 Becciu held the all-important position of sostituto, or “substitute,” in the Secretariat of State, making him effectively the pope’s chief of staff, the only figure in the Vatican system with the right to see the pope on a routine basis without an appointment.
Presiding judge Giuseppe Pignatone, a veteran Italian jurist, read the verdicts aloud on Decemebr 16 in a hall belonging to the Vatican Museums which was converted into a makeshift courtroom in order to accommodate not only public interest, but the sheer number of attorneys and support personnel necessary to try such a complex case.
Stretching over two and a half years, the trial featured 86 separate hearings and heard almost 70 witnesses, after what amounted to almost a year of procedural squabbles before the court ever got to the substance of the charges.
Latin rite bishops launch strategic planning for Indian Church
India’s Latin rite Church is pre-paring its people to face modern challenges. For this, it has launched a training program on strategic planning training for the 14 regions of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India. A training program was held December 6-7 at Navinta Retreat Centre in New Delhi’s Okhala.
Indian priest calls for ‘paradigm shift’ in light of anti-Christian harassment
In the wake of a mass indictment of 42 people in India over charges of fraudulent conversion of members of poor and tribal communities to Christianity, a Catholic expert is warning that recent elections in several Indian states, which saw strong gains for the Hindu nationalist party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, may make the situation worse.
Critics call new loyalty oath in troubled Syro-Malabar diocese ‘vengeful’
In the latest escalation in a long-running dispute within India’s Syro-Malabar Church, the administrator of its largest diocese has required all candidates for the priesthood to take a loyalty oath swearing to celebrate the Mass only in the manner prescribed by Church authorities.
Archbishop Andrews Thazhath issued the new oath in a Nov. 23 letter, indicating that all deacons in the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Anga-maly must sign it prior to being ordai-ned to the priesthood.
Ranchi’s vibrant Catholic community marches ahead
Ranchi is one of the oldest cities of Jharkhand and ranks among the best-known hill stations in the state. Popularly known as the City of Waterfalls, Ranchi is famous for its picturesque Hudru Falls, Dassam Falls, Johna Falls and several other tourist attractions like water sports at Patratu Lake.
Liturgical dispute: Papal delegate arrives second time in Kochi
Papal delegate Jesuit Archbishop Cyril Vasil arrived in Kochi on December 13, a week after Pope Francis personally intervened in the vexing liturgical dispute in the Syro-Malabar Church’s Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese.
Archbishop Vasil was received at 8 am in the Kochi International Airport by a team led by Bishop Emeritus Bosco Puthur of Melbourne, the temporary apostolic administrator of the troubled archdiocese.
This is the second time Archbishop Vasil is visiting the southern Indian state of Kerala to resolve the decades-old liturgical dispute. His earlier two-week visit that ended August 21 had left the fate of more than 400 priests uncertain for defying his ultimatum to offer Masses on August 20 in the synod-approved mode in all parishes and institutions in the archdiocese.
He had apparently alienated the majority of the priests and lay people in the archdiocese by his insistence on implementing the uniform method of celebrating Mass.
Archbishop Vasil’s latest visit takes place after Pope Francis on December 7 accepted the resignations Cardinal George Alencherry, head of the Syro-Malabar Church, and Archbishop Andrews Thazhath of Trichur from the post of apostolic administrator of the archdiocese, a demand made by the dissidents.
However, the Pope, through a video message, asked the priests of the arch-diocese to celebrate the uniform mode of Mass from Christ-mas eve. The Pope also pleaded with them not to divide the ancient Church or create another sect.
He then appoint-ed Bishop Sebastian Vaniyapurackal to function as the administrator of the Syro-Malabar Church, and Bishop Puthur the temporary administrator of the arch-diocese.
The major archbishop is to be elected at the bishops’ synod in January.
Archbishop Vasil’s engagements in Kochi are kept under wraps, although he was expected to meet groups of priests on the day of his arrival.
52 young women take first vows in northeast congregation
As many as 52 young women from various parts of India recently took first vows in the first religious congregation for women founded in northeastern India.
They vowed to be poor, chaste and obedient in the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians on December 8 in the Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians in Shillong, capital of Meghalaya state.
Sister Philomena Mathew, the congregation’s superior general received their vows during a solemn Mass officiated by Archbishop Emeritus Leo Cornelio of Bhopal.
“It’s a joyful and exalting moment for the congregation. These young women are assets to the congregation, the Church and society as they are highly motivated to live a life of service and dedication,” said the superior general.
She said the entry of the vibrant new members would make the congregation more powerful in changing society through various apostolic and charitable services. “In this digital, highly advanced and globalized world, the ultimate need of people is God. So, true to our motto – ‘Go proclaim the Goodnews’, we hope to become Good News to the poor and needy and proclaim the Goodnews to all people.”
Christians after Kashmir ruling: ‘Now to promote development for all’
“If on the one hand I accept the Supreme Court’s verdict on Kashmir, on the other I hope that the young people who live in the region are educated to become good citizens and that ordinary people can live in peace.”
These are the words of Sr. Maria Suzette, of the Congregation of the Apostolic Carmel, after Decemebr 12 a constitutional panel made up of five judges ruled that the Indian government acted legally in 2019 when it revoked the auto-nomy of Jammu and Kashmir, guaranteed by Article 370 of the Constitution.
The bench, headed by Jus-tice D.Y. Chandrachud, ruled that Article 370 was a tempo-rary provision “necessary due to war conditions in the State” and was not intended to develop “internal sovereignty”, the ruling said. The special status was to be considered “a characteristic of asymmetric federalism, not of sovereignty,” the court specified.
However, in its verdict, the Supreme Court did not rule on the validity of what is called the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, the 2019 law that provides for Jammu and Kashmir to join the Indian Union as two Separate states. However, he ordered that local elections be called by September 2024.
An Indian tea-seller’s love for God and his family
Chakkalakkal Varghese Joseph hardly ever gets five hours of sleep. His roadside tea shop in the southern Indian state of Kerala opens at 5.00 a.m. and closes at 10.00 p.m.
Joseph is used to the hard life. As a teenager, he began working as a mason and, a few years later, became a carpenter and is now the owner of the tea shop.
In between these unending struggles, he married Mary in 1992, and they are happily busy eking out a living and bringing up three children.
“I have strong faith in God,” says the 55-year-old Catholic.
Joseph had been a carpenter for some three decades and also ran timber mills that cut logs into smaller pieces for carpenters to work with.
He began the teashop after his businesses collapsed due to extended lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, the tea shop remains the primary source of income for the family.
Customers, mostly day la-borers and commuters rushing to their faraway workplaces come for hot milk tea, coffee and snacks that Joseph sells at a crossroads in his sleepy Neerikode village.
“My life is full of struggles. But I am happy. I can say that with confidence. These problems will come and go,” says Joseph with a smile.
Besides tea and coffee, Joseph also sells fritters fried in fresh coconut oil. But his bestseller is congee (rice porridge) with vegetable curries that dozens of people buy on their way to the nearby market.
He wouldn’t reveal his average income. “I make just enough to survive,” was all he said with a smile.
Inside his tin-roofed tea shop, Joseph works alone most days. His wife Mary comes to help him only occasionally as she is busy with the household chores.
“I am proud of our children. The bond that I have with them is my greatest strength,” Joseph said.
The eldest is Anu, who is now married and lives with her husband. Their son Anfin recently started working in a private firm and the youngest son Akhil is preparing for university studies.
As a carpenter, he had to travel to distant places, and always took his wife along.