Justice requires transparency

In order not to fall into incongruities and irregularities, the Holy See should carry out a profound reform of its judicial system.

From our position in the Borgo Pio we have been looking at the dome of the Vatican for a long time. And what goes on underneath. And there are times when we have the impression that when people inside the Vatican talk about “reforms” they forget (we ignore whether on purpose or not, what do we know!) some of the most important for the functioning of the Holy See. And one of the most urgent and of which little is spoken aloud (but which is spoken quietly because we hear it on the other side of the bar when we serve the coffee) is that of Vatican Justice. To say that it is a mess would be unfair... because it would be an understatement.

This is a complex issue and in the case of the Holy See it is further complicated by the existence of canon law, which, although it should not, is often intertwined in its action with the civil criminal and commercial codes. We are not asking for miracles, we are Romans. We are going to limit ourselves to normal criminal law, a matter in which it is being demonstrated that the current way of working does not work at all. Three very different examples.

The rule is that there is no rule.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu, a former high-ranking Vatican official, was implicated in a financial scandal involving the misuse of Holy See funds. As Substitute for General Affairs, he oversaw a controversial $350 million London property investment, which prosecutors claimed led to massive losses. Becciu was accused of embezzlement, abuse of office, and witness tampering. Pope Francis forced his resignation in 2020. In December 2023, Becciu was convicted and sentenced to five and a half years in prison. The case exposed deep financial mismanagement within the Vatican and was part of broader reforms to improve transparency and accountability in Church finances. End of the story? Not at all.

Reasonably, Cardinal Becciu and his defense team claimed serious irregularities in his Vatican trial, arguing a lack of due process, denied access to key evidence, and procedural violations. Scandalized observers (many of them related to different judicial systems outside the Vatican) highlighted the absence of a proper appeals system and alleged influence from Pope Francis, who had lifted Becciu’s cardinal privileges. The defense also questioned the credibility of star witnesses and the rushed nature of the proceedings. And we have to admit that they have a point, because some witnesses gave some sort of surreal touch to the process.

Honestly we don’t know whether Becciu is guilty or innocent, because reading documents about the trial is impossible to find out.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness

Cardinal George Pell, former Vatican treasurer and Archbishop of Melbourne, was accused of sexually abusing two choirboys in the 1990s. Removed from his position without further evidence, Pell always claimed to be innocent and returned to Australia to face the trial. In 2018, he was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison. But the case was controversial, with no physical evidence and conflicting testimonies. In 2020, Australia's High Court unanimously overturned his conviction, citing reasonable doubt. At that moment he had spent 404 days in jail, from February 27, 2019, to April 7, 2020.

Pell’s legal defense was funded by lay faithful all around the world. The Sydney Archdiocese covered some of his legal expenses, and the cardinal himself contributed with his own savings in the costly legal battle, particularly for high-profile barristers like Robert Richter QC and Bret Walker SC. However, Vatican funds were not used for his decisive appeal to the High Court.

So, according to the Justice, an innocent man was sent to the courtroom and condemned and jailed until all was clear. Unfortunately this happens everyday all around the world, but the question for the Vatican is: What if instead of letting their your people go to suffer injustice (or letting the guilty not go) to any foreign country you had some legal procedures that would first seriously and fairly investigate the accusation and then decide on an extradition?

After the process Pell’s career was over, but his reputation as a man of moral courage remains after his death in January 2023.

Having one’s cake and eating it.

Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, former Archbishop of Lima, Peru, was a powerful and controversial figure due to his strong conservative views. Member of Opus Dei, he was the first of the prelature to become a cardinal. He was certainly a very influential figure in Peru. In 2019 a series of sanctions were communicated to him from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith, that is, applying canon law. Apparently in 2018 he had been denounced for a sexual abuse committed, according to the complainant, years before. Cipriani left Peru and performed work for the Church in Rome. He has always maintained his innocence and complained about the lack of a proper trial. All of this has been know just days ago.

What is certain is that if Cipriani is guilty, the Vatican had the obligation to denounce the cardinal before the Peruvian civil Justice at least in 2019. And hasn’t done it… then it has been years allowing a guilty person to have escaped justice. And those in Rome responsible for it would have committed a crime of cover-up, not only with respect to Peruvian authorities but in the Vatican itself. And where is the process against Cipriani for a civil criminal offense?

But if the cardinal is innocent, how is the canonical sanction justified? Where is his right to self defense against such a serious accusation?

The Vatican's judicial system is in urgent need of reform in something that has nothing to do with Catholic doctrine nor with questioning the authority of the Pope or the structure of the Church: It is peremptory a clear and transparent civil justice where the guilty are punished and the innocent have the right to defend themselves. As the Gospel says, “For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open”.