Vatican Cardinal Questioned Over Donations Case

VATICAN CITY (AP) — A very powerful cardinal testified on Thursday that he donated 125,000 euros ($140,000) of Vatican money to a diocese in Sardinia for completely charitable reasons and rejected accusations that the money benefited his brother, who runs the charity.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the first cardinal in history to testify before a Vatican criminal court, said he could not deny that his brother Antonino Becciu was the legal representative of the Spes charity, which is the operational division of the Caritas organization of the Diocese of Ozieri.

However, Becciu insisted that Spes has a long history of good works in the diocese and that donations from the Holy See, which he was authorized to distribute, responded to verifiable needs requested by the Bishop of Ozieri: the reconstruction of a bakery consumed in a fire that employed young people and another to build a multi-purpose social center for the low-income population.

Prosecutors have accused Becciu of embezzling funds from the Holy See and sent him to trial along with nine other people accused of defrauding the Vatican with tens of millions of euros, much of the money coming from donations from the faithful. The main focus of the trial is on the Vatican investment of 350 million euros in a London real estate business, but the trial also encompasses unrelated inquiries, including Becciu's donations in Sardinia. All 10 defendants have rejected the charges.

Becciu, who became the second most powerful figure in the Holy See's Secretary of State, had been scheduled as the first accused to be questioned on the stand on Thursday.