UPDATE: 25 Sept:
It seems that Becciu was O’Brien-ed… he will not vote in an upcoming conclave, but he retains the honor of being a Cardinal.
ORIGINALLY POSTED on: Sep 24, 2020
Getting dropped from the Cardinalate is a big deal. The other shoe is still to drop, of course.
An appendage to the Bolletino – released at the unusual time of 8 PM ROME TIME! – says that now-FORMER Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu “resigned” both his role as Prefect of Saints and the Cardinalate
HOWEVER… my spies tell me – I still have them – that Francis called in Becciu and FIRED him. Becciu wasn’t even back to his apartment before the Bolletino came out.
The other shoes have yet to drop.
Some indictment, maybe extradition?
Meanwhile … Card. Pell is returning to Rome, to his old digs.
May I remind the readership that Becciu was a special enemy of the Cardinal Burke.
Also, Becciu was very much behind the persecution of Eugenio Hasler.
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From a friend, who is a priest and shall remain nameless … ” This is huge. Cardinal Becciu was the man who rail-roaded Cardinal Pell’s financial reforms after Cdl Pell detected Becciu’s involvement in one of the biggest financial scandals ever to rock the Vatican. Seems no coincidence that Becciu has been so severely disciplined only months after Cardinal Pell was exonerated and freed. There were always concerns about possible Roman puppeteers inflaming Victoria Police’s persecution of Cdl Pell. Perhaps we have found one? The question is, who directed Becciu? They will be the puppet master.”
Looks like more info is coming out… L’Espresso publishing an expose according to this tweet by Catholic Sat…
Also, I believe he replaced HE Cardinal Burke in the Knights of Malta incident.
Bishop Becciu must be in the running for shortest cardinalate of a living man.
God bless Pope Francis, ++R. Burke, and ++G. Pell.
Just to clarify, it appears that he “resigned” the “rights” of the cardinalate – but not the cardinalate itself.
Do you think Francis just now discovered this?
I am not familiar with ex-cardinal Becciu’s history. Now that I am looking things up, I see some paths crossing between him and Cardinal Pell. Some old articles certainly raise my eyebrows. I’m guessing we’ll hear about the other shoe being dropped from secular newspapers.
According to the BBC (the LGBBC as some of us call it …), he has lost the privileges of the Cardinalate (including voting rights) but not the title.
It does mean among other things that he no longer can claim any diplomatic protection from prosecution.
Cardinal Pell has upcoming legal action in Australia against 21 journalistic entities. How can he return to Rome?
I am impressed.
It’s not every day the Pope actually fires one of the Ndrangheta insiders.
[Becciu is not Calabrese. But that doesn’t mean that there are not other interests.]
Another close associate that makes the boss look bad. Out you go. Now, where were we?
Just to clarify, it appears that he “resigned” the “rights” of the cardinalate – but not the cardinalate itself.
As far as I am concerned, things like the predicate “His Eminence” and also very title “Cardinal”, as in: added to the name, used as (somewhat more colloquial than “Eminence”) address, and so forth belongs to the rights of the cardinalate, not the cardinalate itself.
So, the phrase would be quite correct: “Bishop* Becciu is still the cardinal-deacon of this and that titular church”. It would also be correct to add a “technically” to the sentence. But it would not be correct to replace “Bishop” with “Cardinal”.
[* I believe “Bishop”, not “Archbishop”. He used to be an archbishop, but that was technically due to the rank of his titular see; and if I am rightly informed titular archbishops generally lose their dioceses generally when becoming Cardinal (excepting those who get the titular see as the see they will yet going to be consecrated for, like Cardinal Brandmüller). Titular archbishops who get suffragan dioceses tend to retain the title of archbishop but that is technically always due to a papally granted “personal title of archbishop”. We do not hear Bishop Becciu would have got that on his renouncing of the rights of his cardinalate.]
Background from Ed Pentin at the NC Register, including the Hasler case and several remarks on reforming Vatican finances:
https://www.ncregister.com/news/what-has-stalled-progress-in-uprooting-the-vatican-s-financial-corruption
It seems that Cardinal Pell has thanked Pope Francis for ‘cleaning house’. Methinks there might be some more cleaning to do…
Dear Father,
Is there a comparable Italian word for “schadenfreude”? Just asking for a friend, you know!
Becciu was the Holy Father’s “personal delegate” to the Order of Malta, officially bypassing Cardinal Burke as the Order’s Cardinal Patron. Recent reports say that Becciu was putting a stop to the German takeover of the Order. I wonder what will happen now…
If Dante were still writing, it seems he would have a huge cast of potential new denizens of The Inferno. Let us pray that these reprobates repent – as St. Faustina in her Diary said they would have that opportunity, even just before their actual point of death.
Loss of rights of a Cardinal but he remains in the College of Cardinals …
So does this mean he can vote in the next conclave or not?
Oh. Sorry, I just saw today’s update that addresses this question
Imrahil,
Cardinal Brandmuller had a titular diocese for about a week–from his episcopal consecration to the day he received the Red Hat.
Cardinals are so named because they are incardinated in the Diocese of Rome–they vote to elect the Bishop of Rome. All Latin Cardinals must be attached to a Roman parish or a Suffragan See.
rbbadger says:
Is there a comparable Italian word for “schadenfreude”? Just asking for a friend, you know!
Forse: vendetta per procura
One odd note, the official English edition of the Bollettino has still not published the notice (as of Saturday afternoon, US time).