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Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who was convicted of embezzlement and fraud and sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail, gestures during the taping of the television talk show "Cinque minuti" (Five minutes) in Rome, Italy, December 18, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
VATICAN CITY, April 29 (Reuters) - An Italian cardinal who was convicted of embezzlement and fraud said on Tuesday he will not take part in the secret conclave to elect the new pope.
Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the most senior Catholic Church official ever to stand trial before a Vatican criminal court, said in a statement he would not enter the conclave.
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Becciu was sentenced to 5-1/2 years in jail by a Vatican court in December 2023. He denies all wrongdoing and is free pending an appeal.
"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.
Francis, who died on April 21, had fired Becciu from a senior Vatican job in 2020 and accused him of embezzlement.
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".
The wording of that statement had left questions about whether Becciu could still enter the conclave to elect Francis' successor.
The world's Catholic cardinals, who are meeting this week to discuss general matters facing the global Church before voting on the new pope, were known to have discussed what to do about Becciu's case.
The conclave is due to start on May 7.
Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Additional reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Crispian Balmer
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