Vatican Saint Making Office Head, Becciu Resigns

In a dramatic manner, the Vatican’s saint-making office head Cardinal Angelo Becciu has resigned on Thursday and renounced his rights as a cardinal amid scam.

Amid financial scam, Becciu who once was a former No. 2 in the Vatican’s secretariat of state has announced the resignation from the Cardinal post which was accepted by Pope Francis.

In the one-sentence announcement, Pope said

only that Francis had accepted Becciu’s resignation as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and his rights connected to the cardinalate.

Though Becciu was not named directly in a financial scam while the Vatican’s investment in a London real estate deal. In this deal, the Holy institution lost the millions of euros paid to a middleman. However, Becciu strongly condemned any wrongdoing while dealing. The scam sparked the Vatican investigation that has so far implicated a half-dozen Vatican employees.

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But the sudden resignation of Becciu has raised many questions as to why he has taken such a decision when he defended the soundness of the investment deal of $200 million bases in London.

Becciu, aged 72 yrs now, was considered as a possible future conclave to get elected as a successor for Pope Francis. Becciu earned enormous influence and power after naming him as a cardinal and moved him into the Vatican’s saint-making office. He was entrusted for running the Curia. Earlier, from 2011-2018, Becciu was a top deputy in the secretariat of state.

Past Cardinals who have resigned earlier to Becciu

However, the Vatican city staff is tight-lipped related to the ongoing proceedings. But Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said the whole matter was opaque and needed to be clarified.  Pope Francis has vowed to get to the bottom of what he has said was evidence of corruption in the Holy See.