Pope meets cardinal sentenced for financial crimes, banned from conclave

ROME – As with any new papacy, a quick look at their first appointments and audiences inside the system offers at least a small insight into what is first and foremost on their minds in terms of pastoral and administrative priorities.

For Pope Leo XIV, with nearly a month at the helm and around two weeks of scheduling meetings and making some initial decisions, beyond the expected meetings with state leaders in town for his election and installation activities, his top priorities are already beginning to take shape.

On the whole, they seem to indicate his intention to carry on the unfinished business of the Francis papacy, from finances to the abuse crisis to the reform of the Roman Curia.

One of the most notable meetings came Tuesday, May 27, when Pope Leo held a private meeting with the disgraced Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, 76, who in December 2023 was sentenced to five and a half years in jail at the culmination of the Vatican’s Trial of the Century for financial crimes related to a shady real estate deal in London, in which the Vatican took a bath of roughly $250 million.

In addition to his jail time, Becciu was also fined roughly $8,700 and permanently barred from holding any public office in the Vatican City State.

Becciu, the first cardinal to ever be convicted and sentenced in a Vatican civil court, has consistently denied the allegations against him and has filed an appeal.

Prior to the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV, Becciu attended pre-conclave general congregation meetings, insisting he had not been barred from voting in the conclave until he was apparently shown a letter from Pope Francis stating that Becciu could not vote, and withdrew from participation.

The cardinals participating in the general congregations then published a communique thanking Becciu for bowing out gracefully, and voiced hope that the competent judicial authorities would “definitively ascertain the facts.”

Some cardinals were reportedly unhappy with the way Becciu was treated, and believed he got a raw deal.

By meeting with Becciu, Pope Leo is not necessarily rehabilitating or reinstating him, or giving any stamp of approval, but is potentially trying to address one of the most urgent and glaring situations that emerged during pre-conclave meetings that left a bad taste in the mouths of at least some cardinals.

Taken in tandem with his decision to give Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, an official job, however nominal, indicates that Leo is trying to some degree to mend fences and deal with painful situations not just in the church, but in the body of the College of Cardinals.

On May 24, Pope Leo named Sarah as his Special Envoy to preside over the July liturgical celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the apparitions of Saint Anne to the peasant Yvon Nicolazic in France.

Sarah was famously at odds with Pope Francis over several issues, and once came under fire for spinning a book as co-authored with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI condemning proposals to end priestly celibacy as Francis himself was considering those proposals, appearing to pit Benedict and Francis as being at odds.

An avid supporter of the Traditional Latin Mass, which Pope Francis restricted, Sarah was left in leadership by Francis but with his hands effectively tied until he retired promptly upon reaching the age of 75 in 2021.

He has remained a hero and martyr of sorts for more conservative-minded Catholics who felt slighted by Pope Francis, and Leo’s choice to give him a relatively insignificant task was seen as an effort by the pontiff to extend an olive branch amid what likely continues to be a painful situation.

Perhaps most indicative, however, is Pope Leo’s first official meeting after taking office, beyond the heads of state who visited for his election and inaugural Mass.

On May 14, the pope held a private meeting with American Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, archbishop emeritus of Boston and president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

Prior to the conclave, during the general congregations two issues repeatedly emerged as among the most glaring problems the church continued to face: The Vatican’s financial crisis, and ongoing fallout from the clerical abuse crisis.

His choice to meet with O’Malley as his first official audience, then, is indicative of just how much of a priority the abuse crisis will be in his papacy, especially given his vast experience with the Peru-based Sodalitium Christiane Vitae (SCV), a society of apostolic life whose case the pope had been personally involved in as bishop and cardinals, and which was suppressed by Pope Francis earlier this year, shortly before his death.

Leo had met May 12 with Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar of the Diocese of Rome, though that meeting was most likely focused on his liturgies taking possession of the papal basilicas in Rome: The Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. Mary Major, where Francis is buried, and St. John Lateran, the official cathedral see of the Bishop of Rome.

Also on May 14, Leo met with officials charged with organizing the ongoing Jubilee of Hope and the head of Opus Dei, Spanish Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz.

The meeting with Ocáriz likely focused on the ongoing reform of Opus Dei’s statutes, which was a process ordered by Pope Francis, but which has not yet been finished or formalized, meaning Pope Leo in holding the meeting is likely anxious to bring that issue to a resolution.

That day he also held an unofficial meeting, meaning it was not included in his list of appointments published by the Vatican Press Office, with Italian Sister Simona Brambilla, prefect of the Dicastery for Religious, who signed the SCV’s decree of suppression and is managing several other cases.

Leo also met May 22 with Archbishop Giordano Piccinotti, president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), indicating that the Vatican’s financial situation is also a priority.

Pope Leo has slowly been meeting with the prefects of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia, including a May 15 meeting with the entire leadership of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development: Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect; Sister Alessandra Smerilli, secretary; Cardinal Fagio Baggio, undersecretary; and Monsignor Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo, undersecretary.

Notably, the pope met with Smerilli and Baggio again May 27, without Czerny as prefect, raising expectations that Pope Leo might make good on rumors Pope Francis had intended, prior to his death, to appoint Smerilli as prefect of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, as Czerny is already 78, three years past the traditional age of retirement for prelates.

The pope also held a meeting May 16 with Cardinal Victor Fernandez, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and he met with Fernandez again May 26, making him the first prefect with whom Pope Leo met twice, before having met with others for the first time.

It is likely that at least part of the conversation during one or both meetings dealt with the ongoing case surrounding Slovene Father Marko Rupnik, a former Jesuit and famed muralist accused of sexually assaulting some 30-40 adult women, and whose case has been among the most notorious in the Catholic Church over the past two years.

Pope Leo said initially that he wanted to leave all dicastery heads in their current positions, taking time to listen, pray, and discern before making any changes, so his meetings with prefects are likely part of his effort to get an accurate lay of the land before making any decisions on personnel.

However, some meetings, such as his first meeting with O’Malley and his choice to meet Piccinotti before even some dicastery prefects, are indicative of his own priorities, and those expressed during pre-conclave meetings.

He also appears eager to address the “unfinished business” of the Francis papacy, in meetings such as that with Ocáriz, while also wanting to mend fences where he can, whether it is with Sarah or Becciu.

Regardless of how to interpret his initial meetings, it is undeniable that Pope Leo wants to get down to business, and if his schedule over the past two weeks is any indication, he is doing just that.

Follow Elise Ann Allen on X: @eliseannallen