Vatican prosecutors defy appeals-court order [News Analysis]

May 01, 2026

Vatican prosecutors have refused to comply with an order from a Vatican appeals court, in the latest stunning development in the long-running “trial of the century.”

In March, a Vatican appeals court declared a partial mistrial in the case against nine defendants, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who had been convicted in December 2023 of various financial crimes related to the purchase of a London real-estate property. The appeals court ordered a new trial, ruling that the prosecution had wrongly withheld evidence from defendants.

In that March ruling, the court ordered the prosecutors to provide defendants with the relevant evidence, setting a deadline of April 30. But as that date passed, the prosecution informed the court that it would not furnish defendants with the required evidence, proposing instead to allow the court itself to review the contested files. Any further release of the evidence to defendants “could pose a grave danger,” the prosecution said, without further explanation of what that danger could be.

Since the appeals court has already ruled that withholding the evidence preventing the defendants from receiving a fair trial, the latest announcement by the prosecution would seem, at first glance, to endanger the possibility of a new trial. In that case the Vatican could be forced to end a highly publicized criminal case, spanning more than five years and drawing unprecedented international attention, without producing convictions or answering key questions about the financial misconduct.

The “trial of the century” has already caused severe embarrassment for the Vatican, in a process that began with police raids on key Vatican offices, forced the resignation of top Vatican officials, exposed bitter rivalries and charges of spying within Vatican agencies, and ultimately raised questions about the ability of the Vatican to provide defendants with a fair trial.

The prosecutors’ refusal to comply with a court order reinforces those questions about the Vatican judicial system. Lawyers for the defendants promptly rejected the prosecutors’ “compromise” suggestion, arguing that no other legal system in the world would allow prosecutors to share evidence with judges but not with defendants.

The appeals court did not immediately respond to the prosecutors’ suggestion. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for June 22.

In a related development this week, the former president of the Vatican bank, Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, told a French interviewer that he was stunned by the level of financial mismanagement he encountered during his work at the Vatican. When asked whether he was speaking about dishonesty or incompetence, Franssu replied: "I would say both." He said: "I didn't expect such a lack of professionalism, respect for the rules, and such a desire for power, in many people."

—PFL

 

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Further information:

• Vatican court deadline passes for prosecutors to deposit all evidence in financial trial (AP)
• Vatican City appeals court finds partial mistrial in ‘trial of the century’ (CWN, 3/18)
• Jean-Baptiste de Franssu : «À la Banque du Vatican, je ne m’attendais pas à un tel manque de professionnalisme» (Le Pelerin)