Something unusual has happened in the Vatican: a cardinal has resigned.
The reasons are unclear - but the press already praises Pope Francis' hard hand.
Rome
- It is an extremely unusual step:
Cardinal Angelo Becciu
has
resigned
from his office as
Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Canonization and Beatification
.
He also renounces his rights as a
cardinal
.
The press office of the Vatican announced on Thursday.
No reason was given for the 72-year-old Italian's withdrawal.
Italian media brought the move in connection with a
scandal over an investment by the Vatican
in a luxury property in central London.
The message only said that
Pope Francis
had accepted the resignation on Thursday.
Pope Francis accepts cardinal's resignation - background guesswork
Such a
cardinal resignation
is a very rare thing.
At first it was not entirely clear whether Becciu would at least keep the title, if not the rights.
As a rule, according to experts, discharge from this status is not planned within the church.
When asked about his withdrawal, the former church diplomat of the Italian news agency Adnkronos said only: "I prefer to remain silent."
In a previous position at the State Secretariat, the central bureaucracy of the Vatican, Becciu oversaw the controversial real estate business.
The
prosecutors of the Vatican
examine it for some time.
In June, investigators arrested Gianluigi Torzi, a London-based Italian financier.
He was reportedly acting as a middleman when the Vatican attempted to gain full control of the property.
Torzi, who denies any wrongdoing, has been charged with extortion, embezzlement, serious fraud and money laundering.
He was released on bail a few days later.
Pope in focus after Becciu's resignation: press praises "hard hand"
The
incident caused quite a stir
in the
Italian press
.
The newspaper
La Repubblica
compared the
events with the "Soviet era", "where the actions and intrigues in the struggle for power ended with rolling heads, without an explanation or only with brief information that left room for any speculation."
The
paper sees the
role of the Pope
as positive: Francis shows "a hard hand against the corrupt and corruptible".
In Germany, however, Francis was most recently criticized - the reason was an instruction for Germany.
Predecessor Benedikt was also not above all criticism, but recently celebrated a record.
(
dpa / fn
)