Vatican court jails Italian cardinal for five-and-a-half years for embezzlement

Angelo Becciu, 75, was the highest ranking Church official ever to stand trial before a Vatican criminal court.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu attends a consistory inside St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, on Aug. 27, 2022. File Picture: AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File

A Vatican court on Saturday convicted Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu of several counts of embezzlement and sentenced him to five years and six months in jail.

Becciu, 75, was the highest ranking Church official ever to stand trial before a Vatican criminal court.