Can Convicted Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu Vote for Next Pope? What We Know

An Italian cardinal who was found guilty of fraud and embezzlement has claimed he can vote in the election to choose the next pope, despite being removed from the list of electors.

Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was ordered to resign from one of the most powerful positions in the Vatican by Pope Francis in 2020 due to the financial scandal, claimed that he was still eligible to participate in conclave, and would be attending as a cardinal.

Newsweek contacted the Vatican for a response to Becciu’s claims via email and via phone.

The Context

Becciu was a high-ranking “sostituto,” or deputy, in the Holy See’s Secretariat of State, which granted him regular access to Francis and made him the equivalent to the papal chief of staff. However, the cardinal became the first man to be convicted in the Vatican’s criminal court after allegations that Becciu embezzled tens of millions of dollars for an investment scheme in the U.K.

Becciu was forced to resign all the “rights and privileges” of his cardinal position, and was shuffled to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, a far less powerful part of the institution.

What To Know

After Francis’ death, Becciu has claimed that he was not stripped of his right to vote in the election for his successor.

The cardinal visited the body of the late pope on Wednesday, the day after he gave an interview with Italian magazine L’Unione Sarde, where he argued that Francis’ revocation of his privileges had not applied to his conclave vote.

“The pope has recognized my cardinal prerogatives as intact since there was no explicit will to exclude me from the conclave nor a request for my explicit renunciation in writing,” Becciu said, rejecting a list of electors released by the Vatican that did not include him.

“The list published by the press office has no legal value and should be taken for what it is.”

Giovanni Angelo Becciu at Pope Francis' coffin — Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu walks next to Pope Francis’ coffin after paying his respects during a ceremony inside St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on April 23, 2025.

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However, the Vatican’s records appear to contradict Becciu’s claims. He was listed as an eligible elector on the official slate prior to 2020, but has not been listed since 2021, after he was convicted.

The most recent version of the electors’ slate, published two days before the death of Francis, does not feature Becciu, suggesting that his name was deliberately removed due to the scandal in 2020. This would make his claim that there was “no explicit will to exclude me from the conclave” untrue.

Experts in canon law have said that the situation surrounding Becciu’s eligibility is murky, as he retained the title of cardinal, but lost the “rights and privileges” associated with it.

What People Are Saying

Geraldina Boni, a professor of canon law at the University of Bologna, told Il Messaggero that Becciu could succeed in an appeal claim, saying: “The punishment meted out to Becciu in the first phase of the trial cannot in any way be invoked to prevent him from entering the conclave.

“Becciu’s conviction could fall on appeal, demonstrating the inconsistency of all the accusations. In that case it would be obvious that he had been the victim of a grave abuse, which should be immediately rectified.”