The move comes following accusations that Pope Francis' absolute power undermines defendants' rights.

Prosecutor Alessandro Diddi's defence comes as the Vatican tribunal finalises its written reasons for its December 2023 verdicts in the so-called "trial of the century".

The tribunal convicted Cardinal Angelo Becciu and eight others of financial crimes related to a €350 million investment in a London property.

However the tribunal has yet to fully explain its decisions.

Diddi published an essay last month in the peer-reviewed journal Diritto e religioni (Law and Religion), responding to criticisms from two academics and lawyers representing some of the defendants.

Their critiques have raised more fundamental concerns about whether a fair trial is even possible in an absolute monarchy where the pope wields supreme legislative, executive and judicial power — and used it in this case.

Secret decrees

The lawyers argued that the two-year trial and preceding investigation were unfair, highlighting the Pope's secret issuance of four decrees during the investigation. Critics claim these decrees altered Vatican procedures to favour prosecutors.

The four secret decrees, signed by the Pope in 2019 and 2020, granted Vatican prosecutors extensive powers including unchecked wiretapping and the ability to detain suspects without a judge's warrant.

Diddi denied that the decrees impacted the suspects' rights, arguing that they provided an "authentic interpretation" of Vatican norms by the Pope.

He maintained that the decrees merely "disciplined some particular aspects of the investigation" and did not compromise the guarantees offered to the suspects.

However Geraldina Boni, a canon lawyer for Cardinal Becciu's defence, argued that the decrees violated the right to a fair trial since the suspects were unaware - until the trial - of the broad powers granted to prosecutors. One defendant was jailed for ten days during questioning.

Critics have questioned the tribunal's independence. Judges swear obedience to the Pope who has the absolute power to hire and fire them at will.

Diddi asserted the full independence of the tribunal and its judges. He confirmed that the defence had all opportunities to present its case.

"Even though the Holy See isn't a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, it doesn't place itself outside the international community and doesn't renege on the principles that inspire it" Diddi wrote.

Sources

AP News

Crux Now

CathNews New Zealand

Cardinal Pell, aged 81, died in January 2023 in Rome after a cardiac arrest following a routine hip replacement operation. His funeral was held four days later at St Peter's Basilica.

The funeral was notable for the absence of a traditional open casket, which reportedly surprised Vatican officials.

Recent reports in The Australian suggest that Pell's body was left in disarray after an autopsy, with his clothes haphazardly placed in the coffin, his body not properly dressed and without shoes.

Final insult

Herald Sun columnist Andrew Bolt, citing a conversation with Pell's brother, revealed that the cardinal's nose was broken upon the body's return to Australia, describing it as a "final insult".

Bolt speculated that the mistreatment might have stemmed from either incompetence or lingering animosity within the Vatican.

"Pell once told me he did not feel safe in the Vatican as he chased the crooks" Bolt stated. "What was done to his body makes me suspect he was right."

Pell a 'ticking time bomb'

However Pell's brother David told The Australian that the family has no issue with George Pell's medical treatment in Rome.

David Pell said George Pell had several serious heart conditions that dated back to the 1990s. He described the cardinal as a "ticking time bomb".

David Pell explained the condition of George Pell's body, saying that he was vested but in an incorrect sequence.

He suggested the Cardinal's nose could have been broken by the lid of his tight fitting coffin which was lined with zinc or, as one medico suggested, that the Cardinal's nose could have been damaged by hospital tubes while nursing staff were trying to revive him.

David Pell said that there was no room for the Cardinal's size 14 shoes to be put on him, but that they were in the coffin.

He said the family decided the coffin not be open at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney because the embalming "was not up to scratch" and by the time of the Sydney funeral his brother would have been dead for three weeks.

David Pell told the Australian that, while a number of his brother's friends urged him to return to Australia for his hip replacement, the family had no say.

"The big boy made up his mind" he said,

Sources

Daily Mail

The Australian

Herald Sun

The Australian

CathNews New Zealand