Cardinal And Nine Others On Trial At Vatican

VATICAN CITY (AP) – A trial is slated to begin on Tuesday within the Vatican City’s imposing walls of 10 defendants, including a once-powerful cardinal, for roles in the allegedly criminal management of the Holy See’s portfolio of assets. That wealth included donations by rank-and-file Catholics from the pews. The trial is the largest in the modern history of the Vatican city-state and is being held in a hall converted into a courtroom in the Vatican Museums. The most prominent defendant is Cardinal Angelo Becciu, an Italian prelate who had headed the Holy See’s saint-making office until Pope Francis fired him. Becciu denies wrongdoing. Looming large in the investigation is the Vatican’s disastrous London real estate investment.