Cardinal George Pell has cast doubt on whether a big Vatican financial trial will go ahead, saying “it might fail for legal reasons”.
The trial concerns the Holy See’s 350 million euro (nearly $A550 million) investment in a London property deal but has expanded to include other alleged financial crimes.
Vatican prosecutors accuse Italian brokers, Vatican officials and a self-styled security analyst of bilking the Vatican coffers of millions of euros, largely donations from the faithful.
The uncertain fate of the trial has concerned Cardinal Pell, who as Pope Francis’ money czar flagged problems with the London investment years ago but was unable to get to the bottom of it.
In a recent interview with the National Catholic Register, the Australian cardinal said he wasn’t sure if the case could go ahead.
“I’m not confident of anything with the Vatican trial. I don’t know what’s going on,” Pell was quoted as saying.
“I’m not even entirely sure that it will go ahead. It might fail for legal reasons.”
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