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One of the most influential cardinals of the Vatican, the Italian

Angelo Becciu

, resigned this Thursday from the government of the Holy See, which has not given explanations in this regard.

"The Holy Father accepted the resignation of the post of prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and of the rights linked to the cardinalate presented by his eminence Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu," the Holy See announced Thursday night in a brief statement. .

After a career as a nuncio (ambassador), the Italian prelate served for seven years as a substitute for the Secretary of State, the

equivalent of a Minister of the Interior,

in constant contact with Benedict XVI and later with Pope Francis.

Newly ordained a cardinal in the summer of 2018 by Pope Francis, Angelo Becciu took over the reins of the Holy See administration in charge of investigating and deciding on beatifications and canonizations.

His resignation at the

age of 72, premature in the customs of the Church

, seems like a sanction.

The short Vatican statement specifies that he will continue to be a cardinal but loses all the rights associated with this function, especially the possibility of electing a new pope during a conclave or advising the current sovereign pontiff.

The cardinal's name has come to light on multiple occasions in the framework of an

investigation, launched a year ago, into opaque financial arrangements

to buy a property in the elegant London neighborhood of Chelsea.

The purchase process began in 2014 when Becciu was still in the Secretary of State, the central administration of the Holy See that decided on this investment.

Earlier this year, Becciu defended the validity of this real estate purchase in interviews.

As part of this investigation, five employees of the Secretary of State are in the crosshairs of Vatican justice.

An Italian businessman was arrested last June on suspicion of extortion against the Holy See in connection with the purchase of the London building, before being provisionally released.

According to revelations in the Italian magazine L'Espresso that will be published on Sunday, the cardinal would have allocated hundreds of thousands of euros from the Italian episcopate and the Holy See to a cooperative in Sardinia managed by his brother, which takes care of the social integration under the auspices of a diocese.

The investigation, partially revealed on Friday in the Italian daily La Repubblica and which may have precipitated the cardinal's downfall, claims that

the prelate also favored the activities of two other brothers during his career.

The family reinvested funds in financial activities, including offshore funds, according to the same source.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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