Vatican cardinal says donations went to charity, not brother

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — A once-powerful cardinal has told a Vatican court that he donated 125,000 euros ($140,000) of Vatican money to a Sardinian diocesan charity for purely charitable reasons. He is rejecting prosecutors’ claims that the money benefitted his brother, who ran the charity. Cardinal Angelo Becciu concurred Thursday that his brother Antonino was the legal representative of the Spes charity. But Becciu insisted that the donations of Holy See money responded to verifiable needs requested to help the poor. Prosecutors have accused Becciu of embezzling Holy See funds and placed him on trial along with nine other people accused of defrauding the Vatican of tens of millions of euros, much of the money donations from the faithful. They deny wrongdoing.