Cardinals, money and death. Reading an article published last Wednesday by Paola Totaro on The Australian there would be all the perfect ingredients for yet another yellow in the Vatican. For days the echo of what was written on the other side of the ocean has been causing discussion in the small state in the center of Rome due to the statements released by Libero Milone, former general auditor of the Vatican accounts, who, speaking of the cardinal George Pellhe said:“His death, however, remains shrouded in mystery.”
Pell’s Death
George Pell, the first prefect of the secretariat for the economy, was a friend and also Milone’s point of reference during his time in the Vatican. The Australian cardinal died suddenly in January 2023 from a heart attack following hip surgery. The Australian seems to insinuate suspicion by writing that “the fact that the cardinal’s coffin was closed and did not allow the traditional farewell touch or kiss by mourners made turn up one’s nose to many present at the mass” and reporting that “For months, rumours had been circulating in the Holy See that Pell’s body had been left in disarray after theautopsy and had not been dressed properly, raising further concerns about his final hours.” People very close to Pell confirm that IlGiornale.it that the cardinal’s body was not in good condition after death and that there were indeed problems with his dressing. However, it must be remembered that the cardinal was almost 82 years old, had spent 404 days in prison in Australia for a crime he did not commit and had a family predisposition to cardiovascular diseases. His mother and two uncles had also died of heart problems. Yesterday, again on The Australianhis brother David confirmed that Pell’s conditions were not very good, describing them as “a ticking time bomb.”
The Expulsion of Milo
Milone’s statements have caused discussion because, in addition to talking about Pell, he returned to have his say on what happened in 2017 when he was induced to resignation from his position as auditor. According to the former auditor, both his dismissal and that of the deceased Pell and Ferruccio Panico would be linked to the resistance found in the Vatican in the face of their financial reform. Milone spoke of a plan “to paralyze our activities and continue to hide the embezzlement. They miscalculated because they chose people with an extremely high level of personal and professional ethics”adding that all “they were all kicked out for different reasons within 10 days.” Today, just as a few months after his resignation on 19 June 2017 at the Gendarmerie offices, later complaining that he had been faced with the choice between confessing or passing the night in the cellMilone once again points the finger at Cardinal Angelo Becciu, at the time monsignor and Substitute of the Secretariat of State. The former auditor has shown himself disappointed by the fact that the condemnation Becciu’s first-instance verdict in the trial that arose from the London scandal – and whose reasons are expected six months after the verdict – did not go hand in hand with the acceptance of his request for compensation for the dismissal he suffered in 2017. The two cases, however, are different.
Milone told the Australian newspaper: “It is also absurd that the court could absolve the Secretariat of State from our removal when it was Cardinal Becciu who made a public statement confirming his role in our removal, and that we would have been pursued if we had not signed the letters of resignation”.