Pope Francis speaks with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in the Vatican, 21 December 2017. (CLAUDIO PERI/AFP via Getty Images)
The Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, has confirmed that the Secretariat of State will constitute itself a "civil party" to the prosecution of 10 individuals -- including Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu -- and four companies in a corruption trial set to begin later this month in Vatican City criminal court. "We are considered victims," Cardinal Parolin told journalists in Strasbourg on July 4. "After considering all of the elements," he said, "we decided to constitute ourselves ," though he specified that the Secretariat had no direct knowledge of the investigation.
