An Italian cardinal convicted for his role in a scandal involving Vatican spies and property investments in Chelsea has bowed out of the conclave to elect a new pope after reportedly being shown a request signed by Pope Francis before he died.
Cardinal Angelo Becciu backtracked on Tuesday on his earlier insistence that he would be voting in the conclave, stating: “I have decided to obey the will of Pope Francis, as I have always done, and not enter the conclave despite remaining convinced of my innocence.”
The reports of letters left by Francis asking a cardinal not to vote recall the plot of the recent film Conclave, in which the dean of the college of cardinals played by Ralph Fiennes searches for a
