A trial that has guaranteed the rights of all

By Andrea Tornielli

It is surely incorrect to call it "the trial of the century," even if what has just concluded in the multifunctional hall of the Vatican Museums has been without a doubt an important trial, the first of such significance and scope in the history of Vatican City State, that is from the time of the Lateran Treaty of 1929. It’s been a long and onerous trial that has entered into the "living flesh" of the management of the Holy See's finances and has brought to the public domain both the ways in which funds have been administered in some cases, as well as attempts by some external actors to appropriate resources of the Church. A transparent and necessary path was undertaken for a regular trial given the charges made and that which emerged in the investigative and inquiry phases.

The management of Vatican finances has been the focus of investigative and at times court journalism for over half a century. The path of transparency began with determination under Benedict XVI and continued with steadfastness with the reforms of Pope Francis. Faced with the irregularities reported to judiciary authorities, and not by magistrates of other countries, but by internal offices of the Holy See, Pope Francis let justice take its ordinary and institutional course. Beyond the caricatures presented by some, the trial over the Sloane Avenue building investment and related issues was fair, a trial that was entirely played out in the hearings with full respect for the rights of the defendants. This is evidenced not only in the number of hearings, documents, and witnesses heard, but also in the fact that witnesses who first seemed fundamental, later became inconsequential because of the courtroom debate and documentary evidence.

The outcome of this trial also tells us that the magistrates of the tribunal, as should have been the case, reasoned with complete independence on the basis of documental proof and witnesses heard, not on preconceived theories. And they left ample room for debate. Therefore, the ruling was arrived at with respect for all the rights of the defendants, having taken into due consideration the petitions of their advocates and above all without ever bending the norms to the convenience of the prosecution. For example, this is demonstrated in the decision of the court to consider as inadmissible the statements made during the interrogation of Gianluigi Torzi at the Vatican Gendarmerie. The statements included accusations against other defendants,  but they were not considered admissible given that Torzi himself did not appear in the courtroom to repeat and corroborate them.

Pope Francis said last February on the occasion of the inauguration of the judicial year, that one must be clear and avoid 'not seeing the wood for the trees': the problem is not the lawsuits, but the facts and conduct that give rise to them and make them painfully necessary." Norms regarding transparency, tight controls on the management of funds, also on the part of external managers, and the awareness that there are no free zones, will help contribute to the management of ecclesiastical goods that is evermore similar to the prudence of a good family father. The genesis of this trial has shown that the Holy See and Vatican City State possess the necessary "antibodies" to identify presumed abuses or misconduct. The way the trial hearings were carried out shows how justice is being administered without shortcuts, following a code of practice with respect for the rights of each person and the presumption of innocence.