FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2016, file photo, Pope Francis greets Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli at the Vatican. Several prominent lawyers have published stinging academic critiques and legal opinions about the Vatican's recently concluded "trial of the century," where Cardinal Angelo Becciu and nine others were convicted of several financial frauds, highlighting violations of basic defense rights and rule of law norms that they warn could have consequences for the Holy See going forward. After the first verdicts were issued, the Vatican's editorial director, Andrea Tornielli, insisted that the process had been fair, that the judges had full independence, and that the trial was carried out "in full respect of the guarantees for the suspects." (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - Prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone speaks during a press conference at Milan's court, Italy, on July 13, 2010. The Vatican City State tribunal in December 2023 convicted nine people, including a cardinal, of several financial crimes stemming from an investigation into the Vatican secretariat of state's 350 million euro investment in a London luxury properrty. Together, the opinions converge in raising some fundamental questions about the fairness of the trial and respect for the rule of law in the Vatican itself. Defense attorneys had highlighted most of the same issues during the two-year trial, but the tribunal headed by Judge Giuseppe Pignatone repeatedly rejected their motions. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)
FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 25, 2020 file photo, Cardinal Angelo Becciu talks to journalists during a press conference in Rome. Several prominent lawyers have published stinging academic critiques and legal opinions about the Vatican's recently concluded "trial of the century," where Becciu was convicted with others for several financial crimes, highlighting violations of basic defense rights and rule of law norms that they warn could have consequences for the Holy See going forward. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, June 28, 2018 file photo, Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu receives the red three-cornered biretta hat from Pope Francis during a consistory in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Several prominent lawyers have published stinging academic critiques and legal opinions about the Vatican's recently concluded "trial of the century," where Becciu was convicted with others for several financial crimes, highlighting violations of basic defense rights and rule of law norms that they warn could have consequences for the Holy See going forward. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, Dec.16, 2023, file photo, reporters watch a screen in the Vatican press room showing Vatican tribunal president Giuseppe Pignatone reading the verdict of a trial against Cardinal Angelo Becciu and nine other defendants. Several prominent lawyers have published stinging academic critiques and legal opinions about the Vatican's recently concluded "trial of the century," highlighting violations of basic defense rights and rule of law norms that they warn could have consequences for the Holy See going forward. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, file)
FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 25, 2020 file photo, Cardinal Angelo Becciu talks to journalists during a press conference in Rome. Several prominent lawyers have published stinging academic critiques and legal opinions about the Vatican's recently concluded "trial of the century," where Becciu was convicted with others for several financial crimes, highlighting violations of basic defense rights and rule of law norms that they warn could have consequences for the Holy See going forward. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)