The French Embassy to the Holy See held a reception on the evening of September 24, 2020 that, typical of ecclesial life in Rome, brought together foreign diplomats, journalists and members of the Roman Curia.
Then, just after 8 pm, a murmur ran through the gathering.
People began pulling out their cell phones and, one-by-one, the screens all displayed the same news: Pope Francis had just dismissed Cardinal Angelo Becciu from his post as prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints and stripped him of all his privileges as a cardinal.
In the hushed atmosphere of Villa Bonaparte, disbelief was absolute.
And now, three years later, after the cardinal was sentenced on December 17 to five and a half years in prison for fraud and embezzlement, it is clear that this impression has never really dissipated.
Indeed, the sentence the Vatican tribunal handed down last Saturday has triggered what some Church officials call "shock waves" throughout the Curia.
"I didn't expect such a decision," said one of them who had instead expected a "symbolic" condemnation.