Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone (right) attends the traditional Greetings to the Roman Curia on December 21, 2015 at the Vatican. Accused of using charity money to refurbish his luxury apartment, Bertone has donated 150,000 euros ($163,000) to the Catholic foundation which footed the bill, media reports said. Bertone, the Vatican鈥檚 former Secretary of State, a role equivalent to prime minister, has insisted he paid for the 300,000 euros renovation of the flat overlooking Saint Peter鈥檚 Square himself. AFP
VATICAN CITY, Holy See 鈥� A Vatican court convicted Saturday the former head of聽the pope鈥檚 children鈥檚 hospital for diverting funds to the costly renovation of a top cardinal鈥檚 luxury apartment.
Giuseppe Profiti, the former president of the Vatican-run Bambino Gesu Pediatric Hospital Foundation, was given a one-year suspended prison sentence for 鈥渁buse of power鈥� over diverting 422,000 euros ($500,000) to fund the renovations.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, a former number two at the Vatican under pope Benedict XVI, received in 2013 the spectacular apartment, which is just a stone鈥檚 throw from Pope Francis鈥檚 modest boarding house.
Despite being mentioned repeatedly throughout the trial, the 82-year-old cardinal was never called as a witness.
The prosecutor said that the incident looked 鈥渄readful鈥� and was characterized by 鈥渟ilence and opacity and poor management of public affairs鈥�. He had requested three years in prison for Profiti.
The second defendant in the trial, the foundation鈥檚 treasurer, was found not guilty.
鈥楾he idea was mine alone鈥�
Spread across hundreds of square meters at the top of the Palazzo San Carlo, the cardinal鈥檚 residence boasts a huge terrace with magnificent views over Rome.
Profiti testified that hospital funds were used for the renovation with the idea that the cardinal could host intimate dinners for eight to ten wealthy potential donors at a time.
Bertone approved the concept, but 鈥渢he idea was mine alone,鈥� Profiti told the court.
Profiti acknowledged financial controls surrounding the spending had been lax, saying he could not recall if any contracts had been drawn up. The work was carried out between November 2013 and May 2014.
Pope Francis has vowed to eradicate clerical extravagance, slamming his fist on a table after the luxurious lifestyle of several cardinals was revealed by media reports in 2015 and saying that they cannot 鈥渓ead the life of a pharaoh鈥�.
Bertone gave up his position as a number two in the Holy See hierarchy months after Francis鈥檚 election in 2013, and retired from his last Vatican duties in December 2014.
In late 2015, a new director of the hospital asked Bertone to plug the funding gap. Bertone made a donation of 150,000 euros.
The renovation has been widely depicted in the Italian media as reflecting the once-powerful cardinal鈥檚 desire to spend his retirement in maximum comfort and elegance. /cbb