Cardinal skips Vatican trial to boycott talk of rumoured liaison with woman

FILE PHOTO: Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becci, speaks to the media a day after he resigned suddenly and gave up his right to take part in an eventual conclave to elect a pope, near the Vatican, in Rome, Italy, September 25, 2020. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A cardinal who is a defendant in a Vatican corruption trial stayed away on Tuesday because he did not want to be in the room when lawyers spoke of rumours that he had an intimate relationship with a woman, which he has denied.

The trial, in which 10 defendants are accused of fraud and other crimes related to the Vatican's 350 million euro ($400 million) purchase of a luxury building in London, resumed after a break of more than a month. All have denied wrongdoing.