Convicted cardinal wants to 'shout to the world' he is innocent

FILE PHOTO: Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who has been caught up in a real estate scandal, 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

ROME (Reuters) - Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the most senior Roman Catholic Church official ever to be tried by a Vatican criminal court, professed his innocence on Monday in his first public comments since being found guilty of embezzlement and fraud.

"I want to shout to the world that I am innocent, that I absolutely did not commit these crimes of which I am being accused," the 75-year-old said in an interview with Italian public television RAI.