Convicted cardinal wants to vote for pope, his brother prelates must decide

FILE PHOTO: Cardinal Angelo Becciu greets Cardinal Matteo Zuppi during a consistory ceremony to elevate Roman Catholic prelates to the rank of cardinal, at Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, August 27, 2022. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Cardinals in meetings ahead of the start of a secret conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis are scratching the hair under their red skull caps as they try to decide whether a cardinal convicted of embezzlement and fraud can join in the vote.

Their quandary concerns Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who in December 2023 was sentenced to 5-1/2 years in jail. He was the most senior Catholic Church official ever to stand trial before a Vatican criminal court.