Becciu, his brother Mario speaks: "But do you think a cardinal can take care of my beer?"
Mario Becciu
Mario Becciu dismisses as "falsehood" the revelations of the Espresso on his brother Giovanni Angelo, who resigned from the post of Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and renounced the cardinalate
Mario Becciu, professor of Psychology at the Salesian Pontifical University, answers the phone in the middle of the morning.And he strongly denies that someoperations of the companyof which he is legal representative and majority shareholder, Angel's Srl, were favored by the cardinal.
Professor, is it true that your brother helped you to produce and market "Thumbelina Beer"? "It's all completely false, pieces have been put together that have nothing to do with it."
Didn't your brother intervene to make agreements with ecclesiastical or religious bodies for the purchase of beer? "Absolutely not. He has never entered into this matter. Do you think a cardinal can take care of my beer? And do you think that a cardinal's brother cannot carry on his own business?".
When and how did you start producing Pollicina Beer? "Production started in December 2019, but we had to wait until March 2020 to make it ferment decently."
Why is it almost impossible to find in craft beer retail stores? "The lockdown began in March which effectively stopped marketing."
But part of the Thumbelina Beer was sold.To who? "We didn't sell it to anyone, except to a few people we know. It was a small production for third parties".
For who? "Friends. And then we made an agreement with Caritas of Rome. A small part of the profits is donated to the Foundation, the rest goes to society".
These agreements, however, together with the funding to Angel's srl, ended up under the investigators' lens. "My company will deny everything even with official press releases and lawsuits. I have suffered damage and I must protect myself".
Would Cardinal Becciu also be extraneous to the events concerning Spes, the cooperative of Ozieri in the province of Sassari managed by another brother of yours, Tonino, to which Vatican funds would have gone? "There is nothing that was written. We are five brothers, but each works independently".
Did you hear from your brother Angelo, the cardinal, after his resignation? "We are in a delicate moment. He is very, very sorry and surprised. But he is also calm because he is sure that he will be able to explain everything".
