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Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar of the Diocese of Rome, denied Jun. 8 being part of a criminal investigation against his brother involving several Sicilian politicians and businessmen.

The denial came as media reports in Italy questioned whether the cardinal had knowledge on his brother’s alleged dealings.

Cardinal Baldassare Reina. Credit: Vatican media.

Domenico Reina, the cardinal’s brother, was accused by the Caltanissetta prosecutor’s office of receiving a public contract worth 128,000 euros, which was allegedly arranged by operatives linked to the Forza Italia political party, in an effort to curry favor with the cardinal and shore up support among Catholic voters in Sicily’s regional elections.

While the cardinal denied all knowledge of his brother’s dealings, Italian newspaper La Repubblica published an article June 9 citing alleged transcripts of phone conversations between the cardinal and his brother, in which the cardinal discussed and encouraged his brother to accept the contract and appeared aware of political links to the job.

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A statement issued to the Italian news agency ANSA on Jun. 8 by Cardinal Reina’s attorney stressed that the cardinal “is not under investigation nor formally involved in the criminal proceedings in question,” after prosecutors in Caltanissetta announced an investigation into Domenico Reina, the cardinal’s brother,

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