Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the key figure in the Vatican’s landmark financial trial, has said that Pope Francis reinstated his privileges as a member of the College of Cardinals.

Cardinal Becciu told a congregation in Sardinia that the Pope had invited him to participate in a consistory of cardinals to be held later this month. He said that the Pope assured him he would be “reinstated in my cardinalatial functions.”

Cardinal Becciu was forced to relinquish his privileges as a cardinal—although he was allowed to retain the title—in 2020, when Vatican prosecutors presented criminal accusations against him.

In his court appearances during the trial, the Italian prelate has continued to deny any wrongdoing. He has insisted that his decisions related to an ill-fated London real-estate deal were personally approved by Pope Francis. He also said that the Pope made the decision to fire Libero Milone, the Vatican’s auditor general, who had said that Becciu was responsible for his dismissal.

Cardinal Becciu remains a defendant in the ongoing trial, accused not only of financial misconduct but also of spying on other Vatican officials.