ROME (AP) — Vatican prosecutors on Thursday seemingly defied an appeals court order to turn over to the defense all the evidence gathered in the Vatican’s big financial trial, setting the stage for another clash in the long-running case.

In a three-page letter, prosecutors said they would allow the appeals court judges to consult the material. But they didn’t deposit the documentation for the defense to see in the chancery as ordered, saying it was “irrelevant” to the trial and could harm the Vatican’s interests.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the appeals court would respond. The next hearing is scheduled for June 22.

Prosecutors had acquired the material during their sprawling investigation into a $410 million investment by the Vatican Secretariat of State into a London property. In December 2023, after a two-year trial, a cardinal and eight other people were convicted of several financial charges.

Defense lawyers had argued from the start of the trial that their clients couldn’t get a fair trial with key evidence either redacted or withheld entirely by the prosecution.