Vatican orders butler to stand trial, charges second man - The Vatican on Monday ordered Pope Benedict's former butler to stand trial on charges of aggravated theft for leaking documents alleging widespread corruption and for the first time revealed a second man was accused of being involved in the case.
In a 35-page document on a scandal which has rocked the Holy See since butler Paolo Gabriele was arrested last May, the Vatican said he saw himself as an agent of the Holy Spirit.
The pope's butler has agreed to cooperate with Vatican investigators. Paolo Gabriele is in Vatican custody for allegedly possessing confidential documents about conflicts within the church. (May 29)
Computer expert Claudio Sciarpelletti, a layman, had also been charged on lesser charges of aiding and abetting a crime, the document said.
It alleged Sciarpelletti was a close friend of Gabriele and that investigators had found a sealed envelope in his desk addressed to the butler which contained material published in a book based on the leaks.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, however, downplayed Sciarpelletti's role, saying he had only spent one night in jail at the start of the investigation and had been suspended from his job but not fired. If convicted, he would get "a light sentence," Lombardi said.
According to the document, Gabriele told investigators he had acted because he saw "evil and corruption everywhere in the Church" and wanted to help root it out "because the pope was not sufficiently informed".
In a section that referred to Gabriele's state of mind, he was said to have told investigators that after he started copying documents and leaking them, "I reached the point of no return and could not control myself anymore".
He continued: "I was sure that a shock, perhaps by using the media, could be a healthy thing to bring the Church back on the right track.
"I was always interested in intelligence and in a way I thought that in the Church this role belonged to the Holy Spirit, and in a certain sense I saw myself as its infiltrator."
Lombardi said it was not clear when the trial would be held but it would not be before the end of September. He added that the pope, as the sovereign head of the Vatican City, could intervene at any time to stop the trial or pardon Gabriele.
But he did not think he would do so before the trial.
POPE COULD PARDON BUTLER AFTER TRIAL
"It is up to the pope to decide. If the pope wants to pardon Gabriele, he will probably do it after the trial," Lombardi said.
If found guilty Gabriele, who worked in the pope's private apartments serving him meals and helping him dress, could face up to six years in jail under the laws of the papal state.
Since the Vatican has no prison, he would serve the sentence in an Italian jail unless he is pardoned. The butler was granted house arrest on July 21.
The indictment order also alleged that Gabriele gave copies of documents that he had already leaked to an Italian journalist, to another person identified only as "B," who he considered his "spiritual father".
"B" told investigators that he destroyed the documents because he knew that were linked to "an activity that was not legitimate and not honest".
Spiritual fathers are usually priests but the indictment did not specify this.
The Vatican document also said a cheque made out to the pope for 100,000 euros ($124,000), a gold nugget and a 16th century book were found in Gabriele's house. The butler had said he intended to give them all back.
The documents leaked earlier this year alleged corruption in the Vatican's dealings with Italian companies, including the payment of inflated prices for services. They also spoke of severe rivalries between cardinals and clashes over the running of the Vatican bank. ( Reuters )
In a 35-page document on a scandal which has rocked the Holy See since butler Paolo Gabriele was arrested last May, the Vatican said he saw himself as an agent of the Holy Spirit.
The pope's butler has agreed to cooperate with Vatican investigators. Paolo Gabriele is in Vatican custody for allegedly possessing confidential documents about conflicts within the church. (May 29)
Computer expert Claudio Sciarpelletti, a layman, had also been charged on lesser charges of aiding and abetting a crime, the document said.
It alleged Sciarpelletti was a close friend of Gabriele and that investigators had found a sealed envelope in his desk addressed to the butler which contained material published in a book based on the leaks.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, however, downplayed Sciarpelletti's role, saying he had only spent one night in jail at the start of the investigation and had been suspended from his job but not fired. If convicted, he would get "a light sentence," Lombardi said.
According to the document, Gabriele told investigators he had acted because he saw "evil and corruption everywhere in the Church" and wanted to help root it out "because the pope was not sufficiently informed".
In a section that referred to Gabriele's state of mind, he was said to have told investigators that after he started copying documents and leaking them, "I reached the point of no return and could not control myself anymore".
He continued: "I was sure that a shock, perhaps by using the media, could be a healthy thing to bring the Church back on the right track.
"I was always interested in intelligence and in a way I thought that in the Church this role belonged to the Holy Spirit, and in a certain sense I saw myself as its infiltrator."
Lombardi said it was not clear when the trial would be held but it would not be before the end of September. He added that the pope, as the sovereign head of the Vatican City, could intervene at any time to stop the trial or pardon Gabriele.
But he did not think he would do so before the trial.
POPE COULD PARDON BUTLER AFTER TRIAL
"It is up to the pope to decide. If the pope wants to pardon Gabriele, he will probably do it after the trial," Lombardi said.
If found guilty Gabriele, who worked in the pope's private apartments serving him meals and helping him dress, could face up to six years in jail under the laws of the papal state.
Since the Vatican has no prison, he would serve the sentence in an Italian jail unless he is pardoned. The butler was granted house arrest on July 21.
The indictment order also alleged that Gabriele gave copies of documents that he had already leaked to an Italian journalist, to another person identified only as "B," who he considered his "spiritual father".
"B" told investigators that he destroyed the documents because he knew that were linked to "an activity that was not legitimate and not honest".
Spiritual fathers are usually priests but the indictment did not specify this.
The Vatican document also said a cheque made out to the pope for 100,000 euros ($124,000), a gold nugget and a 16th century book were found in Gabriele's house. The butler had said he intended to give them all back.
The documents leaked earlier this year alleged corruption in the Vatican's dealings with Italian companies, including the payment of inflated prices for services. They also spoke of severe rivalries between cardinals and clashes over the running of the Vatican bank. ( Reuters )
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