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VATILEAKS: Pope's butler arrested in Vatican leak inquiry
30-May-2012
The Pope's butler has been charged in connection with the Vatican's inquiry into a series of media leaks. Vatican magistrates have named 46-year-old Paolo Gabriele as the suspect in their investigation, saying he illegally took confidential documents. (Source: persianrealm.com)
Pope's Butler Charged In 'Vatileaks' Scandal (Al Jazeera):
Pope Benedict XVI's butler has been arrested and charged with illegal possession of secret documents following embarrassing leaks that exposed alleged intrigue and corruption in the Vatican, a spokesman has said. Federico Lombardi said in a statement on Saturday that Paolo Gabriele, a layman who lives inside Vatican City, was arrested on Wednesday. The Vatican said a wider investigation would take place to see if Gabriele, 46, had any accomplices that helped him leak the documents. Al Jazeera's Emma Hayward reports
Pope's Butler to Cooperate in Vatican Scandal Inquiry (PBS):
The Vatican scandal deepened Monday when the pope's butler, arrested for allegedly having confidential documents last week, said he will cooperate with Vatican criminal investigation of leaks. Margaret Warner and the National Catholic Reporter's John Allen discuss suggestions that a cardinal may be responsible for disclosures.
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THE CONFESSION
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Confession Scene from Godfather III:
Michael (Al Pacino) finally confesses that he ordered the death of his brother.
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VATILEAKS
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Vatican leak inquiry: Pope's butler charged (bbc)
The Pope's butler has been charged in connection with the Vatican's inquiry into a series of media leaks.
Vatican magistrates have named 46-year-old Paolo Gabriele as the suspect in their investigation, saying he illegally took confidential documents.
A series of leaks, dubbed Vatileaks, has revealed alleged corruption, mismanagement and internal conflicts.
Last month, Pope Benedict XVI set up a special commission of cardinals to find the source of the confidential memos.
Mr Gabriele is the pope's personal butler and assistant and one of very few laymen to have access to the Pope's private apartments.
Documents found
He lives with his wife and three children in an apartment within the Vatican walls, where Italian media report that a stash of confidential documents had been discovered.
"I confirm that the person detained on Wednesday for illegal possession of private documents is Mr Paolo Gabriele, who remains in detention," the spokesman for the Holy See, Father Federico Lombardi said, according to Italy's state broadcaster, Rai.
The Vatican's judge, Piero Antonio Bonnet, has been instructed to examine the evidence of the case and to decide whether there is sufficient material to proceed to trial.
Mr Gabriele has nominated two lawyers capable of representing him at a Vatican tribunal, and has met with them.
He would, the Vatican has said, have "all the juridical guarantees foreseen by the criminal code of the State of Vatican City".
As the Vatican has no jail, Mr Gabriele is being held in one of the three so-called "secure rooms" in the offices of the Vatican's tiny police force inside the walled city-state, Reuters reports.
If convicted, he could face a sentence of up to 30 years for illegal possession of documents of a head of state, probably to be served in an Italian prison due to an agreement between Italy and the Vatican, Italian media report.
The Vatileaks scandal has filled Italian media - dominating the columns of Italian newspapers and filling TV programmes and magazines.
'Poison pen' memos
The detention comes during one of the most tumultuous weeks in recent history for the Vatican.
Last week a book, entitled His Holiness, was published by an Italian journalist with reproductions of confidential letters and memos between the pope and his personal secretary.
The Vatican called the book "criminal" and vowed to take legal action against the author, publisher, and whoever leaked the documents.
Last Thursday, the president of the Vatican bank - Ettore Gotti Tedeschi - was ousted by the bank's board.
Sources close to the investigation said he too had been found to have leaked documents, though the official reason for his departure was that he had failed to do his job.
Mr Tedeschi himself said the move had been a punishment for his attempt to make the bank more open.
The BBC's David Willey, in Rome, says the leak of a string of highly sensitive internal documents from inside the Vatican's Secretariat of State, including personal letters to Pope Benedict XVI, has been an evident embarrassment to the Pope, prompting the rare investigation.
The leaked documents include a letter to Pope Benedict by the Vatican's current ambassador to Washington alleging cronyism, nepotism and corruption among the administrators of Vatican City.
Others concern "poison pen" memos criticising Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the pope's number two, and the reporting of suspicious payments by the Vatican Bank.
Recommended Reading:
Profile: Pope's butler Paolo Gabriele by David Willey (bbc)
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Vatican leak IT expert convicted
by Darius Kadivar on Sat Nov 10, 2012 09:57 AM PSTVatican leak IT expert convicted (bbc)
A Vatican court convicts a computer expert accused of helping the Pope's former butler to steal papal documents.
Pope butler moved to Vatican cell
by Darius Kadivar on Thu Oct 25, 2012 09:46 AM PDTPope butler moved to Vatican cell (bbc)
The Pope's former butler, found guilty of stealing secret documents, is moved from house arrest to serve his sentence in the Vatican police station.
How trial of Pope's butler may not end scandal
by Darius Kadivar on Sun Oct 07, 2012 03:25 AM PDTStopping the rot (bbc)
How trial of Pope's butler may not end scandal
By David WilleyBBC News, Vatican City
The 18-month prison sentence handed down by the Vatican City criminal court on Pope Benedict's former butler, Paolo Gabriele, may mark not the end but the beginning of a complex story of betrayal and discontent at the very heart of the Catholic Church.
Some of the hundreds of sensitive documents stolen from the Pope's desk over an extended period found their way into the Italian mainstream media and into a bestselling book earlier this year.Pope 'likely to pardon' ex-butler
by Darius Kadivar on Sun Oct 07, 2012 03:22 AM PDTPope 'likely to pardon' ex-butler (bbc)
The Vatican suggests the Pope is likely to pardon his former butler, who has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for stealing confidential papers.
Pope's ex-butler jailed for theft
by Darius Kadivar on Sat Oct 06, 2012 03:56 AM PDTPope's ex-butler jailed for theft (bbc)
Pope Benedict's ex-butler Paolo Gabriele has been found guilty of stealing confidential papers and sentenced to 18 months in jail.
Prosecutors had called for a three-year sentence but it was reduced because of "mitigating circumstances".
Speaking before the verdict, he said he acted out of love for the Church and did not see himself as a thief.
Gabriele had denied the theft charge but admitted photocopying documents and "betraying the Holy Father's trust".
Defence lawyers had asked for the charge to be reduced.
Paolo Gabriele was accused of stealing and copying the Pope's documents and leaking them to an Italian journalist.
Pope's ex-butler to learn fate in trial for theft
by Darius Kadivar on Fri Oct 05, 2012 06:38 PM PDT'Vatileaks' case (bbc)
Pope's ex-butler to learn fate in trial for theft
Five months after his arrest on charges of stealing thousands of pages of secret correspondence and documents from Pope Benedict's private office in the Vatican, his former manservant Paolo Gabriele is about to learn his fate.
If found guilty - and he has already confessed to Vatican investigators - he faces a possible maximum four-year prison sentence, which he would serve in an Italian jail under a treaty signed with Italy during fascist times.
However, Vatican sources say there is a strong possibility that Pope Benedict will use his power to pardon Mr Gabriele in the near future, perhaps even before he begins to serve a sentence. Even if he is convicted by the Vatican City Court, he will not be sent to prison until an appeal takes place, which could take months.
Pope's Butler kept 'top secret' papers
by Darius Kadivar on Wed Oct 03, 2012 10:57 AM PDTButler kept 'top secret' papers (bbc)
The former butler of Pope Benedict XVI kept documents considered top secret and marked "to be destroyed", his Vatican trial hears.
Vaticanamo
by radius-of-the-persian-cat on Wed Oct 03, 2012 06:23 AM PDTMr. Gabriele, the suspect in the Vatileaks affair, recently talked about his several weeks custody in a Vatican jial. He complaint about a tiny cell and a 7days/24 hours cumpulsory illumination. I am still trying to sort out if these inhuman conditions are a relict of the catholic holy inquistion, or rather inspired by Guantanamo. Does Mahmoud A. is aware of this ? Why has he not raised this issue at the UN last week ?
Vatican trial to end on Saturday
by Darius Kadivar on Wed Oct 03, 2012 04:59 AM PDTVatican trial to end on Saturday (bbc)
The trial of Pope Benedict XVI's former butler for stealing documents is due to end on Saturday, the Vatican announces.
Vatican embarrassment as Pope's butler goes on trial
by Darius Kadivar on Tue Oct 02, 2012 01:51 PM PDTPope's ex-butler say's he was 'mistreated'
by Darius Kadivar on Tue Oct 02, 2012 01:48 PM PDTPope's ex-butler was 'mistreated' (bbc)
Pope Benedict's former butler, on trial in the Vatican, complains he was mistreated after his arrest on charges of stealing papal documents
Paolo Gabriele trial: Pope butler evidence thrown out
by Darius Kadivar on Sat Sep 29, 2012 11:16 AM PDTPope butler evidence thrown out (bbc)
Vatican judges refuse to allow key evidence to be heard at the trial of the Pope's former butler for stealing documents.
David Willey
BBC News, Rome
The first session of the Pope's butler's trial, held under heavy security inside Vatican City's only courtroom, confirmed the intention of the Vatican authorities to try to limit the fallout from the worst security breach to occur in living memory.
Secret evidence collected earlier in the year by three senior Cardinals appointed by Pope Benedict to look into the theft of papers from his own desk, theoretically one of the most secure places in the entire city state, has been disallowed by the panel of three judges.
The Vatican makes a clear-cut distinction between ecclesiastical matters dealt with by the Holy See, defined as the international headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, and the ordinary administration of the tiny city state, the world's smallest sovereign state. The butler's case is being dealt with under Vatican City's criminal code, which closely follows Italian judicial procedure. If convicted, Paolo Gabriele could serve up to four years in an Italian jail under the terms of a treaty the Vatican signed with Italy during fascist times.
In other words, the Vatican is in serious damage control mode, anxious to avoid the prying eyes of world media into the rarefied world of decision makers within the Holy See.Vatican embarrassment as Pope's butler goes on trial
by Darius Kadivar on Fri Sep 28, 2012 04:24 PM PDT'Court of God' (bbc)
The Pope's butler goes on trial
Pope Benedict's 46-year-old former butler, Paolo Gabriele, goes on trial in a small and rarely used courtroom inside Vatican City before a panel of three judges, on charges of stealing an "enormous" quantity of secret and confidential documents from the pontiff's desk.
related:
Profile: Pope's butler Paolo Gabriele (bbc)Trial date set for Pope's butler
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Pope Benedict XVI's former butler will stand trial next week over the theft of sensitive documents from the Vatican exposing alleged corruption.
Leaks and power plays at Vatican
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A book reproducing the private correspondence of Pope Benedict XVI has angered the Vatican and forms part of a series of leaks revealing allegations of corruption and internal conflicts.
Church 200 years behind - say's top cardinal
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Pope butler moved to house arrest
by Darius Kadivar on Sat Jul 21, 2012 10:26 AM PDTPope butler moved to house arrest (bbc)
The Pope's butler is released from custody in the Vatican and moved to house arrest, pending a decision on whether to try him for stealing documents.
The Vatican said that Paolo Gabriele will remain under house arrest pending a decision on whether he should stand trial for leaking confidential papers to the media.
He was charged in May after a series of leaks exposed alleged corruption and internal conflicts at the Holy See.
Mr Gabriele's lawyer Carlo Fusco said his client had operated on his own in an "act of love" toward the Pope.
The so-called "Vatileaks" scandal saw an Italian investigative journalist publish hundreds of secret documents detailing fraud scandals, nepotism and cronyism within the Holy SeeVatican Bank 'needs more reform'
by Darius Kadivar on Wed Jul 18, 2012 03:52 PM PDTVatican Bank 'needs more reform' (bbc)
The Vatican bank needs more reform in order to show it is effective at preventing financial crime, a report by a European banking watchdog has said.
The Vatican has tried to gain entry to a so-called "white list" of countries that are recognised globally as financially transparent.
The report said the Vatican's measures for tackling money laundering and financing of terrorism were inadequate.
However, the bank had "come a long way" in addressing financial transparency.
The report by Moneyval - the European body that vets banks - graded the secretive bank in 16 key areas.
The Vatican bank was found to be falling short on seven of them and given a negative grade.Barre-Sinoussi: Pope wrong on condoms
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Professor Francoise Barre-Sinoussi who was awarded a Nobel Prize for her work identifying HIV says the Pope should do more to encourage the use of condoms to prevent the spread of the virus that causes Aids.
In 2009, she wrote an open letter to him urging a change of stance by the Catholic Church. The church did slightly relax its line but she says it needs to go further.