Vatileaks - The Butler did it, but he may be pardoned

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
8/15/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Paolo Gabriele will now face trial, may be pardoned afterwards.

The butler did it, and now he will have to face justice, following a Vatican indictment. Pope Benedict XVI's former butler, Paolo Gabriele, has been ordered to stand trial for systematically stealing and leaking confidential Vatican information to an Italian journalist.

Paolo Gabriele, Benedict's butler is shown in the lower left of this photo.

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ROME, ITALY (Catholic Online) - The Holy See issued the 35 page indictment, which reveals that Gabriele thought himself to be an "infiltrator for the Holy Spirit" and that his efforts would somehow help the Church.

Instead of helping, Gabriele's efforts created a scandal after a book was published detailing accusations of corruption in the Church. The scandal has been dubbed "VatiLeaks" by the media. Gabriele was aided by Claudio Sciarpelletti, a computer expert who worked for the Vatican Secretariat of State. Sciarpelletti will also face lesser charges in the scandal.

Gabriele told investigators that he felt his efforts would bring a shock to the Vatican, and that such a shock would somehow help. He felt the Holy Father did not know enough about what was going on around him. He later admitted that he became addicted to leaking the documents, seeing himself as an agent working for the Holy Spirit.

Gabriele explained he would photocopy chosen documents, then bring the copies to a reporter, meeting in an apartment just outside Vatican City. He also said he gave second copies to a spiritual mentor, who has been identified by the Church, but whose name has not been publicly revealed. According to the indictment, the unnamed mentor destroyed the documents because he believed them to be "illegitimate" and "dishonest."

The Vatican also said that Gabriele has several objects not belonging to him in the apartment, including a gold nugget, a check made out to the Pope for �100,000, and a 16th century book.

The Vatican has no prison, so if convicted, Gabriele could face up to six years in an Italian prison. However, the Holy Father could pardon Gabriele at any time, and may do so, following the trial. Gabriele is 46 and is married with three children.

Sadly, corruption is a regular fixture within any institution, and even within the Church, it sometimes exists. Fortunately, the Church takes such matters seriously, and works hard to root out problems. Even the scriptures predicted such corruption in the Church of Christ, but added that God would also protect the Church. In this case, God's protection is once again evident.

� 2012, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Vatileaks, Paolo Gabriele, Vatican City, scandal, Benedict, Church, trial, pardoned

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1 - 3 of 3 Comments

Harold Olsen
10 months ago
As a butler, Gabriele was in a position of trust. By betraying the Holy Father and the church the way he did he violated that trust and, as far as I'm concerned, that is one of the worst crimes that a person can commit. Someone who betrays a trust is the worst of criminals and deserves whatever punishment he gets. However, I believe the Holy Father will forgive Gabriele and pardon him. Should that happen, I suspect the brain dead media will have a field day with it. They seem to enjoy finding things to criticize the Catholic church for,
Daniel Foisy
10 months ago
I think the Vatican should give a gold medal to this man for what he did. If there is corruption, it must be rooted out. Does Christ live in darkness?
Joy
10 months ago
We now say, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof." Do you agree that the Holy Spirit is cleaning "house?" Not even the Vatican can hide from God. Holy Father needs our prayers more then ever. We allow the Lord to enter under our roof because we want to be found worthy to live with our God for eternity.

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