Questions linger as Vatileaks man is jailed
Trial documents show attorney wanted two cardinals quizzed
- Alessandro Speciale, Rome
- Vatican City
- October 26, 2012
Paolo Gabriele, Pope Benedict XVI’s disgraced butler, officially started serving an 18-month jail term yesterday. It came into force after both the butler’s lawyer and the prosecutors announced they would not appeal against the sentence.
Gabriele, who has been under house arrest, was taken from the Vatican home where he lives with his wife and three children and placed in a small detention facility inside the headquarters of the Vatican police.
In a harshly worded statement, the Vatican Secretariat of State said that Gabriele's actions had “personally hurt” the Pope and harmed the Holy See, while scandalizing Catholics and disrupting the “serenity” of Vatican employees’ work.
The statement said that Gabriele could still hope for a papal pardon, but that will require beforehand “a sincere request for forgiveness from the Holy Father and from all those who were unjustly offended,” and a full recognition of the gravity of his crimes.
On Tuesday, the Vatican published a lengthy document, outlining how the tribunal arrived at its verdict after Gabriele’s weeklong trial.
The document mentioned that Gabriele’s attorney had requested two cardinals – including India’s Ivan Dias, a former archbishop of Mumbai and former Prefect of the Vatican department for missions – to be questioned by the special cardinals’ commission that was appointed by Pope Benedict to investigate the Vatileaks scandal.
The request was turned down by the Vatican tribunal, who said it did not have the power to authorize the questioning. It is not clear why Gabriele’s attorney had made such a request.
Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said that the cells where Gabriele would be serving his jail sentence have been recently refurbished. The former butler alleged abuse and psychological pressure during the two months he spent there after his arrest on May 23. Lombardi said an investigation into his claims in that respect is still ongoing.
Related reports:
Vatileaks butler given 18 months jail
Cardinal predicts that Pope will pardon Vatileaks butler
Gabriele, who has been under house arrest, was taken from the Vatican home where he lives with his wife and three children and placed in a small detention facility inside the headquarters of the Vatican police.
In a harshly worded statement, the Vatican Secretariat of State said that Gabriele's actions had “personally hurt” the Pope and harmed the Holy See, while scandalizing Catholics and disrupting the “serenity” of Vatican employees’ work.
The statement said that Gabriele could still hope for a papal pardon, but that will require beforehand “a sincere request for forgiveness from the Holy Father and from all those who were unjustly offended,” and a full recognition of the gravity of his crimes.
On Tuesday, the Vatican published a lengthy document, outlining how the tribunal arrived at its verdict after Gabriele’s weeklong trial.
The document mentioned that Gabriele’s attorney had requested two cardinals – including India’s Ivan Dias, a former archbishop of Mumbai and former Prefect of the Vatican department for missions – to be questioned by the special cardinals’ commission that was appointed by Pope Benedict to investigate the Vatileaks scandal.
The request was turned down by the Vatican tribunal, who said it did not have the power to authorize the questioning. It is not clear why Gabriele’s attorney had made such a request.
Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said that the cells where Gabriele would be serving his jail sentence have been recently refurbished. The former butler alleged abuse and psychological pressure during the two months he spent there after his arrest on May 23. Lombardi said an investigation into his claims in that respect is still ongoing.
Related reports:
Vatileaks butler given 18 months jail
Cardinal predicts that Pope will pardon Vatileaks butler
