Pope's butler says he leaked Vatican documents to media to combat 'evil and corruption' as he is charged with theft
- The Pope’s butler Paolo Gabriele denied taking payment for leaking private letters and documents to the Italian media
- Another Vatican employee will face complicity charges
- The trial is set for October at the earliest
- The Pope is said to be ‘shocked and saddened’
- He set up a special commission to investigate the leaks which emerged on TV, in newspapers and a bestselling book
The Pope’s butler has claimed he passed on private documents and letters to journalists in a bid to stop ‘evil and corruption’ within the Church following his arrest for theft.
Paolo Gabriele, personal assistant to Pope Benedict XVI, has been charged with aggravated theft after police found confidential documents at his Vatican flat and arrested him in May.
He was arrested as part of an investigation over the leak of documents alleging corruption in the Vatican’s business dealings.
Father-of-three Gabriele admitted to police that for some time he had been meeting with a journalist and slipping him sensitive papers, including letters to the Pope.
He told the inquiry he never received payment for the documents, but felt he was acting for the good of the Church and as an agent of the Holy Spirit.
‘I saw evil and corruption everywhere in the Church,’ Gabriele said in his testimony, explaining how he felt the pope was not sufficiently informed of such matters.
‘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.’