Pope Benedict XVI’s former butler said he stole confidential papers from the Pope’s residence and leaked them to the press because he saw “evil and corruption everywhere in the church,” according to the BBC.
Paolo Gabriele has been charged with aggravated theft. An Italian magistrate ruled today he must stand trial. He faces up to six years in prison if convicted.
The Vatileaks case started in January when an Italian TV station published internal whistleblower letters to Pope Benedict.
Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the former deputy governor of Vatican City, said in letters to the Pope and top Vatican officials that he was reassigned to a job he didn’t want after he complained about contracts that might have been tainted by corruption.
Vigano was transferred out of the Vatican’s building and grounds department. He was appointed in October to be the Vatican’s ambassador in Washington.
In April, the Pope, pictured above, appointed a group of Cardinals to investigate the leak of Vigano’s letters. The investigation soon led to Gabriele, one of just a few laymen with access to the Pope’s private apartment.
A computer analyst, Claudio Sciarpelletti, is also accused of helping Gabriele.
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