Gabriele Pleads Innocence: “i Acted Alone but Betrayed the Pope”

By Giacomo Galeazzi
Vatican Insider
October 2, 2012

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/the-vatican/detail/articolo/vatileaks-18589/

Gabriele's trial

Despite the intention to bring the start of the second hearing in the former papal butler’s trial forward, the session began late because of the Italian public transport strike today which kept the prosecuting attorney stuck in traffic.

But Paolo Gabriele made a number of controversial comments during the second hearing in the Vatican. His testimony had some very interesting twists.

“I plead not guilty to aggravated theft. I feel guilty for betraying the trust vested in me by the Holy Father, whom I feel I love as a son,” Paolo Gabriele, Benedict XVI’s former butler stated in his testimony in response to the accusations of theft of confidential documents made against him.

Over time, he explained, “I have become convinced that it is easy to manipulate someone who has such enormous decision-making power.”

The Pope’s butler stated he acted without the help of any accomplices, but gave the names of seven people who allegedly “influenced” him: Mr. Mauriello, Luca Catano (“who knew things about the commander of the Gendarmerie, Domenico Giani”) and cardinals Angelo Comastri, Paolo Sardi, Mgr. Francesco Cavina and Razinger’s former governess, Ingrid Stampa.

The Vatican’s Promoter of Justice (prosecuting attorney), Nicola Picardi, opened a case file in order to “check whether any abuses had been made during [Paolo Gabriele’s] detention after the Pope’s former butler stated during today’s hearing that he had been mentally pressured and that he had been held in a cell, that was so small he couldn’t even stretch his arms and where the light was kept on 24/7, for several days (“less than twenty” the prosecuting attorney said).

The commander of the Vatican Gendarmerie, Domenico Giani, was seated in the audience during Gabriele’s testimony. A dark-faced Fr. Georg did not look at Gabriele in the face once whilst in the courtroom.

Some other documentary information also came to light during today’s hearing. For example, the fact that hundreds of letters regarding freemasonry, secret services and the Boffo case were found in Gabriele’s apartment. Dino Boffo, former editor of Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference, was forced to resign in August after a secular newspaper published rumours suggesting he had been involved in a homosexual affair.