Vatileaks, the Case of the Butler
By Andrea Tornielli
During an episode of “Gli Intoccabili", aired on La 7 and hosted by Gianluigi Nuzzi, the letters that Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò (secretary of the Governorate then promoted/removed as nuncio to the United States) sent to the Pope and Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone were released. In the month of January, in the Italian newspaper "Il Fatto Quotidiano", several documents were published: an account concerning an alleged plot against the Pope, and some notes about the Vatican Bank. February 6th, 2012 The first denunciation to Vatican justice is formalized. February 22nd A private note sent by Father Federico Lombardi to the secretary of the Pope, Georg Gänswein on the case of Emanuela Orlandi is partially released. May 19th Gianluigi Nuzzi's book is released in book stores. The book contains, among various documents, the transcription of encrypted documents from the nunciatures, and also contains a budget of the Ratzinger Foundation which had been sent only to the Pope and had not cleared the Secretariat of State. May 21st
A dramatic meeting of the the Pontifical Family, convened by Mgr. Georg Gänswein, takes place in the papal apartment. The secretary of the Pope speaks openly of the suspicions of Paolo Gabriele in his presence. The accused denies being responsible for the massive leak of documents.
May 23st May 24th
The arrest is validated and Gabriele is interrogated for the first time. The formal investigation is opened; the butler is accused of "aggravated theft". A person not identified in the indictment is searched. May 25th After the search of his office and the discovery of an envelope containing some material about the Vatican Gendarmerie that had ended up in Nuzzi's book (but were not confidential documents reserved for the papal apartment), the computer technician Claudio Sciarpelletti, who works at the Secretariat of State, is arrested. Sciarpelletti identifies Gabriele as the person who gave him the envelope. May 26th A statement from the Vatican press office confirms the press rumours (appeared in Il Foglio and Vatican Insider) about the arrest, provides the date in which it happened and the name of the arrested, along with other information on the formal start of the investigation. On the same day, Claudio Sciarpelletti is interrogated, and is then released on bail. Three days later, the technician provides spontaneous declarations to investigators, contradicting what he had initially stated.
June 5th-6th Paolo Gabriele is interrogated a second time and explains the reasons behind his actions. He also talks about his relations with Gianluigi Nuzzi, and how he came into contact with him. He also speaks about the relationship with his spiritual director to whom he had delivered copies of the documents, and by whom he was encouraged not to admit responsibility unless he was asked by the Pope Himself. June 16th Opening of the formal investigation against Sciarpelletti. On June 28th he is formally charged with specific offences. July 21st, 2012 Paolo Gabriele is interrogated at length for the last time. He is accused of the unlawful possession of objects coming from the papal apartment (a check, an ancient book, a nugget that was never established as being of gold). The former butler is granted house arrest. August 13th
The indictment and the commitment for trial of Paolo Gabriele for aggravated theft, and of Claudio Sciarpelletti for aiding and abetting are made public. For the first time there is news of the involvement of the computer technician, as well as the existence of the check, the book and the nugget among the objects seized –in dubious ways from the procedural point of view– from the house of the former butler.
Gabriele's trial begins in the presence of a pool of journalists selected at random. The second hearing is held on October 2nd, the third on October 3rd. The personal secretary of Benedict XVI, don Georg Gänswein, also appears on the witness stand.
The last hearing of the trial. The sentence arrives after a brief council chamber meeting. The Vatican Court, chaired by Giuseppe Dalla Torre, recognizes Gabriele guilty of "qualified theft" and condemns him to three years' imprisonment, then halving the time to 18 months. The judges recognize some mitigating circumstances in consideration of the "absence of a criminal record", of the "findings about his service during the time prior to the contested facts", and of the "subjective belief, though erroneous, indicated by the accused as the cause of his conduct", and finally of the "declaration about his realization of having betrayed the trust of the Holy Father".
The defence rejects the appeal and the sentence becomes final. Gabriele returns to prison where he has remained until today. On that same day, a statement from the Secretariat of State approved by Benedict XVI denies that the pardon has already been decided or to be taken for granted, and emphasizes the gravity of what has been done by the former butler.
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