Vatican City, 7 May 2016 – This morning a further hearing was held in the ongoing trial for the dissemination of reserved information and documents in Vatican City State Tribunal, according to information provided by the director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J. The hearing was convoked for 9.30 a.m., and began with a slight delay. It was attended by the members of the Tribunal (Professors Giuseppe Dalla Torre, Piero Antonio Bonnet, Paolo Papanti-Pelletier and Venerando Marano), the Promoter of Justice (Professors Gian Pietro Milano and Roberto Zannotti), and all the defendants, Ángel Lucio Vallejo Balda, Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui, Nicola Maio, Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigi Nuzzi with their respective legal representatives Emanuela Bellardini, Laura Sgrò, Rita Claudia Baffioni, Lucia Teresa Musso and Roberto Palombi.

The hearing was dedicated fully to the further examination of witnesses. Five "external" witnesses – those not employed by the Vatican – had been summoned, of whom three were present, request in the defence of Nuzzi. The hearing was therefore dedicated to the examination of Paolo Mieli, a renowned journalist, and two Venetian booksellers, Marco Bernardi and Paola Brazzale. Those who were not present, despite having received a court summons, will be summoned again for a subsequent hearing, as in one case a lawyer and in another the Promoter of Justice did not consider it appropriate to renounce their testimony. Following the interrogation of each witness, the report of the examination was read and approved.

The hearing ended at approximately 11.15 a.m. The next hearings will take place on Saturday, 14 May at 9.30 a.m., Monday 16 at 15.30 p.m. and Tuesday 17 at 10.30 a.m., and will be dedicated to further examination of witnesses.