Arrested papal butler seeks pope’s forgiveness over “VatiLeaks”

Pope Benedict’s former butler, who was arrested two months ago in an investigation of leaks of documents alleging corruption in the Vatican, has written to the pontiff asking for forgiveness, his lawyer said on Tuesday.

Paolo Gabriele was arrested on May 23 and placed under house arrest on Saturday after 60 days detention in a small “safe room” in the Vatican’s police station.

“Paolo has written a letter to the pope asking him for forgiveness, particularly for the pain he caused him,” lawyer Carlo Fusco told Reuters.

Gabriele, 46, who worked in the papal household, was arrested after police found a wealth of sensitive Vatican documents in the apartment where he lived with his wife and children inside the Vatican.

Fusco said he expected a Vatican magistrate to formally close an investigation and order Gabriele to stand trial on charges of aggravated theft. It carries a sentence of up to six years in jail under the law of the world’s smallest city-state.

If convicted, Gabriele is widely expected to ask the pope for a pardon and if he does so, the pope will likely grant it, Vatican sources say. [more]

SOURCE

Reuters