Pope set 'to pardon butler jailed for stealing secret Vatican papers'

Paolo Gabriele admits leaking details of Church power struggles

He was sentenced to 18 months in jail

Pope Benedict's former butler said he acted out of love of the church

The 46-year-old says he wanted to expose 'corruption'

Pope Benedict’s ex-butler Paolo Gabriele has been being found guilty of stealing confidential papers from him and sentenced to 18 months in jail – but is expected to shortly be granted a pardon.

Gabriele, 46, was given the prison term yesterday for his role in one of the worst scandals to hit the Vatican in recent years, involving allegations of infighting, intrigue and nepotism, and corruption.

Prosecutors in the so-called ‘Vatileaks’ case had asked the Vatican court for a three-year sentence for the ex-butler – who had collected a huge number of stolen documents at his apartment within the Vatican.

But the presiding judge Giuseppe Dalla Torre reduced the sentence on the grounds of Gabriele’s service to the Church and his apology to the Pope for betraying him.

The Vatican’s spokesman Federico Lombardi said after the verdict that the Pope was ‘very likely’ to pardon Gabriele, who claimed he had been motivated by a desire to root out ‘corruption and evil’ at the heart of the Church.

At the end of the trial yesterday, as Gabriele looked on impassively, the judge said: ‘In the name of his holiness Pope Benedict XVI, who reigns in glory, and invoking the Holy Trinity ...] this court sentences the defendant to three years in prison.’

But Judge Dalla Torre then reduced the term, saying he had taken into consideration ‘the absence of a criminal record, his service record preceding these charges and the subjective though erroneous motivation provided by the defendant as to his motivation’.


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At the end of the trial yesterday, as Gabriele looked on impassively, the judge said:‘In the name of his holiness Pope Benedict XVI, who reigns in glory, and invoking the Holy Trinity... this court sentences the defendant to three years in prison.’