The pope's butler Paolo Gabriele, center, flanked at right by his lawyer Cristiana Arru, leaves the Vatican tribunal, after the verdict, at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012.
Posted on 10/06/2012 12:23:38 PM PDT by JoeProBono
Pope Benedict XVI's butler Paolo Gabriele was convicted this morning of stealing the pope's private papers and leaking them to journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, who published them in a best-selling book.
It took the three judges presiding over the case in Vatican City about two hours of deliberations to reach the guilty verdict today, the fourth day of hearings. Gabriele was sentenced to 18 months in an Italian prison, which was less than the expected sentence of four years.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told reporters after the reading that the tribunal had fully accepted the "extenuating circumstances" and had reduced the sentence by a half.
The "extenuating circumstances" considered were that Gabriele had no previous criminal record, he had a good work record, he was convinced at the time -- although wrongly, according to the spokesman -- that he was doing what was right and that he now has admitted he acted incorrectly......
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
The pope's butler Paolo Gabriele, center, flanked at right by his lawyer Cristiana Arru, leaves the Vatican tribunal, after the verdict, at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012.
The butler did it....
The butler did it.
2 posted on Saturday, October 06, 2012 12:26:58 PM by stephenjohnbanker
LOL!
In the pantry, with an axe.
I tried to say this in Latin -- tough language.
Nunc servos bonos non haberent?
The maid goes next : )
“The maid goes next : )”
The maid’s on “maneuvers” with Col. Mustard. :)
So... whic secrets of this pope managed to see the light of day?
I wonder how the food is in Italian prisons...
"Prosecutors have said Gabriele confessed to taking the documents because he wanted to expose the "evil and corruption" in the church. They quoted him as saying during an interrogation that he felt inspired by the Holy Spirit to inform the pope about the church's problems and that a "shock, even a media one, would have been healthy to bring the church back on the right track."
Imagine if he worked for a Muslim Imam in say, Saudi Arabia.
“His Holiness: The Secret Papers of Benedict XVI (Italian: Sua Santità. Le carte segrete di Benedetto XVI) is a book published by Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, consisting of confidential letters and memos between Pope Benedict XVI and his personal secretary. The letters in the book portray the Vatican as a corrupt hotbed of jealousy, intrigue and underhanded factional fighting.
Nuzzi’s book reveals details about the Pope’s personal finances, and includes tales of bribes made to procure an audience with him. It reproduces confidential letters and memos to and from Benedict and his personal secretary. It contains letters from a very senior Vatican administrator to Pope Benedict in which he begged not to be transferred for having exposed alleged corruption that cost the Holy See millions of euros in higher contract prices.[2] The documents also cover a 2009 scandal concerning the ex-editor of the newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference, a dinner between Benedict and Italy’s president, and a 2011 letter from an Italian talk show host to the pope enclosing a cheque for 10,000 euros for his charity work – and asking for a private audience in exchange. Diplomatic cables include Vatican embassies from Jerusalem to Cameroon. As well as conclusions of the pope’s inquiry into the disgraced Legion of Christ religious order - where he is warned that the financial situation of the order, beset by a scandal over its paedophile founder, “while not grave, is serious and pressing”.
The documents portray the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, in a particularly negative light.
exactly ....it must not be too damaging or the worldwide MSM would be all over it.
Sounds like they're auditioning for next season's “The Borgias”!
Or they're just nostalgic for those good old Renaissance days!
He probably admitted that he snuck crackers out of the kitchen and ate them in bed.
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