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A Vatican court has convicted computer expert Claudio Sciarpelletti of helping Pope’s former butler Paolo Gabriele to leak information from confidential papal documents.
Claudio Sciarpelletti, 48, was given a suspended sentence of two months for obstruction of justice.
He was accused of aiding former butler Paolo Gabriele while working as a computer technician in the Vatican.
Paolo Gabriele was given an 18-month prison sentence this month after he admitted passing documents to a journalist.
Claudio Sciarpelletti had worked for the past 20 years in the Secretariat of State of the Holy See and was responsible for the maintenance of all computers.
His lawyer said an anonymous tip-off led Vatican police to search Claudio Sciarpelletti’s desk last May – finding an envelope addressed to Paolo Gabriele containing copies of sensitive documentation that had been leaked to the Italian media.
He had been charged with aiding and abetting Paolo Gabriele in leaking the document.
But the court decided that he was guilty only of obstruction of justice, because he had changed his version of events several times during the investigations.
Paolo Gabriele’s trial heard that he had used the photocopier in his shared office next to the Pope’s library to copy thousands of documents, taking advantage of his unrivalled access to the pontiff.
He later passed some of the documents to journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi.
Gianluigi Nuzzi released a best-selling book this year, entitled His Holiness, largely based on the confidential papers and detailing corruption, scandals and infighting.
Its publication sparked the hunt for the source of the leaks inside the Vatican, leading to Paolo Gabriele’s arrest.
Police said they had found thousands of documents at Paolo Gabriele’s home, including some original papers bearing the Pope’s handwriting. Some had the instruction “destroy” written by the Pope in German on them.
Paolo Gabriele confessed to taking the papers, but said he believed the Pope was being manipulated and hoped to reveal alleged corruption at the Vatican.
He told his trial that he did not see himself as a thief, but admitted he was guilty of “having betrayed the trust of the Holy Father, whom I love as a son would.”
The Vatican has dismissed suspicions of a wider plot, saying that Paolo Gabriele acted alone in obtaining the documents and giving them to the journalist.
Paolo Gabriele is serving his prison term in a special detention room inside the Vatican police station.
The Vatican authorities were worried that if he were to be moved into an Italian prison he might be subject to pressure to reveal secrets which might cause further embarrassment to the Pope.
Claudio Sciarpelletti, a computer technician, has gone on trial in the Vatican City charged with aiding and abetting Pope’s former butler, Paolo Gabriele, in stealing papal documents.
Claudio Sciarpelletti has been accused of helping Paolo Gabriele leak the confidential documents while working in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State.
His lawyer argued that his client has no case to answer and the trial should be dropped.
Paolo Gabriele was given an 18-month prison sentence by the same court last month.
He admitted passing documents to a journalist, but said he did it out of love for the church and the Pope.
Paolo Gabriele is serving his sentence in a special detention room inside the Vatican’s police station, amid talk that he may be pardoned by Pope Benedict XVI.
Claudio Sciarpelletti, 48, handled secret communications in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, the nerve centre of the Roman Catholic church.
His lawyer said an anonymous tip-off led Vatican police to search Claudio Sciarpelletti’s desk last May – finding an envelope addressed to Paolo Gabriele containing copies of sensitive documentation that had been leaked to the Italian media.
Claudio Sciarpelletti has been accused of helping Paolo Gabriele leak the confidential documents while working in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State
During his brief arrest, he is said to have given confused and contradictory explanations to investigators.
Defence lawyer Gianluca Benedetti denied the claims that the former butler and Claudio Sciarpelletti had been good friends, and said his client had been in an “emotional state” in his interviews with investigators.
The Vatican has since said he played a “marginal” role in the scandal.
Senior Vatican communications officer, Greg Burke, said that although Claudio Sciarpelletti was being charged with aiding and abetting Paolo Gabriele, it was “more like an obstruction charge” relating to his contradictory testimony, the Associated Press reports.
However, the judge refused Gianluca Benedetti’s request to drop the trial, and said the next hearing would be scheduled for Saturday. Analysts say his trial is likely to be shorter than Paolo Gabriele’s which lasted for a week.
Interest in the case centres on who the witnesses called to give evidence may be, correspondents say. A senior cleric and two top Vatican security officials are expected to be called, as well as Paolo Gabriele himself.
It is thought the trial may shine a light on the extent to which other Vatican employees, including clerics, may have been involved.
Much of the stolen information ended up in a best-selling book by journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi about corruption, scandals and infighting at the Vatican.
Paolo Gabriele confessed to taking the papers, but said he believed the Pope was being manipulated, and that he hoped to reveal alleged corruption at the Vatican.
The Vatican authorities have limited press access to Claudio Sciarpelletti’s trial and no TV cameras were allowed in court.
Pope Benedict XVI has broken his silence on the Vatileaks scandal, expressing his anger at the way some parts of the media are covering the story.
Pope Benedict said “exaggerated” and “gratuitous” reports were painting a false image of the Holy See.
A series of leaks has revealed allegations of corruption, mismanagement and internal conflicts.
Paolo Gabriele, the Pope’s butler, has been charged with illegally obtaining private papal documents and memos.
Paolo Gabriele, 46, who lives with his wife and children in a Vatican flat, where a stash of confidential documents was allegedly discovered, has pledged “full co-operation” with the investigation.
Paolo Gabriele, the Pope's butler, has been charged with illegally obtaining private papal documents and memos
The Vatican has denied Italian media reports suggesting that Paolo Gabriele had not acted alone, but was part of a group of 20 or so whistleblowers led by a cardinal.
During his weekly address in St Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict XVI said: “Suggestions have multiplied, amplified by some media, which are totally gratuitous and which have gone well beyond the facts, offering an image of the Holy See which does not respond to reality.”
He also spoke of the impact of the charges against Paolo Gabriele, his valet for many years and one a very limited number of people who had access to his private apartments.
“The events of recent days about the Curia [Vatican ecclesiastical officials] and my collaborators have brought sadness in my heart,” Pope Benedict said.
He added that he was grateful to those who had continued to work alongside him “every day, with loyalty and a spirit of sacrifice and in silence”.
On Tuesday, the Vatican undersecretary of state, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, called the reports a “brutal” attack on the Pope.
“It’s not just that the Pope’s papers were stolen, but that people who turned to him as the vicar of Christ have had their consciences violated,” he told the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.
The scandal began in January, when Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi revealed letters from a former top Vatican administrator begging the Pope not to transfer him for having exposed alleged corruption.
The prelate involved, Monsignor Carlo Maria Vigano, is now the Vatican’s US ambassador.
Last month, the Pope set up a special commission of cardinals to find the source of the confidential memos.
But in the space of a few days last week, the head of the Vatican’s own bank was abruptly dismissed, Paolo Gabriele was arrested and an entire book by Gianluigi Nuzzi was published with reproductions of the Pope’s private correspondence.
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