Vatileaks Pope 18-Month, Pope's ex-butler Paolo Gabriele gets 18-month sentence in 'Vatileaks' case. The pope’s former butler was convicted in the "Vatileaks" case Saturday and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Paolo Gabriele will serve his sentence under house arrest in his Vatican apartment while awaiting a possible papal pardon, his lawyer said.
Gabriele was found guilty of stealing thousands of Vatican documents — including some of Pope Benedict’s private papers and letters alleging corruption within the church — while working for the pontiff. Some of papers were later leaked to the media.
Defense lawyer Cristiana Arru said after the hearing that she did not plan to appeal the sentence, describing it as "just," Reuters reported. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi suggested the pope would intervene.
"Now that we have a sentence, the pope will evaluate whether to pardon him. There is a concrete and real possibility of his forgiveness, but it will up to him to decide if and when," Lombardi said.
Before the verdict was announced, Gabriele, wearing a dark gray suit, a white shirt, and a blue tie, insisted he was not a thief and that he had acted out of concern for the Catholic church and the pontiff.
"What I feel strongly inside me, is the conviction of having acted out of exclusive and visceral love for Jesus' church, and for his visible leader. I repeat, I don’t feel like a thief," he told the tribunal.
'Rewarded' one day?
Arru had argued there was no theft, as Gabriele photocopied the documents and did not remove the originals.
She said he was driven by his faith, high morals and by motives that she hoped one day would be "recognized and rewarded" as he was pushed to do what he did by the "evil" he saw around him.
Gabriele was found guilty of stealing thousands of Vatican documents — including some of Pope Benedict’s private papers and letters alleging corruption within the church — while working for the pontiff. Some of papers were later leaked to the media.
Defense lawyer Cristiana Arru said after the hearing that she did not plan to appeal the sentence, describing it as "just," Reuters reported. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi suggested the pope would intervene.
"Now that we have a sentence, the pope will evaluate whether to pardon him. There is a concrete and real possibility of his forgiveness, but it will up to him to decide if and when," Lombardi said.
Before the verdict was announced, Gabriele, wearing a dark gray suit, a white shirt, and a blue tie, insisted he was not a thief and that he had acted out of concern for the Catholic church and the pontiff.
"What I feel strongly inside me, is the conviction of having acted out of exclusive and visceral love for Jesus' church, and for his visible leader. I repeat, I don’t feel like a thief," he told the tribunal.
'Rewarded' one day?
Arru had argued there was no theft, as Gabriele photocopied the documents and did not remove the originals.
She said he was driven by his faith, high morals and by motives that she hoped one day would be "recognized and rewarded" as he was pushed to do what he did by the "evil" he saw around him.
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