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by Jacob Sloan
October 10, 2012
from
Disinfo Website
Reuters has some tantalizing
tidbits from the start of the criminal trial of the pope’s former
butler.
The whole affair, concerning the leaking
of the pope’s secret papers revealing deep-seeded
corruption at the Vatican Bank and
other internal scandal, is confirming some of the conspiracy
theories pertaining to the Catholic Church:
Pope Benedict’s former butler
stole highly sensitive papers the pontiff had marked “to be
destroyed” and compromised Vatican security through his actions,
the Holy See’s police told his trial on Wednesday.
On the third day of Paolo Gabriele’s trial, testimony depicted a
man fascinated by the occult, Masonic lodges, secret services
and past Italian and Vatican scandals.
“You can understand our unease
when we saw these documents. This was a total violation of
the privacy of the papal family,” said police agent Stefano
De Santis, one of the four agents who said they found the
papers in Gabriele’s home, using a Vatican term for the
pope’s closest aides.
Gabriele’s leak to an Italian
journalist of sensitive documents, some of them alleging
corruption in the Vatican, caused one of the biggest crises of
Pope Benedict’s papacy.
It threw an unflattering spotlight
on the inner workings of a city-state eager to shake off a
series of scandals involving sexual abuse of minors by clerics
around the world and mismanagement at its bank.
Pope’s Butler Fascinated by Occult, Free
Masons, Spies and...
Vatican Scandals
by Philip Pullella
October 3, 2012
from
BlosgsReuters Website
Start of the trial of
Pope Benedict’s former butler Paolo Gabriele (3rd L, in grey),
accused of stealing
and leaking the pontiff’s personal papers,
at the Vatican
September 29, 2012.
REUTERS/Osservatore
Romano
Pope Benedict’s former butler stole highly sensitive papers the
pontiff had marked “to be destroyed” and compromised Vatican
security through his actions, the Holy See’s police told his trial
on Wednesday.
On the third day of Paolo Gabriele’s trial, testimony
depicted a man fascinated by the occult, Masonic lodges, secret
services and past Italian and Vatican scandals.
“You can understand our unease when
we saw these documents. This was a total violation of the
privacy of the papal family,” said police agent Stefano De
Santis, one of the four agents who said they found the papers in
Gabriele’s home, using a Vatican term for the pope’s closest
aides.
Gabriele’s leak to an Italian journalist
of sensitive documents, some of them alleging corruption in the
Vatican, caused one of the biggest crises of Pope Benedict’s papacy.
It threw an unflattering spotlight on the inner workings of a
city-state eager to shake off a series of scandals involving
sexual
abuse of minors by clerics around the world and mismanagement at its
bank.
Read the full story
below...
Butler Stole Papers...
Pope Wanted Destroyed
-
Police Says -
by Philip Pullella and
Naomi O'Leary
October 3, 2012
from
Reuters Website
Pope Benedict's
former butler Paolo Gabriele (R),
accused of stealing
and leaking the pontiff's personal papers,
sits at the start of
his trial at the Vatican September 29, 2012.
Credit: Reuters/Osservatore Romano
VATICAN CITY - Reuters
Pope Benedict's former butler stole
highly sensitive papers the pontiff had marked "to be destroyed" and
compromised Vatican security through his actions, the Holy See's
police told his trial on Wednesday.
On the third day of Paolo Gabriele's trial, testimony
depicted a man fascinated by the occult, Masonic lodges, secret
services and past Italian and Vatican scandals.
"You can understand our unease when
we saw these documents. This was a total violation of the
privacy of the papal family," said police agent Stefano De
Santis, one of the four agents who said they found the papers in
Gabriele's home, using a Vatican term for the pope's closest
aides.
Gabriele's leak to an Italian journalist
of sensitive documents, some of them alleging corruption in the
Vatican, caused one of the biggest crises of Pope Benedict's papacy.
It threw an unflattering spotlight on the inner workings of a
city-state eager to shake off a series of scandals involving sexual
abuse of minors by clerics around the world and mismanagement at its
bank.
Gabriele, a trusted servant who served the pope meals, helped him
dress and rode in the popemobile, has admitted passing papers to the
journalist at secret meetings, but told the court at a previous
hearing he did not see this as a crime.
The former butler sat impassively and occasionally smiled during
Wednesday's 75-minute session as Vatican policemen told the court
how they searched his apartment in the Vatican on May 23, the night
of his arrest, and what they found.
The mass of incriminating documents, most of which were hidden in
huge piles of papers stashed in a large wardrobe, included personal
letters between the pope, cardinals and politicians on a variety of
subjects.
Some papers, De Santis said, bore the pope's handwriting and had
been marked "to be destroyed" by the pontiff in German. He did not
say what those papers concerned.
Some of the documents were copies of encrypted documents.
"One
photocopy was enough to threaten the operations of the Holy See," De Santis told the court, without elaborating.
The agents said they found a mass of documents and books filled with
newspaper clippings on,
...and other subjects.
"SPLIT
PERSONALITY"
Defense lawyer Cristiana Arru sought to turn the spotlight on
police methods during the search, drawing out several agents to say
that they had not used gloves when they handled the documents, and a
gold nugget and a cheque for 100,000 Euros made out to the pope
which were also found.
Police said Gabriele, once one of fewer than 10 people who had the
key to an elevator leading to the private papal apartment, had
printed instructions on how to hide files in computers and how to
use cellphones secretly.
Bishop Francesco Cavina, who knew Gabriele in the Vatican, told
Italian newspaper La Repubblica on Wednesday that the butler, a
father-of-three, may have a "disturbed mind" and "a split
personality".
Two of the four policemen who testified on Wednesday also rejected
Gabriele's accusations, made on Tuesday, that he was mistreated for
several weeks after his arrest.
Gabriele told the court's previous hearing that for up to 20 days he
was held in a room so small he could not stretch out his arms and
that the light was left on 24 hours a day, causing him eye damage.
A Vatican judge ordered an investigation into the allegations.
De Santis said the search turned up "many more" papers than appeared
in a book by Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, who wrote a
muckraking expose early in 2012.
The letters to the pope included one in which a senior Vatican
functionary expressed concern about corruption in the Holy See's
business dealings with Italian companies.
The letter-writer, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, was posted to
Washington after raising the issue, despite begging to be allowed to
stay at the papal state.
The trial adjourned until Saturday, when a verdict is expected.
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