Pope updated on ‘Vatileaks’ investigation

(July 27, 2012) Pope Benedict XVI was updated on Thursday by a 3-person Commission of Cardinals that is making an administrative investigation into leaks of sensitive Vatican documents to the media in January and February this year that allege corruption and mismanagement in the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI’s personal butler, Paolo Gabriele was arrested May 23 on suspicion of stealing and leaking confidential documents to the media in a scandal that has been dubbed as ‘Vatileaks’. Gabriele has now been allowed to return to his family home within Vatican City. Pope Benedict on Thursday met Cardinals Julián Herranz, Jozef Tomko and Salvatore De Giorgi along with Commission Secretary, Fr. Luigi Martignani, Examining Magistrate Piero Antonio Bonnet and Promoter of Justice Nicola Picardi of the Tribunal of Vatican City State. The Holy Father was informed about the conclusions reached by the Commission of Cardinals, and about the progress of the criminal procedures currently underway. He thanked them for their information and invited the Vatican magistrates to proceed expeditiously. The meeting was also attended by Archbishop Angelo Becciu, Substitute for General Affairs of Vatican’s Secretariat of State, Msgr. Georg Gänswein, Pope Benedict’s private secretary, Domenico Giani, director of the Vatican Gendarmerie and Gregory Burke, communications consultant of Vatican’s Secretariat of State. Holy See’s spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi told reporters that the sentence on Gabriele is expected on August 6th or 7th.