Secret Papers, Masonic Research in Vatican Butler's Flat
Vatican police testifying Wednesday at the high-profile trial of Pope Benedict XVI's former butler said they had found more than 1,000 confidential papers in his apartment.
The papers -- both copies and originals -- were many more than have been leaked to the press and included some signed by the pope himself as well as letters from cardinals and politicians, officers told Paolo Gabriele's trial.
The 46-year-old Gabriele is being tried for aggravated theft and faces up to four years in prison for allegedly leaking confidential documents that revealed claims of fraud and intrigue at the heart of the Catholic Church.
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said a verdict in the trial "could be expected on Saturday" after prosecution and defence make their closing arguments and Gabriele is given a chance to make a final statement.
"There are around 1,000 documents of interest including both photocopies and originals and some documents with the signature of the Holy Father," said inspector Silvano Carli, one of four Vatican gendarmes to testify on Wednesday.
Stefano De Santis told the court: "There were also documents in code. There were many more documents than were published in the book," referring to a book containing Gabriele's alleged leaks published by an Italian journalist.
"There were dozens and dozens of documents about the Holy Father, the Secretariat of State and the other Congregations, about the total privacy and family life of the Holy Father," the officer said.
"There were documents that were considered top secret and to be destroyed," said De Santis, who took part in an eight-hour search of Gabriele's apartment.
He said some of the documents found but not considered of interest for the inquiry were about the suspicious death of Italian banker Roberto Calvi -- dubbed "God's Banker" found hanging from Blackfriars bridge in London in 1982.
De Santis said there were also documents about using a concealed mobile phone and how to make videos as well as research on Berlusconi, Italian masonic lodges and research on "Christianity and Yoga, Buddhism and Yoga."
He said that during the search Gabriele had told investigators: "Have you seen how much I like reading? Have you seen how much I like studying?"
Another officer who took part in the search, Luca Cintia, said: "Some of the documents were signed by the Holy Father and some were in code with 'Destroy' written on them."
Cintia also responded to accusations by Gabriele that he had been mistreated during his detention, telling the court that he had been the main person in charge of the butler's detention.
Vatican gendarmerie commander Domenico "Giani gave the order from the start for the safeguarding of Gabriele and his family and this was done.
"Paolo Gabriele was treated in the best possible way. He was treated with kid gloves. So much so that he thanked us," Cintia said.
Gabriele was held for 53 days following his arrest on May 23 in a Vatican security cell at the gendarmerie since the Vatican has no jail.
He has since been placed under conditions of house arrest.
On Tuesday, Gabriele had told judges in the tiny state's 19th-century courtroom, which is in an area that is strictly off limits to tourists and can only be accessed by 10 selected journalists, that he was innocent of theft.
But the ex-butler, whose duties had led him to develop a close relationship with the elderly pontiff, admitted to being guilty of abusing the pope's trust.
He has written a letter to the pope begging for forgiveness and Vatican watchers say he is expected to receive a pardon if convicted.
He told the court on Tuesday that he was mistreated during his detention at the Vatican -- an accusation fiercely denied by the state's spokesman and police, who were ordered by the judge to investigate the claims.
Gabriele said he was driven to act because he believed the pope was being "manipulated" and had no idea about many controversial issues in the Church.
He also told the court that he had acted alone without any accomplices, but added that he had many high-up Vatican contacts who confided in him including a bishop, two cardinals and the pope's former German housekeeper Ingrid Stampa.
At the start of the trial on Saturday, Gabriele suffered a series of setbacks when judges turned down his lawyer's requests to strike down his indictment and throw out the case because of rules on papal secrecy.
Judges also declined to include in the trial a top secret report on the "Vatileaks" scandal compiled by a committee of cardinals appointed by the pope who interviewed dozens of people in a parallel investigation into the leaks.
Source: Agence France Presse
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