Post date: Oct 02, 2012 12:9:48 PM
The second day in the trial of Pope Benedict's former butler Paolo Gabriele is expected to be "the most dramatic" with Gabriele set to give evidence.
SHOWS: ROME, ITALY (OCTOBER 2, 2012) (REUTERS) - Pope Benedict's former butler is to give evidence for the first time on Tuesday (October 2) on the second day of his trial for stealing documents he hoped would expose corrupt dealings in the Vatican.
Paolo Gabriele, 46, who prompted a crisis in Benedict's papacy after he slipped sensitive documents to an Italian journalist, has not spoken publicly since he was arrested in May.
The testimony of the pope's manservant - a member of the Vatican's most inner circle, the "papal family" - will be closely followed for details of what prompted him to betray the pontiff."Day Two perhaps will be the most dramatic day of the trial because the butler Paolo Gabriele will be questioned so this is the first time since his arrest that he will be able to publicly say why he did what he did, what was he trying to achieve, why did he take documents from the desk of the pope and give them to a journalist for publication, what was he trying to achieve. He says that he wanted to uncover the corruption and evil that he saw in the church so he'll be able to explain why he did what he did and this is the first time we'll hear his voice in months so it should be exciting," Reuters Vatican correspondent Philip Pullella, who is also part of the press pool allowed inside the court room, said.
The papers Gabriele admits he photocopied and passed on at secret meetings included letters to the pope in which a senior Vatican functionary, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, expressed concern about improper behaviour in the Holy See's business dealings.
The leaks were a blow to the Vatican, which has been eager to clean up its image after a series of scandals involving its bank. Archbishop Vigano was later posted to Washington despite pleading to be allowed to remain at the papal state.
The case, dubbed "Vatileaks", saw the butler imprisoned in the Vatican police station while investigators seized 82 boxes of evidence from the apartment where he lived with his wife and three children.
"All of us, everybody has done things we are ashamed of and at the time it seemed the right thing to do so I really don't know in this case. I just pray that both the butler and who ever else is involved in it, that God's mercy comes through," said Father Brad Pelzel from the United States, as he passed through St. Peter's Square.
Rome pensioner Mauro said he was intrigued to hear Gabriele's version of the events.
"If he is under trial, he must have done something that wasn't completely legal, I don't believe it was just a parking violation," he said.
Conducted under a 19th-century criminal code, the trial began with a setback for the defence on Saturday (September 29) when judges refused to admit evidence from the Church's own investigation.
Gabriele's lawyer, Cristiana Arru, hoped to explain her client's motives by admitting as evidence an inquiry by a commission of cardinals who questioned Vaticanemployees about the leaks.
A summary of the inquiry's results released in August showed Gabriele acted because he saw "evil and corruption everywhere in the Church," and felt the pope was not sufficiently informed.
But chief judge Giuseppe Dalla Torre said the commission of cardinals answered only to the pope and that the inquiry had "no relevance" to Vatican City's penal code.
Only evidence gathered by a prosecutor and the Vatican police will be allowed.
Facing charges of aggravated theft, the man who helped the pope dress and rode in the front seat of the Popemobile could now face up to four years in an Italian prison.
Vatican computer expert Claudio Sciarpelletti is on trial separately for aiding Gabriele.