BBC News - Pope ex-butler Paolo Gabriele jailed for theft
►http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19850385
Pope ex-butler Paolo Gabriele jailed for theft
Paolo Gabriele (R) in court on 29 September Gabriele (R) said he was acting out of love for the Church
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
Pope’s butler waits to learn his fate
Butler kept ’top secret’ papers
Pope’s ex-butler was ’mistreated’
Pope Benedict’s ex-butler Paolo Gabriele has been found guilty of stealing confidential papers and sentenced to 18 months in jail.
Prosecutors had called for a three-year sentence but it was reduced because of “mitigating circumstances”.
Speaking before the verdict, he said he acted out of love for the Church and did not see himself as a thief.
Gabriele had denied the theft charge but admitted photocopying documents and “betraying the Holy Father’s trust”.
Defence lawyers had asked for the charge to be reduced.
Paolo Gabriele was accused of stealing and copying the Pope’s documents and leaking them to an Italian journalist.
The BBC’s David Willey in Rome says official Vatican media have almost totally ignored the trial since it began and morning radio bulletins have omitted to mention the story.