New trial in Vatican scandal offers insider look

The trial this week of a Vatican computer whiz over his alleged role in an embarrassing scandal of filched confidential papal documents is offering a chance for an insider glimpse at the Holy See's security workings.          

A Vatican court on Monday heard how Pope Benedict's former butler, who has been jailed for stealing papal documents,  refused to allow technicians to check his computer for six years before his arrest.

Lawyers told the court Gabriele refused to have his computer maintained or updated by technicians.
   
Gabriele was convicted of aggravated theft at a separate trial last month and sentenced to 18 months in jail for stealing sensitive papal documents and leaking them to the media. He  kept some confidential information on his computer.

Gabriele, one of the pope's closest household assistants, admitted leaking the documents in what he said was an attempt to help disclose corruption and "evil" in the headquarters of the 1.2 billion-member faith.

Among those expected to testify in the trial, which began on Monday in a Vatican City tribunal, are the pope's top bodyguard, a commander of the legendary Swiss Guards and a Vatican security official connected to an Italian company with expertise in detecting eavesdropping devices.                      

Also on the witness list is Paolo Gabriele, Benedict's former butler who is serving an 18-month prison sentence at the Vatican. It will be Gabriele's first opportunity for public comment since the Holy See tribunal convicted him last month of stealing the pontiff's private letters and leaking them to an Italian journalist in one of the worst breaches of Vatican security in recent memory.                        

The leaks exposed infighting among Vatican bureaucrats, intrigue and allegations of corruption.                       

Claudio Sciarpelletti, a 48-year-old computer programming analyst in the powerful office of Secretariat of State, was originally supposed to be tried with Gabriele earlier this fall. But his lawyer succeeded in having his client tried separately. Sciarpelletti is charged with aiding and abetting Gabriele.                  

The judge at the first trial, Giuseppe Dalla Torre, will also conduct Sciarpelletti's trial.                        


AP