Pope’s butler arrested in scandal

(FILES) Paolo Gabriele (Bottom L), the pope's butler, sits in the popemobilenext to Pope Benedict XVI as they arrive in St. Petr's square on April 18, 2012 for the pope's weekly general audience. Vatican police arrested the pope's butler on May 25, 2012, on allegations of having leaked confidential documents and letters from the pontiff's private study to the newspapers, Italian media reported.The Vatican said it has arrested a man caught in possession of secret documents in a bid to crack down on the source of the leak scandal, but would not confirm the suspect's identity, age, or when he had been arrested. AFP PHOTO / VINCENZO PINTO

(FILES) Paolo Gabriele (Bottom L), the pope's butler, sits in the popemobilenext to Pope Benedict XVI as they arrive in St. Petr's square on April 18, 2012 for the pope's weekly general audience. Vatican police arrested the pope's butler on May 25, 2012, on allegations of having leaked confidential documents and letters from the pontiff's private study to the newspapers, Italian media reported.The Vatican said it has arrested a man caught in possession of secret documents in a bid to crack down on the source of the leak scandal, but would not confirm the suspect's identity, age, or when he had been arrested. AFP PHOTO / VINCENZO PINTO

Published May 26, 2012

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Vatican City - The Vatican has confirmed that the pope's butler was arrested in an embarrassing leaks scandal.

Spokesman the Rev Federico Lombardi on Saturday said Paolo Gabriele was arrested in his home inside Vatican City with secret documents in his possession. Gabriele, a layman, was being held.

Vatican documents leaked to the press in recent months have pointed to power struggles and accusations of corruption touching senior Vatican cardinals. In one case, a cleric who complained was reportedly sent to Washington as papal envoy to get him out of the Vatican.

In another case, Vatican officials have accused the president of the Vatican bank of leaking confidential documents. He was ousted by the board Thursday. - Sapa-AP

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