Pope's butler freed from Vatican cell, gets house arrest
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Pope Benedict XVI's butler has been released and will be under house arrest pending a ruling on whether he should stand trial for leaking confidential papers, the Vatican said on Saturday.
"Following (Saturday's) interrogation his detention is no longer necessary," spokesman Federico Lombardi said, adding that by early August at the latest there would be a ruling on whether Paolo Gabriele would have to stand trial.
Gabriele was arrested on May 23 after an Italian investigative journalist published hundreds of secret documents that revealed a series of fraud scandals in the Vatican and an atmosphere of intrigue between rival cardinals.
His home is within the Vatican walls and Gabriele will be allowed to leave his house only to attend mass, Lombardi said, adding that he would be able to receive ‘spiritual and medical assistance’ while awaiting a court ruling.
He is accused of ‘aggravated theft’ and faces up to six years in prison.
Gabriele's lawyer Carlo Fusco said that his client would ‘presumably’ have to face trial, adding that he had acted "under pressure on various fronts".
Fusco added however that Gabriele acted alone and that he believed his actions were ‘an act of assistance, an act of love’ towards the pope. "There are definitely no networks, no internal or external plots in which Paolo was involved. His motivations were all internal," Fusco said.
"He wanted the Church to be more alive. He had an idea to help a situation that he thought he could improve," he said, without adding further details.
The investigative journalist who published the leaks has not named Gabriele as the source but says his source wanted to reveal corruption in the Vatican and highlight growing criticism of Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone.
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