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Subscribe to RSSA Vatican computer expert has been found guilty of helping the pope's personal butler leak classified documents. NBC's Claudio Lavanga reports.
ROME — A Vatican computer expert charged with helping the pope's former butler Paolo Gabriele to steal and leak papal documents to a journalist was given a suspended, two-month prison sentence Saturday.
Claudio Sciarpelletti was initially given a four-month sentence, but it was reduced immediately to two months because of his clean record and later suspended.
In reading the verdict, chief judge Giuseppe della Torre said Sciarpelletti was sentenced for "obstructing justice."
Gabriele was sentenced to 18 months in prison in October for stealing and leaking papal documents.
Pope's ex-butler Paolo Gabriele gets 18-month sentence in 'Vatileaks' case
During his testimony Saturday, Sciarpelletti said he said he gave contradictory statements over the source of an envelope containing documents addressed to Paolo Gabriele because he was in a state of "shock" and "panic" following his arrest and the night spent in a Vatican prison cell.
He said he forgot who gave him the envelope as he had received it more than two years before it was found.
Sciarpelletti admitted to have written "Paolo Gabriele" on the envelope, but insisted he didn't know who gave it to him.
'Did it for my children'
Carlo Maria Polvani, head of the Vatican’s information office and Sciarpelletti's boss, said he had never seen the envelope and had not given it to Sciarpelletti.
Polvani is the nephew of cleric Carlo Maria Vigano, who tried to expose a web of corruption and nepotism in the awarding of contracts for the maintenance of Vatican real estate – something revealed by the leaking of the documents. Vigano was later sent to become Washington ambassador, a move seen by some as a way to drive him away from the Vatican.
Polvani told the judges that Sciarpelletti told him after he was arrested and released: "Please forgive me. I did it for my children and my family."
The pope's once-trusted butler, Paulo Gabriele, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his part in leaking private Vatican documents. NBC's Duncan Golestani reports.
Pope's ex-butler says eyesight was damaged by 24-hour light in Vatican cell
He said he believed Gabriele and Sciarpelletti were good friends, and that Gabriele would come see him in the office often. This contradicted Sciarpelletti's lawyer's declaration that he and the butler knew each other, but were not close.
Gabriele said Sciarpelletti was a friend and a confidant, and that he gave him the documents found in the envelope on his desk by Vatican authorities back in May.
He told the judges he used to give Sciarpelletti printouts of documents he would download from the Internet, but that he never handed out any reserved, official or confidential documents.
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How the hell can us Catholics show respect for a Vatican that prosecutes whistleblowers rather than the corrupt individuals within the Vatican who are the subject of the whistleblowing. It is a contradiction of everything the Church has ever taught us. Total dysfunction.
The Butler deserves a medal.
The Church needs to find a way to clean up the political mess and corruption inside the Vatican short of burning the place down and starting over from scratch.
Well they did better than the Russians would do... well I guess this is a little different kind of offense than "Pussy Riot..." but I am sure the Russians would have done worse... LOL
Spreading the truth = obstruction of justice.
HDumpty - you are one Catholic I could tolerate! It's high time more of you "see the light."
I wonder, is anyone curious why the vatican would have a prison?
I guess jesus can turn the other cheek, but the pope? forgeddaboutit.
Without assumed authority, the church is being shown to be exactly what it is. If you look back in history, next to every despot is a member of the clergy.
It's also important to remember how the vatican was founded. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini had a direct role in forming the vatican as a stand alone state. Catholics have been busy trying to change the history books to say that Hitler was a paganist, or into the occult, or what have you.
The plain and simple fact is that he was a devout catholic, following the idea of jewish deicide, or the idea that jews killed jesus. He felt it was his christian duty to wipe out the killers of god.
You don't need to take my word for it. You can watch his speeches or read his books. He will tell you in his own words why he did what he did.
All the while building up the catholic church, not condeming it. He was part of the machine.
Think about that.
Funny how this Head Pedophile Pimp of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI and his Cardinals Timothy Dolan, Bernard Law and Michael Leveda as well as others can speak out against the evils of same sex marriage, abortion, atheism and others, how they can declare they are for peace and love and adhering to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. How they can hide their pedophile priests and move them around so they can go out and rape and torture even more children, and hide behind their supposed religious and leadership immunity, how they can send their pit bull, Pig Face Bill Donohue President of the Catholic League to attack us victims and our support systems like SNAP and say they are a menace to the RCC and we victims are nothing more but liars, gold diggers, seducers of their priests etc but cannot abide by their own Catechism teaching concerning rape:
“Rape is the forcible violation of the sexual intimacy of another person. It does injury to justice and charity. Rape deeply wounds the respect, freedom and physical and moral integrity to which every person has a right. It causes grave damage that can mark the victim for live. It is always an intrinsically evil act. Graver still is the rape of children committed by parents (incest) or those responsible for the education of children entrusted to them.” (no. 2356)
Just curious. Was he charged and tried under Vatican law in a Vatican court, or under Italian jurisdiction?
Vatican jurisdiction. All 109 acres of it.
@Antid...
Thanx.
Kind of reminds me of Planet Utah...
There might be a reason for that.
Sharia law, Vatican style.
How would you like to go through what I went through? See first off I was raised a Roman Catholic in the early 60's and we were taught the Popes word and even the priests were as if God himself was speaking to you.
Then in April of 1975 I had run away from an abusive foster home. They brought me to the St Thomas More Parish in Durham NH where I was supposed to be kept safe until my social services worker picked me up the next morning. Too bad the police officer who brought me there did not just take me to the jail and hold me there until the next morning. See as soon as the police officer left, the priest took me to his bedroom.
First, he said he had to heal me from my evil for breaking the Ten Commandment of honoring my mother and my father. So he then had me remove my clothes and he then sucked the demon out of me. He then forced me to suck him off and swallow his "sacred sacrament" as he called it. He did not care that I then threw up because the next part was really, really fun ya know? He then raped me anally, making me say the Our Father and the Hail Mary all the while he was screwing me up my ass he would tell me if I told anyone about his secret ritual then I would burn in hell for all eternity. Afterwards he was not finished, but my mind shut down and protected me from the horror I was going through.
For some reason I became a pyro, I now know why, I was trying to burn down the world because I did not want to go to hell. I started suffering from terrifying nightmares, of the world burning, of my burning in hell being gang raped by the demons of hell. One especially sweet part of this nightmare NOT was when this very priest came up and ripped off my penis and ate it.
For almost 38 years I suffered, in total and abject fear that if I told anyone I would in fact burn in hell. I became a drunk and a druggie, trying anything and everything to make the memories and the nightmares go away. I felt incredible guilt. During the rape I begged god and jesus again and again to save me from this evil. They did not so I thought I deserved what I got. I tried to kill myself numerous times. How I am still here is in fact a miracle. Even my own doctors and therapists say I should be dead with the overdoses I took.
I finally came out about a year ago. See I had been a witness of a sperm donor sexually assaulting his own daughter. I came to find out he had been raping her from the age of 12 until she turned 17. Then he started just grabbing her in a sexual way and she would beg him to stop. Well he said why should he, he was abused as a child so he had a right to do the same. I exploded. I told him I was a priest rape victim and never in my life would I do such a thing. That is when all the horror really came out. I tried to kill myself again by going to a swinging bridge we have in the forest, tying a rope around my neck and throwing myself off that bridge. Then something happened. I will not say what it is here, but it gave me the courage to go and report finally what happened to me.
Many of us victims are just like this. We hide in fear, guilt, self hate and loathing. We believe thanks to these priests we deserved what we got. Then something snaps and we stop, we come out and we take a stand.
This pope of yours himself knew of at least two priests who were dangerous, who were raping children and he still moved them around. So did a lot of the leaders, like Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Cardinal Bernard Law, Cardinal Michael Leveda, but these scum, these Pedophile Pimps of the Roman Catholic Church act so freaking holy, they insist they should NEVER be prosecuted for these crimes because they are religious leaders and your Pope is the leader of a country so he is immune from prosecution.
You parishioners of the RCC dare call them holy and worthy of heaven, these people who raped your own children and those who covered it up, while condemning people such as gays and lesbians, atheists and pagans, and even myself to hell, because we do not accept your religion or your Papal Bull@!$%#ter.
So, I would LOVE for any of you to come to my house and look me straight in the eyes, to see the horror that is buried behind them, the pain and suffering that is there, to hear my story with your own ears from my lips and see if you might not change your attitude towards us priest sex abuse victims. I doubt it though because YOU are just as much a hypocrite as your damnable Pedophile Pimps.