A Vatican court has convicted a Holy See computer technician of helping the former papal butler in the theft of confidential documents and given him a two-month suspended sentence.

A Vatican computer expert accused of helping the Pope’s former butler steal secret correspondence did not know the man well and had little motive to risk his 20 years on the job for him, a defence lawyer argued at the start of the second trial in the scandal.

A Vatican computer worker has denied helping the Pope’s butler to leak confidential documents to the media.

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

A Vatican computer expert goes before a court today in a trial that could shed light on whether Pope Benedict’s former butler acted alone in leaking sensitive documents, or was a pawn in a bigger power struggle.

THE recent disclosure during the trial of Pope Benedict XVI’s butler, Paolo Gabriele, that he stole highly sensitive documents the pontiff had marked “to be destroyed”, raises the intriguing question: What else is missing from the papal archives?

The swift conviction of Pope Benedict’s former butler leaves lingering suspicions that he was a pawn in a much larger Vatican intrigue involving infighting in the papal court and alleged corruption at the highest levels of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Pope’s butler was convicted today of stealing the pontiff’s private documents and leaking them to a journalist, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

The Vatican’s best kept secrets have been divulged in a spate of leaks, the latest culminating in the trial of his butler Paolo Gabriele. Peter Popham examines the background to the personalities and controversies

Vatican police found thousands of documents hidden inside the home of the pope’s butler, including original documents signed by the pontiff with indications they should be destroyed.

Pope Benedict XVI’s onetime butler declared he was innocent of a charge of aggravated theft of the pope’s private letters, but acknowledged that he photocopied the papers and said he feels guilty that he betrayed the trust of the pontiff he loved like a father.

The pope’s butler has said he is innocent of stealing private correspondence but guilty of betraying the trust of the pontiff, whom he said he loved like a son would his father.

The pope’s butler has said he is innocent of stealing private correspondence but guilty of betraying the trust of the pontiff, whom he said he loved like a son would his father.

Pope Benedict XVI has returned to the Vatican after three months on holiday to find his former butler on trial in one of the most damaging scandals of his pontificate: the leaks of stolen papal correspondence detailing power struggles, defamation campaigns and allegations of corruption at the highest level of the Catholic Church.

A Vatican judge has adjourned the trial of the Pope's former butler, who is accused of giving stolen letters to a journalist.

A Vatican scandal will get an unusually public airing next week when the butler who served the Pope’s meals and helped him dress goes on trial for leaking Benedict’s private papers in the hope of cleaning up what he saw as “evil and corruption everywhere in the Church”.

The Pope's former butler will go on trial next week over the embarrassing theft of papal documents that exposed alleged corruption at the Holy See's highest levels.

The Pope’s butler and a fellow lay employee are to stand trial over documents stolen from the pontiff’s private apartment.

The Pope’s butler and a fellow lay employee are to stand trial over documents stolen from the pontiff’s private apartment.

The Vatican is set to rule on whether Pope Benedict's former butler will stand trial for stealing and leaking confidential papers from the pontiff.

Pope Benedict XVI has convened a meeting of cardinals for advice on how to deal with the Vatican’s leaked documents scandal.

The Vatican has blamed the media for fuelling the scandal over leaked documents and insisted there were no power struggles or problems of unity in the Holy See's governance.

The Pope's butler was formally questioned today in the investigation into the leaks of the pontiff's papers, a scandal that represents one of the gravest security breaches in recent Vatican history.

JUST after dawn on Wednesday, May 23, Paolo Gabriele said goodbye to his wife, passed by the bedrooms of his three children, and left to start another day in the service of the man Roman Catholics believe is the vicar of Christ on Earth.

The Vatican has been hit by further controversy with an Italian newspaper publishing documents claiming that Pope Benedict’s butler was not the only person in possession of confidential correspondence.

Pope Benedict XVI has broken his silence over the leaked documents scandal that has convulsed the Vatican, saying he was saddened by the betrayal but grateful to those aides who work faithfully and in silence to help him do his job.

The worst crisis in Pope Benedict’s pontificate deepened when Italian media said at least one cardinal was among those suspected of divulging sensitive documents as part of a power struggle at the top of the Church.

The Pope’s butler has been arrested in its embarrassing leaks scandal, adding a Hollywood twist to an already remarkable tale of power struggles, intrigue and corruption in the highest levels of Catholic Church governance.