Pope’s butler ‘just scapegoat’ in Vatican leaks scandal

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.

Rome newspaper La Repubblica published documents it said it had received anonymously after the arrest of the Pope’s butler Paolo Gabriele on May 23.

A note received by the newspaper said there were “hundreds more” documents and Mr Gabriele was just a scapegoat.

The furore over the leaked correspondence, which shows power-hungry cardinals and scheming within the walls of thecity state, has gripped the Vatican.

One letter, dated Jan 16, was sent by Cardinal Raymond Burke, an American who heads a Vatican department, to the Pope’s secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

In the letter, Cardinal Burke complains a decision regarding a liturgical matter was taken without consulting his office, which is responsible for such matters.

The person who sent La Repubblica the documents also provided two letters signed by the Pope’s private secretary, Monsignor Georg Ganswein.

The newspaper said that those letters had everything but the letterhead and the signature whited out.

The newspaper said in the note accompanying the documents, the person who sent them said the contents had been whited out “so as not to offend the Holy Father” but threatened to reveal the contents.

The butler, Mr Gabriele, who is being held in a “safe room” in the Vatican’s police station, is expected to be questioned this week by a Vatican prosecutor who will decide if there are grounds to order him to stand trial.

Mr Gabriele, 45, is being held on charges of aggravated theft but, if he is charged with divulging state secrets, he could receive a prison sentence of up to 30 years.

The person who sent the documents to the paper said that Cardinal Bertone and Mgr Ganswein were “those really responsible for this scandal”.