Pope’s butler to stand trial on charges of stealing documents

A Vatican judge ordered the former butler of Pope Benedict XVI and a lay employee to stand trial on charges of pilfering documents from the pope's private apartment and releasing it to the media.

Paolo Gabriele, the butler, was arrested in May, months after leaked documents surfaced in Italian newspapers and on television channels, highlighting internal power struggles in the Vatican (See: Pope's butler to cooperate in 'Vatileak' probe).

An Italian journalist also published a book – Sua Santita (His Holiness) – based on the documents taken from the pope's apartment.

According to the 35-page indictment, Gabriele told investigators that he stole the documents as he believed the pope was not aware of ''evil and corruption'' within the Vatican.

The indictment also included charges against Claudi Sciarpelletti, a computer expert in the secretariat of state office, accused of aiding and abetting the butler's crime.

Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said the two accused could be tried together by a bench of three judges. The trial, expected to begin only after 20 September would be open for the media to cover. He said Pope Benedict could also pardon the two accused persons. If convicted, Gabriele could be imprisoned for up to six years.