Paolo Gabriele, the former butler of Pope Benedict XVI who transmitted top-secret documents outside, has died at the age of 54 from a long illness, the Vatican news portal announced on Tuesday (November 24).
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This citizen of the tiny Vatican State, faithful servant of Josef Ratzinger for six years who notably prepared his ceremonial clothes, had set himself the personal mission of denouncing scandals within the Vatican.
In early 2012 he sent Italian newspapers extracts from internal letters revealing rivalries and corruption behind the scenes of the Church.
The case, which exposed the Vatican to mockery, had been dubbed "
Vatileaks
".
“
Paoletto
”, a spy enthusiast who collected newspaper articles in his home by the thousands, was arrested in May 2012. During his flash trial in a court of the Holy See, the butler explained his “
conviction to have acted out of exclusive love
”for the Church and the Pope.
"
I don't consider myself a thief,
" he insisted.
Found guilty and sentenced to one and a half years in prison, he was pardoned in December 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI who came to tell him the news in person in his cell.
The sovereign pontiff resigned two months later, stressing that he no longer had the physical strength necessary for his heavy task.
The documents of "
Vatileaks
" had not revealed large-scale scandals, but suspicions of corruption, opacity, slander, very strong tensions, thwarted careers, and contested choices at the head of the Church.
Paolo Gabriele, married and father of three, was then employed by the Bambino Gesù pediatric hospital, managed by the Holy See.
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