The arrest of Paolo Gabriele, Benedict XVI’s butler, meant that for a brief time all those working in the Pope home (the Vatican Loggias which sport the work of the famous master painter Raphael) could breathe a sigh of relief. This is the place where the Secretariat of State, the Pope’s administrative office, is and where all documents read by Benedict XVI end up.
Once a document is ready, Mgr. Georg passes it on to the appropriate office to be archived.
So when Italian television program Gli Intoccabili (The Untouchables) presented by journalist, Gianluigi Nuzzi, showed a confidential note that the director of the Vatican Press Office, Fr. Lombardi, had sent to the papal apartments (to Mgr. Georg) summarizing the ‘Orlandi’ case, many in the Vatican thought that it was obviously impossible for the documents to have been leaked from the press office or papal apartments.
Therefore the culprit could only be found in the Secretariat of State.
This theory seemed even more convincing when, after the first bouts of investigation, the Vatican Gendarmerie came to a standstill.
Sources inside the Vatican surprisingly blamed the slowing down in the investigation on those who should have actually pushed it forward, including the Substitute to the Secretary of State, Giovanni Angelo Becciu.
The setback lasted a few weeks, then under pressure from the public opinion and due to further developments, a month ago, a committee of cardinals was formed, led by the energetic cardinal Julian Herranz. The situation then progressed, as we know.
Now there is a sense of relief in the Secretariat of State, but also bitterness, because despite everything the image of the Church is now in tatters. And the sense of liberation following the arrest of Paolo Gabriele, who is currently the only person officially under investigation (even though there seem to be two more Italian citizens ‘under suspicion’), is palpable, but not complete.
Even among the diplomats who work with the Pope and were well acquainted with the protagonists of this tragedy, everyone is well aware that Benedict XVI’s butler could not easily have done this alone.
There are rumours (which obviously cannot be confirmed at this stage of the inquiry) of investigations involving a priest in the Secretariat of State. These rumours alone somewhat stifled the brief relief felt by the religious diplomats who in the past weeks were accused, and perhaps not always without reason, of harbouring feelings that can hardly be described as Christian towards the Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone, who unfortunately for him did not study at the Ecclesiastical Academy, near the Church of St. Mary above Minerva.
One wonders why Paolo Gabriele who was questioned at the beginning of last week and was therefore aware he was a suspect, did nothing for over three days to get rid of at least part of the evidence, documents that would undoubtedly have landed him in a lot of trouble.
Someone must have promised him some form of protection, reassuring him that he would not be touched.
And who, could have pacified him when the Gendarmerie was getting ready for the inspection that would lead to his arrest, if not someone who had the authority and was well respected?
Moreover, the butler lives opposite General Domenico Giani, the Commander of the Vatican Gendarmerie.
A bitter twist of fate.