“We have allocated four hearings next week and these may be enough," the President of the Vatican court, Giuseppe Dalla Torre, announced, saying the trial against the Pope’s former butler, Paolo Gbariele, could be wrapped up quickly. Gabriele is accused of stealing secret documents from the Pope’s personal apartment.
He entered the courtroom of the Vatican City State tribunal alone and slightly ahead of time (the hearing was set for 9:30 am), escorted by Vatican policemen but without any family members by his side.
The Pope’s former butler, Paolo Gabriele, who is being tried for aggravated theft after an inquiry into the theft of some secret papers belonging to the Pope. Gabriele appeared emotionless as he followed the proceedings of the first hearing, which lasted two and a quarter hours.
Dressed in a light grey suit, a dark grey tie and a white shirt, he appeared a little tense, but largely expressionless. He listened, seated and with his arms crossed for most of the session.
Now and again, particularly during a break in the hearing for the council chamber, he chatted with his lawyer, Cristiana Arru, who was sitting in front of him.
There were about thirty people altogether in the small courtroom, including witnesses, audience, members of the court, clerks of the court and lawyers.
During the hearing it emerged that the head of the Vatican Gendarmerie, Domenico Giani, confiscated a large amount of material from Benedict XVI’s former butler: 82 boxes of material were gathered. The boxes contain various types of documents, not just confidential letters but also other material which investigators considered interesting.
The Pope’s personal secretary, Georg Gaenswein is also among the witnesses expected to give evidence at the trial against the Pope’s former butler who confessed to stealing confidential Holy See documents.
At the start of Saturday’s hearing, a register of witnesses was taken, but it was not specified whether they were being called forward by the defence or the prosecution.
Mgr. Georg Gaenswein and Cristina Cernetti, one of the four “memores domini” (consecrated lay women who are members of the Communion and Liberation movement) who assist the Pope in his apartment are expected to testify, as well as six Vatican policemen: Giuseppe Pesce, Costanzo Alessandrini, Luca Cintia, Stefano De Santis, Silvano Carli, Luca Bassetti.
Five witnesses are expected at the trial of Claudio Sciarpelletti, who is accused of aiding and abetting a crime: Paolo Gabriele himself; Mgr. Carlo Polvani, the Vatican Secretariat of State’s head of IT; William Klotter, vice-commander of the Vatican's Swiss guard; the commander of the Vatican Gendarmerie, Domenico Giani and Vatican policeman, Gianluca Gauzzi Broccoletti.
Claudio Sciarpelletti, a computer technician who worked for the Vatican Secretariat of State, has pleaded innocent, his lawyer, Gianluca Benedetti explained. Mr. Benedetti said his client was absent from Saturday’s hearing because of “unexpected circumstances linked to anxiety,” caused by tension.
Mgr. Carlo Maria Polvani of the Secretariat of State, grandson of the current Nuncio to Washington, Carlo Maria Viganò, will also give evidence at the computer technician’s trial. Gr. Viganò is at the centre of a controversy over the running of the Vatican Governorate, a fact which was revealed as a result of the documents which Paolo Gabriele stole and published.
The point of adding Mgr. Polvani (currently head of the information and communications section of the Vatican Secretariat of State and the Press Office) to the witness list, seems to be the need to shed light on who handed the envelope, found when the butler’s house was searched, to Sciarpelletti.
The envelope contained a controversial pamphlet on the the running of the Vatican and an e-mail. At first, Sciarpelletti attributed the envelope’s delivery to Paolo Gabriele, who was in fact the receiver, then to a monsignor of the Secretariat of State.
In Promoter of Justice Nicola Piccardi’s closing speech and in the sentence pronounced by investigating judge, Piero Bonnet, the monsignor’s identity had been covered by his initials.
The second hearing of Paolo Gabriele’s trial will be held on Tuesday at 9:30: the Pope’s former butler will also be interrogated during this session.
The first hearing also revealed that a surveillance camera had been used to monitor Paolo Gabriele’s house and movements.
On 8 June, the judge authorised the Vatican Gendarmerie to install the camera on the former butler’s house so they could record and monitor his movements.