No reply from Pope to ‘Vatileaks’ convict’s appeal for pardon

Msgr. Lucio Vallejo Balda, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his part in the “Vatileaks II” scandal, has appealed to Pope Francis for a pardon, but has not yet received a response, according to Italian media reports.

Msgr. Vallejo Balda, the former secretary of the Vatican’s Prefecture for the Economic Affairs, was sentenced by a Vatican tribunal in July after he admitted that he had given reporters access to confidential Vatican documents. 

In 2012, Paolo Gabriele, who had been valet to Pope Benedict XVI, was convicted of similar charges; he too was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment. But Pope Benedict pardoned him just a few weeks after his conviction.