The butler did it? Pope’s personal aide arrested over ‘Vatileaks’

Vatican police have arrested Pope Benedict XVI’s personal butler following an investigation into the leaking of sensitive Church documents.

The butler identified as Paolo Gabriele, 46, was held by gendarmes after a special commission of three top senior cardinals had been appointed by a furious Pope Benedict to identify the source of the leaked documents.

Gabriele, who has been at the Pope’s side for six years, is one of the German-born pontiff’s inner circle, which totals just four lay people and four nuns. He is so close that he and the nuns who look after him are described as the “pontiff’s family”.

It is believed that Gabriele, who is known by the nickname Paoletto (little Paul), was held as he arrived for work at the Papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace behind St Peter’s. Last night he was being held in custody – the first time in years the Vatican jail had been used.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said a man had been detained with “documents in his possession”.

The arrest came just a month after Pope Benedict appointed a special commission to investigate the leaks of sensitive Catholic Church documents from the Vatican, as it tries to recover from the priest sex abuse scandal.

Dozens of documents including private letters to the Pope have ended up in the hands of the Italian media, in what has been dubbed “Vatileaks”.

The documents show how contracts were awarded to favoured companies and individuals, and also highlight allegations of internal power struggles with the Vatican’s bank, known as the Institute for Religious Works.

By coincidence, on Thursday, the head of the bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, who is already under investigation for money laundering, resigned after a vote of no confidence and initially there were rumours that he was responsible for the leaks.

The scandal began in January with the publication of leaked letters from the former deputy governor of the Vatican City, archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, in which he pleaded not to be transferred after he had exposed what he said was corruption over the awarding of contracts.

Archbishop Vigano was deputy governor from 2009 until last year when he was moved to Washington DC to be papal nuncio in the US. He had written to the Pope in protest, complaining that the move would bring an end to his efforts to “clean up” the Vatican.

Sources said sensitive Vatican documents had been recovered from father-of-three Gabriele’s home inside the Vatican.

But Paolo Rodari, an expert on Vatican affairs with newspaper Il Foglio, was sceptical of his involvement. He said: “I know Gabriele. He is a nice guy but I don’t think he would be behind this”.