Pope Pardons Former Butler
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Franco Origlia/Getty Images(VATICAN CITY) — Pope Benedict has pardoned his former butler, who was convicted of stealing and leaking sensitive Vatican documents.
After meeting for around 15 minutes with his former butler in his cell, Pope Benedict decided to grant Paolo Gabriele a full pardon. He had been convicted by a Vatican court of stealing the pontiff’s private papers and leaking them to a journalist. It was seen as one of the gravest Vatican security breaches in recent times.
The Vatican won’t be re-hiring Gabriele, who had worked closely with the pope for six years.
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