VATICAN CITY
AFP
By Ella Ide (AFP)
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has hailed its report on the decision to put the pope’s butler on trial as proof of its transparency, but critics suspect the secretive state of diverting attention from its scandals.
The Church has been plagued by controversy in recent years, from allegations of money laundering and criminal associations to child sex abuse, and has been repeatedly accused by critics of covering up its sins to protect insiders.
To prove its commitment to openness, the Vatican marked its decision to charge butler Paolo Gabriele for leaking secret papers to the media by releasing the full statements made by the magistrate and others concerned.
Details were also revealed about another Holy See employee, who has been charged with aiding and abetting Gabriele. Only the names of the witnesses who were interrogated during the inquiry were obscured for the sake of due process.
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