Scottish Catholic Observer

At the end of today’s general audience, the Holy Father spoke of the recent developments in the Vatican that led to the arrest of Paolo Gabriele (above), his butler, on Friday when private Vatican documents were found in his possession.

“The events of recent days involving the Curia and my collaborators have brought sadness to my heart,” the Holy Father said. “However, I have never lost my firm certainty that, despite the weakness of man, despite difficulties and trials, the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit and the Lord will ensure she never lacks the help she needs to support her on her journey.

“Nonetheless there has been increasing conjecture, amplified by the communications media, which is entirely gratuitous, goes beyond the facts and presents a completely unrealistic image of the Holy See. Thus, I wish to reiterate my trust and encouragement to my closest collaborators and to all those people who every day, in silent faithlessness and with a spirit of sacrifice, help me carry out my ministry.”

Earlier in the day, his first public reference to the matter, the Holy Father said that all people must persevere in the face of ‘conflicts in human relations, often from within one’s own family.’

Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said that the scandal had been very difficult for the Holy Father and ‘put trust in the Church and the Holy See to the test.’ “That is why we must confront [this] directly and not hide,” Fr Lombardi said.

Following his arrest, Mr Gabriele agreed to co-operate with investigators, suggesting more arrests within the Holy See may follow.

Central to the situation is the leaking of dozens of private letters to Pope Benedict XVI and other confidential Vatican correspondence and reports, including encrypted cables from Vatican embassies around the world, which were given to an Italian journalist, Gianluigi Nuzzi who published the documents in a book earlier this month.