Subject: VISnews121023
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
--Boundary_(ID_mm3qszwgpSl5l4trYqLnGw)
Content-type: text/plain; CHARSETUS-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
body, html { font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;
color: #000000; }
.txt { font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; color:
#000000; }
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - N° 191
DATE 23-10-2012
Summary:
- CARDINAL BERTONE SPEAKS ABOUT HOLY SEE MISSION TO SYRIA
- PUBLICATION OF FULL TEXT OF SENTENCE AGAINST PAOLO GABRIELE
- TRIAL OF CLAUDIO SCIARPELLETTI TO TAKE PLACE ON 5 NOVEMBER
___________________________________________________________
CARDINAL BERTONE SPEAKS ABOUT HOLY SEE MISSION TO SYRIA
Vatican City, 23 October 2012 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio
Bertone S.D.B. today addressed the Synodal assembly on the subject of the
recent decision to send a delegation of Synod Fathers to Damascus, Syria.
"Speaking before this assembly last Tuesday", he said, "I announced the Holy
Father's decision to send a delegation to Damascus to express his solidarity
and that of the Synod with the people of Syria who, unfortunately, have for
some time been
experiencing a tragic situation of suffering. The intention was also to
express our spiritual closeness to our Christian brothers and sisters in that
country, and to encourage those committed to seeking a solution respectful of
the rights and duties of
all.
"The initiative raised wide interest and received a positive welcome, not only
in Rome and Syria, but also at the international level.
"First of all I wish to tell you that we have continued to study the issue and
to prepare the visit, despite the tragic episodes that have taken place in the
region over recent days.
"As is well known, there is a strong desire to express the closeness of the
Holy See and the universal Church by means of a delegation, which will travel
to Damascus at the time and in the manner which will be announced after they
have been defined in
the light of the contacts and preparations currently under way. Given the
gravity of the situation, the visit will be postponed, probably until after
the conclusion of the Synod, and the composition of the delegation will be
modified, also due to other
commitments on the part of its members.
"The contribution of the personal offerings of the Synod Fathers, and those of
the Holy See, will be sent to Syria as a gesture of fraternal solidarity with
the entire population.
"Above all we continue in our commitment to prayer, which is always heard by
the Lord and which I invite you to join with renewed confidence".
___________________________________________________________
PUBLICATION OF FULL TEXT OF SENTENCE AGAINST PAOLO GABRIELE
Vatican City, 23 October 2012 (VIS) - Made public today was the full text of
the sentence issued by the Tribunal of Vatican City State on 6 October, in
which Paolo Gabriele was declared guilty of aggravated theft.
On 6 October Paolo Gabriele had been sentenced to imprisonment for a period of
three years although, in view of his "lack of a criminal record, his record of
service in the period prior to the facts in question, the subjective (though
mistaken) belief
identified by the accused as the motive for his conduct, as well as his own
statement of his awareness of having betrayed the trust of the Holy Father,
the Tribunal reduced the sentence to imprisonment for one (1) year and six (6)
months, and ordered
the guilty party to defray the costs of the trial".
In a briefing held this morning Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico
Lombardi S.J. explained some aspects of the sentence. He began by noting that
it focused on the offence of stealing documents, and in particular the
originals of documents, and
took no account of other objects such as a nugget of gold, a cheque in the
Holy Father's name and a sixteenth-century copy of "The Aeneid", because there
were doubts about the way in which the search during which they were found had
been carried out,
and Gabriele's guilt was not proven.
Fr. Lombardi also explained that a psychiatric examination had excluded the
possibility that the accused might have had some mental condition which had
made him unaware of his responsibility for his actions. The Tribunal had also,
he said, been careful
to define the juridical terms of the offence of theft; i.e., the removal and
appropriation of an object without the consent of its owner with the intent of
obtaining some benefit. Thus the offence involved was theft and not
embezzlement, although the
sentence notes that the benefit Gabriele sought to gain was not economic in
nature, but intellectual and moral.
Another question that arose was whether Gabriele had acted at the "suggestion"
of a third party; a term that had been interpreted to include complicity or
influence. The accused himself affirmed that the word did not mean
collaboration with other
people, but the influence of the surrounding environment which had led him to
the conviction that he was acting for the good of the Holy Father and the
Church.
The Holy See Press Office Director noted that the aggravating circumstances
lay in the fact that the theft had involved abuse of trust and the publication
of reserved documents, while the attenuating circumstances were the absence of
a criminal record
and Gabriele's own moral conviction.
On the subject of the punishment, Fr. Lombardi pointed out that the Tribunal
had based its sentence on the penalties established for such offences in the
Criminal Code. The promoter of justice had requested that Gabriele be given a
lifetime ban on
holding public office but, as the final sentence was of eighteen months, the
Penal Code contains no provision for such a measure and the ban on public
office was thus of limited duration. Nonetheless, in view of the gravity of
the offence, it had been
decided not to suspend the sentence conditionally.
Finally the director of the Holy See Press Office announced that Paolo
Gabriele currently remains under house arrest, because until the publication
of the full text of the sentence the promoter of justice before the Tribunal
of Vatican City State,
Giovanni Giacobbe, was unable to file an appeal. If he did not now do so
within the set deadline the sentence would be put into effect. In this case
the accused would have to serve his term in prison inside the Vatican, because
there was no relevant
convention with the Italian State. The possibility remains, however, that the
Holy Father will pardon Gabriele although, since it would be a personal
decision, it is not clear if and when he will do so.
The full text of the sentence is available (in Italian)
here.
___________________________________________________________
TRIAL OF CLAUDIO SCIARPELLETTI TO TAKE PLACE ON 5 NOVEMBER
Vatican City, 23 October 2012 (VIS) - Giuseppe Dalla Torre, president of the
Tribunal of Vatican City State, has issued a decree ruling that the first
hearing in the trial of Claudio Sciarpelletti is to take place at 9 a.m. on 5
November. Sciarpelletti,
who is accused of complicity, was sent for trial by the examining magistrate
on 13 August, but his trial was separated from that of Paolo Gabriele by a
ruling issued during the course of the court hearing of 29 September.
The hearing will take place in the audience hall of the Tribunal of Vatican
City State, and the judicial bench will be composed of Giuseppe Dalla Torre,
president, and Paolo Papanti-Pelletier and Venerando Marano, judges.
___________________________________________________________
Per ulteriori informazioni e per la ricerca di documenti consultare il
sito: www.wisnews.org e www.vatican.va
Il servizio del VIS viene inviato soltanto agli indirizzi di posta
elettronica che ne hanno fatto richiesta. Se per qualunque motivo
non si desidera continuare a riceverlo, si prega di visitare nostra pagina
dinizio:
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/italinde.php
Copyright (VIS): Le notizie contenute nei servizi del Vatican
Information Service possono essere riprodotte parzialmente o totalmente
citando la fonte: V.I.S. - Vatican Information Service.
--Boundary_(ID_mm3qszwgpSl5l4trYqLnGw)
Content-type: text/html; CHARSETUS-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
VISnews121023
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE YEAR XXII - N° 191DATE 23-10-2012
Summary: - CARDINAL BERTONE SPEAKS ABOUT
HOLY SEE MISSION TO SYRIA
- PUBLICATION OF FULL TEXT OF SENTENCE AGAINST PAOLO GABRIELE - TRIAL OF
CLAUDIO SCIARPELLETTI TO TAKE PLACE ON 5 NOVEMBER
CARDINAL BERTONE SPEAKS ABOUT HOLY SEE MISSION TO SYRIA
Vatican City, 23 October 2012 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio
Bertone S.D.B. today addressed the Synodal assembly on the subject of the
recent decision to send a delegation of Synod Fathers to Damascus, Syria.
"Speaking before this assembly last Tuesday", he said, "I announced the
Holy Father's decision to send a delegation to Damascus to express his
solidarity and that of the Synod with the people of Syria who, unfortunately,
have for some time been
experiencing a tragic situation of suffering. The intention was also to
express our spiritual closeness to our Christian brothers and sisters in that
country, and to encourage those committed to seeking a solution respectful of
the rights and duties of
all.
"The initiative raised wide interest and received a positive welcome, not
only in Rome and Syria, but also at the international level.
"First of all I wish to tell you that we have continued to study the issue
and to prepare the visit, despite the tragic episodes that have taken place in
the region over recent days.
"As is well known, there is a strong desire to express the closeness of the
Holy See and the universal Church by means of a delegation, which will travel
to Damascus at the time and in the manner which will be announced after they
have been defined
in the light of the contacts and preparations currently under way. Given the
gravity of the situation, the visit will be postponed, probably until after
the conclusion of the Synod, and the composition of the delegation will be
modified, also due to
other commitments on the part of its members.
"The contribution of the personal offerings of the Synod Fathers, and those
of the Holy See, will be sent to Syria as a gesture of fraternal solidarity
with the entire population.
"Above all we continue in our commitment to prayer, which is always heard
by the Lord and which I invite you to join with renewed confidence".
PUBLICATION OF FULL TEXT OF SENTENCE AGAINST PAOLO GABRIELE
Vatican City, 23 October 2012 (VIS) - Made public today was the full text
of the sentence issued by the Tribunal of Vatican City State on 6 October, in
which Paolo Gabriele was declared guilty of aggravated theft.
On 6 October Paolo Gabriele had been sentenced to imprisonment for a period
of three years although, in view of his "lack of a criminal record, his record
of service in the period prior to the facts in question, the subjective
(though mistaken)
belief identified by the accused as the motive for his conduct, as well as his
own statement of his awareness of having betrayed the trust of the Holy
Father, the Tribunal reduced the sentence to imprisonment for one (1) year and
six (6) months, and
ordered the guilty party to defray the costs of the trial".
In a briefing held this morning Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico
Lombardi S.J. explained some aspects of the sentence. He began by noting that
it focused on the offence of stealing documents, and in particular the
originals of documents,
and took no account of other objects such as a nugget of gold, a cheque in the
Holy Father's name and a sixteenth-century copy of "The Aeneid", because there
were doubts about the way in which the search during which they were found had
been carried
out, and Gabriele's guilt was not proven.
Fr. Lombardi also explained that a psychiatric examination had excluded the
possibility that the accused might have had some mental condition which had
made him unaware of his responsibility for his actions. The Tribunal had also,
he said, been
careful to define the juridical terms of the offence of theft; i.e., the
removal and appropriation of an object without the consent of its owner with
the intent of obtaining some benefit. Thus the offence involved was theft and
not embezzlement,
although the sentence notes that the benefit Gabriele sought to gain was not
economic in nature, but intellectual and moral.
Another question that arose was whether Gabriele had acted at the
"suggestion" of a third party; a term that had been interpreted to include
complicity or influence. The accused himself affirmed that the word did not
mean collaboration with other
people, but the influence of the surrounding environment which had led him to
the conviction that he was acting for the good of the Holy Father and the
Church.
The Holy See Press Office Director noted that the aggravating circumstances
lay in the fact that the theft had involved abuse of trust and the publication
of reserved documents, while the attenuating circumstances were the absence of
a criminal
record and Gabriele's own moral conviction.
On the subject of the punishment, Fr. Lombardi pointed out that the
Tribunal had based its sentence on the penalties established for such offences
in the Criminal Code. The promoter of justice had requested that Gabriele be
given a lifetime ban on
holding public office but, as the final sentence was of eighteen months, the
Penal Code contains no provision for such a measure and the ban on public
office was thus of limited duration. Nonetheless, in view of the gravity of
the offence, it had been
decided not to suspend the sentence conditionally.
Finally the director of the Holy See Press Office announced that Paolo
Gabriele currently remains under house arrest, because until the publication
of the full text of the sentence the promoter of justice before the Tribunal
of Vatican City State,
Giovanni Giacobbe, was unable to file an appeal. If he did not now do so
within the set deadline the sentence would be put into effect. In this case
the accused would have to serve his term in prison inside the Vatican, because
there was no relevant
convention with the Italian State. The possibility remains, however, that the
Holy Father will pardon Gabriele although, since it would be a personal
decision, it is not clear if and when he will do so.
The full text of the sentence is available (in Italian)
here.
TRIAL OF CLAUDIO SCIARPELLETTI TO TAKE PLACE ON 5 NOVEMBER
Vatican City, 23 October 2012 (VIS) - Giuseppe Dalla Torre, president of
the Tribunal of Vatican City State, has issued a decree ruling that the first
hearing in the trial of Claudio Sciarpelletti is to take place at 9 a.m. on 5
November.
Sciarpelletti, who is accused of complicity, was sent for trial by the
examining magistrate on 13 August, but his trial was separated from that of
Paolo Gabriele by a ruling issued during the course of the court hearing of 29
September.
The hearing will take place in the audience hall of the Tribunal of Vatican
City State, and the judicial bench will be composed of Giuseppe Dalla Torre,
president, and Paolo Papanti-Pelletier and Venerando Marano, judges.
Per ulteriori informazioni e per la ricerca di documenti consultare il
sito: www.wisnews.org e www.vatican.va Il servizio del
VIS viene inviato soltanto agli indirizzi di posta elettronica che ne
hanno
fatto richiesta. Se per qualunque motivo non si desidera continuare a
riceverlo, si prega di visitare nostra pagina dinizio: http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vi
/italinde.php
Copyright (VIS): Le notizie contenute nei servizi del Vatican
Information Service possono essere riprodotte parzialmente o totalmente
citando la fonte: V.I.S. - Vatican Information Service.
--Boundary_(ID_mm3qszwgpSl5l4trYqLnGw)--
--- NetMgr/2 1.0y+
* Origin: NetMgr+ @ Sursum Corda! BBS Meridian MS USA (1:396/45)
