Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi
said the pontiff had visited Gabriele in
prison during the morning and had told
him during a15-minute chat that he
would be pardoned. Gabriele, who was
convicted in October, was then released.
"It was a paternal act towards a person
with whom the pope shared daily life for
years," Lombardi said, comparing
Benedict’s Christmas act to that of the
late John Paul II, who eventually forgave
Ali Agca, the Turkish national who had
shot him in St Peter’s Square in1981,
during a visit to Agca’s prison cell.
However, Lombardi said Gabriele would
no longer be allowed to work for the Holy
See or reside in the Vatican.
Another man, computer technician
Claudio Sciarpelletti, was handed a two-
month suspended sentence in the so-
called VatiLeaks scandal. Sciarpelletti was
also expected to be pardoned at a future
date, the Vatican said.//DPA
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