Pope's Butler Says He Leaked Documents for the Good of the Church

Papers exposed corruption and cronyism in the Vatican

Pope Benedict's former butler took the stand at his own trial today to say that while he admits he took thousands of documents from the pope's private apartments and leaked them to the media, he is not guilty of theft because he was doing it for the good of the church, "to bring the church back on the right track."

"I declare myself innocent concerning the charge of aggravated theft," former butler Paolo Gabriele told the court. "I feel guilty of having betrayed the trust of the Holy Father, whom I love as a son would."

Intrigue, corruption and back-stabbing are clearly not new here at The Vatican, what is new is that Gabriele's indiscretions have opened the doors on Vatican dirty deeds in a way that has never happened before.