Vatican Leaks Scandal

A Vatican leaks scandal that was already rich in claims of sex, scheming and spying has widened to embroil Silvio Berlusconi, former PM of the country, and add allegations of blackmail and computer hacking to the mix.

A leaks scandal rocking the papacy widened on Wednesday as the Vatican put two Italian journalists under investigation and said it suspected other Holy See officials had helped two arrested for stealing documents.

Pope Francis is determined to forge ahead with his reform of the Catholic Church despite an embarrassing leak scandal which risks undermining his clean-up bid, according to the pontiff's chief of staff.

The Vatican has arrested a Spanish prelate and a social media expert for allegedly stealing and leaking classified documents in the second such scandal to hit the secretive institution in three years.

Pope Francis on Wednesday offered a rare public apology from the Catholic Church for a series of scandals which have recently shaken the city of Rome and the Vatican.

Pope Francis has admitted the existence of a "gay lobby" inside the Vatican's secretive administration, the Roman Curia, allegedly exposed during a leaks scandal, according to a Latin American Catholic website.

Pope Francis already has access to a top secret report about a leaks scandal that rocked the Catholic Church last year but most probably has not yet read it, the Vatican said on Monday.

The Vatican said on Monday that a report into papal documents leaked by Pope Benedict's butler in the so-called "Vatileaks scandal" last year will remain confidential and only be shown to the next pontiff.

Investigators into the so-called "Vatileaks" scandal were to meet with Pope Benedict XVI on Monday, two months after submitting their secret report into the leaks of papal documents to a journalist.

Pope Benedict XVI's former butler Paolo Gabriele went on trial on Saturday for leaking confidential Vatican memos that revealed cloak-and-dagger politics among the pope's closest aides.

Pope Benedict XVI's former butler and another Vatican employee must stand trial for stealing and leaking confidential papers in the latest scandal to afflict the Catholic Church, a magistrate ruled on Monday.

The Vatican, stung by communications blunders and mired in a leaks scandal, has hired an American journalist from Fox News and member of the conservative Catholic group Opus Dei to help improve its relations with the media. The TV journalist, Greg Burke, and the Vatican on Saturday confirmed what a senior Church source had earlier told Reuters.

A senior cardinal on Wednesday sought to quash rumours swirling in the Vatican after a scandal over leaked secret memos saying there was "a diversity of opinions" but no "division" in the Holy See.

Pope Benedict XVI broke his silence on Wednesday over the scandal of leaked documents that has convulsed the Vatican, saying he was saddened by the betrayal but grateful to those aides who work faithfully and in silence to help him do his job.

One of the Vatican's biggest scandals in decades has widened with the pope's butler - arrested for allegedly having confidential documents in his home - agreeing to cooperate with investigators, his lawyer said on Monday.

A Vatican leaks scandal that was already rich in claims of sex, scheming and spying has widened to embroil Silvio Berlusconi, former PM of the country, and add allegations of blackmail and computer hacking to the mix.

A leaks scandal rocking the papacy widened on Wednesday as the Vatican put two Italian journalists under investigation and said it suspected other Holy See officials had helped two arrested for stealing documents.

Pope Francis is determined to forge ahead with his reform of the Catholic Church despite an embarrassing leak scandal which risks undermining his clean-up bid, according to the pontiff's chief of staff.

The Vatican has arrested a Spanish prelate and a social media expert for allegedly stealing and leaking classified documents in the second such scandal to hit the secretive institution in three years.

Pope Francis on Wednesday offered a rare public apology from the Catholic Church for a series of scandals which have recently shaken the city of Rome and the Vatican.

Pope Francis has admitted the existence of a "gay lobby" inside the Vatican's secretive administration, the Roman Curia, allegedly exposed during a leaks scandal, according to a Latin American Catholic website.

Pope Francis already has access to a top secret report about a leaks scandal that rocked the Catholic Church last year but most probably has not yet read it, the Vatican said on Monday.

The Vatican said on Monday that a report into papal documents leaked by Pope Benedict's butler in the so-called "Vatileaks scandal" last year will remain confidential and only be shown to the next pontiff.

Investigators into the so-called "Vatileaks" scandal were to meet with Pope Benedict XVI on Monday, two months after submitting their secret report into the leaks of papal documents to a journalist.

Pope Benedict XVI's former butler Paolo Gabriele went on trial on Saturday for leaking confidential Vatican memos that revealed cloak-and-dagger politics among the pope's closest aides.

Pope Benedict XVI's former butler and another Vatican employee must stand trial for stealing and leaking confidential papers in the latest scandal to afflict the Catholic Church, a magistrate ruled on Monday.

The Vatican, stung by communications blunders and mired in a leaks scandal, has hired an American journalist from Fox News and member of the conservative Catholic group Opus Dei to help improve its relations with the media. The TV journalist, Greg Burke, and the Vatican on Saturday confirmed what a senior Church source had earlier told Reuters.

A senior cardinal on Wednesday sought to quash rumours swirling in the Vatican after a scandal over leaked secret memos saying there was "a diversity of opinions" but no "division" in the Holy See.

Pope Benedict XVI broke his silence on Wednesday over the scandal of leaked documents that has convulsed the Vatican, saying he was saddened by the betrayal but grateful to those aides who work faithfully and in silence to help him do his job.

One of the Vatican's biggest scandals in decades has widened with the pope's butler - arrested for allegedly having confidential documents in his home - agreeing to cooperate with investigators, his lawyer said on Monday.