Trying Times

Pope's Butler Heads to Trial

Servant hopes for papal dispensation.

One of the biggest embarrassments of the current papacy is heading to court. On Saturday, the Vatican opened to the public the trial of the pope’s butler, who is accused of leaking papal correspondence to news outlets. In the first day, judges threw out some evidence and decided to try the butler's partner in crime separately before quickly adjourning until Tuesday. The trusted servant, who dressed the pontiff each morning and served him his meals, has already confessed, saying he leaked the documents to expose the Holy See’s “evil and corruption,” but he hopes for a pardon from his former boss. Experts say that’s a given if he is convicted, but he still faces up to four years in jail.