Vatileaks trial to resume next week with witness testimony

Vatican City - The Vatican trial of five people accused of leaking or publishing stolen confidential documents will resume next week, with witnesses taking the stand, a spokesman said Monday.

Spanish Monsignor Lucio Vallejo, his assistant Nicola Maio, and Francesca Chaouqui, a former PR consultant to the Vatican are accused of leaking stolen documents to the Italian press in a case which has embarrassed the Holy See.

Two investigative reporters are also being prosecuted for publishing the documents, which provide evidence of mismanagement in Vatican spending and some elements of corruption.

The judge will first meet with technical experts in a closed-doors session on Saturday to examine the admissibility of new computer evidence to the trial, Vatican deputy spokesman Greg Burke told AFP.

Monday afternoon will be dedicated to witness testimony, followed by a second hearing on Tuesday, he said, without specifying who would be taking the stand.

The witness list includes Pietro Parolin, the most senior cardinal in the Vatican hierarchy, and two close associates of Pope Francis, Cardinal Santo Abril y Castello and Archbishop Konrad Krajewski.

All five defendants face up to eight years in jail due to draconian anti-leaks legislation enacted by Pope Francis.

This is the second "Vatileaks" scandal to hit the Vatican. The first in 2012 involved former pope Benedict XVI's butler revealing the extraordinary scale of bitter infighting in the upper echelons of the Church's bureaucracy.

The butler was found guilty, but pardoned shortly afterwards and banned from the tiny city state for live.

The Vatican has been heavily criticised for pursuing the prosecution of the journalists in a move seen to violate press freedom, and Francis is reportedly keen to wind up the trial without a verdict -- a move permitted under Vatican law. — Agence France-Presse