Monday,  November 5, 2012 • Vol. 13--No. 111 • 32 of 35 •  Other Editions

(Continued from page 31)

• But that was then.
• Now, as the Socialist government prepares to unveil its draft "marriage for everyone" law Wednesday, polls show wavering support for the idea and for the president amid increasingly vocal opposition in this traditionally Catholic country.
• And it's not just religious and rural leaders speaking out; top figures within Hollande's own party also are at loggerheads. So the Socialists are dragging their feet, releasing the bill later than planned and delaying parliamentary debate on it until January.
• A political hot potato, it has entrenched divisions between urban France, where homosexuality is widely accepted, and rural France, where conservative attitudes hold sway.
• ___

Pope's bodyguard, ex-butler on witness list in new trial in Vatican security breach

• VATICAN CITY (AP) -- The trial this week of a Vatican computer whiz over his alleged role in an embarrassing scandal of filched confidential papal documents is offering a chance for an insider glimpse at the Holy See's security workings.
• Among those expected to testify in the trial, which begins on Monday in a Vatican City tribunal, are the pope's top bodyguard, a commander of the legendary Swiss Guards and a Vatican security official connected to an Italian company with expertise in detecting eavesdropping devices.
• Also on the witness list is Paolo Gabriele, Benedict's former butler who is serving an 18-month prison sentence at the Vatican. It will be Gabriele's first opportunity for public comment since the Holy See tribunal convicted him last month of stealing the pontiff's private letters and leaking them to an Italian journalist in one of the worst breaches of Vatican security in recent memory.
• The leaks exposed infighting among Vatican bureaucrats, intrigue and allegations of corruption.
• Claudio Sciarpelletti, a 48-year-old computer programming analyst in the powerful office of Secretariat of State, was originally supposed to be tried with Gabriele earlier this fall. But his lawyer succeeded in having his client tried separately. Sciarpelletti is charged with aiding and abetting Gabriele.
• ___


(Continued on page 33)

© 2012 Groton Daily Independent • To send correspondence, click here.