Pope's butler: 'more arrests may follow'

The Pope's butler has been formally charged with stealing confidential documents, and further arrests may follow, the Vatican has hinted.

The indictment of the butler, Paolo Gabriele, 46, by Vatican magistrates followed a high-level investigation into a series of damaging leaks to the Italian press – among them reports on the Vatican's tax affairs and one that suggested Pope Benedict's new ambassador to Washington was exiled to the US because he blew the whistle on corruption.

"There are ongoing investigations and some people are being listened to," the Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said yesterday. "We might not be talking about the very short term. But if there are other actions to take, we will take them."