"A personal offense was done to the Holy Father" and "the right to privacy of the many people who…addressed themselves to him was violated" began the litany of wrongs.
The Holy See and affiliated institutions also "suffered prejudice," "communications between the bishops of the world and the Holy See were hindered," and "scandal was caused among the community of the faithful."
The statement also underscored that the media sensation and speculation about Vatican conspiracies disturbed "the serenity of the working community which daily serves the Successor of Peter."
The Secretariat of State, headed by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, pronounced that the trial was a just one. The facts were discovered, it stated in today's communiqué, and they showed that Gabriele "had carried out his criminal plans not at the instigation of third parties, but on the basis of his own convictions. Various conjectures about the existence of plots" or third-party involvement have also been "shown to be false."
In a separate Oct. 25 statement, the Vatican's official spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, confirmed that the sentence "has become final," the "promoter of justice this morning ordered the guilty party be imprisoned," and "the order will be carried out during the course of the day."
However, the possibility that Gabriele could receive a pardon from Pope Benedict XVI still remains, the Secretariat of State noted.