The Pope’s butler has been convicted of stealing the Pontiffs private correspondence and passing it onto a journalist.

Paolo Gabrielle has been sentenced to 18-months in prison in relation to the conviction.

A judge read the verdict aloud only two-hours after the three-judge panel began deliberating Gabrielle’s fate.

The subsequent book based on some of the stolen documents recounted allegations of infighting, corruption and sexual misconduct at senior levels of the Roman Catholic Church.

The judge says the sentence was reduced to 18 months from three years because of a series of mitigating circumstances, including that Gabrielle had no previous criminal record.