COMMENTARY: Vatican Needs to End Its Inner Conflicts and Focus on Christ

On May 23, 2012, Paolo Gabriele -- Pope Benedict's butler -- was arrested on suspicion of leaking a string of confidential papal documents to the Italian news media.

This scandal -- which has been called the "Vatileaks" scandal -- is one of the worst scandals in the history of the papacy.

The fact is that documents that Gabriele had no business having were found in his Vatican City apartment.

Gabriele -- a 46-year-old father of three children -- remains in Vatican detention, and the investigation is taking its course through the Vatican's judicial system. He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in jail if convicted.

No known motive has come to light as to why Gabriele may have decided to pass on the confidential documents to the press.

One cannot help but wonder, "Why would a person so close to the Pope do such a nasty thing?" Moreover, we somehow want to compare this unfortunate situation with that of Judas Iscariot -- the Apostle who betrayed Christ for 30 silver coins.

Did Gabriele leak the confidential documents to the press in order to receive money? Was he trying to oust Pope Benedict? Was he looking for worldwide recognition? These are some of the questions that we ask as we reflect on this situation.

What makes this scenario so serious is that it centers around the Pope, who is the leader of some 1.2 billion Roman Catholics around the world.

While Jesus was crucified as a result of Judas betraying Him for 30 silver coins, it is unlikely that Pope Benedict will receive more than "a slap on the wrist" for the negative confidential Vatican documents that have been leaked to the press.

Hopefully, this negative revelation will encourage the Vatican to quickly put an end to its inner-conflicts, and to concentrate its efforts entirely on the attributes and teachings of Christ.