The Vatican has been rocked by a series of embarrassing revelations with Pope Benedict XVI seemingly caught in a web of intrigue. Even those closest to the Pope can no longer be trusted. Papal butler Paolo Gabriele has been arrested on suspicion of passing numerous stolen Vatican documents to the media. Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, who freely admits receiving documents from moles within the Vatican, recently published a sensational book called, 'His Holiness: The Secret Papers of Benedict XVI'. The ongoing leaks have been a PR disaster for the Catholic Church. Among the most sensitive documents: Letters written to one of the Pope’s closest confidantes, priest-secretary Monsignor Georg Gänswein.

Power struggles and intrigue are, of course, nothing new behind the Vatican walls. Pope Benedict has a number of enemies within the church who may be conspiring against him. The Vatican curia, for example, would like to have more influence. For some, Pope Benedict is too conservative and too much of a religious intellectual. They would like to see him addressing urgent problems. For instance the Pope has made little progress in tackling corruption at the Vatican bank. Former bank head Ettore Gotti Tedeschi wanted to make the institution more transparent but was recently sacked by the cardinals who sit on the board. He is believed to have gotten on the wrong side of the Vatican’s number two, Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone.

Is the eighty-five year old pontiff losing control? Are powerful cardinals already maneuvering his successor into place? Pope Benedict fears the damage the ongoing revelations could do to the Catholic Church. So far various scandals have done little to damage the Pope’s popularity. But now he seems threatened by his own inner circle.

Did the butler act alone or was he just a courier working for a particular faction? Some suspect the involvement of secret services. Conspiracy theories abound and the truth is hard to divine...

Have your say: Revelations in Rome - Leaks Shake the Vatican
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John Berwick - A British-born journalist, John grew up in South Africa, where he completed aTheology. He continued to work as a correspondent for the South African media and later as a documentary film producer for the Central Office of Information in Britain. For the past ten years he has worked for DW-TV as a Religious Affairs Correspondent.

Alexander Görlach - After studying in Rome and Cairo, Alexander received a PhD in Catholic Theology. The multi-linguist took up a career in journalism with renowned German newspapers such as Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Süddeutsche and Welt. He has written articles for international publications such as Huffington Post, Mediapart und Linkiesta. Besides running the online part of Cicero magazine, Alexander has lectured at the Free University in Berlin. He is currently the editor-in-chief and publisher of the opinion magazine "The European".

Ludwig Ring-Eifel - A German journalist who began his career at the "Frankfurter Allgemeine" newspaper. Today he is editor-in-chief and Vatican correspondent of the Bonn-based Catholic news agency, KNA. He has written several books, including "The Vatican's Political Power: Popes as Politicians".