A Vatican court heard that Paolo Gabriele, Pope Benedict's former butler who is on trial for stealing sensitive documents, was in possession of some which the pope had marked "to be destroyed".
On the third day of the trial, Vatican police also said that the theft of encrypted Vatican documents had compromised some Vatican operations.
The police said that Mr Gabriele had printed instructions on how to hide computer files and use cellphones secretly.
Members of the Corps of Gendarmerie said many newspaper clippings, books and other material seized in the search of Mr Gabriele's apartment showed he was fascinated by the occult, Masonic lodges and secret services.
Policeman Stefano De Santis, one of the agents who searched Mr Gabriele's home, told the court. "They (the incriminating documents) were not all in one place. They were hidden among many thousands of pages,"
Some papers, Prof De Santis said, bore the Pope's handwriting and he had marked them "to be destroyed".
The mass of incriminating documents included personal letters between the Pope, cardinals and politicians on a variety of subjects.
Prof De Santis said the search turned up "many more" papers than appeared in a book by an Italian journalist who exposed alleged corruption in the Vatican.
He said, "You can understand our unease when we saw these documents. This was a total violation of the privacy of the papal family".
Policemen testifying at today's hearing also rejected Mr Gabriele's accusations, made on yesterday, that he was mistreated for several weeks after his arrest.
The trial was adjourned until Saturday, when the prosecution and defence will sum up and the three judges are expected to reach their verdict.
Mr Gabriele, who says he took the documents because he saw "evil and corruption everywhere in the Church," risks up to four years in prison if he is convicted.
The Pope is widely expected to pardon him.
