Here in the Midwest, bored teens are rumored to engage in the act of cow-tipping. http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Cow_tipping/ Apparently, in Rome, Susanna Maiolo is single-handedly trying to create the sport of Pope-tipping:
“Pope Benedict XVI delivered his traditional Christmas Day blessing Friday, looking tired and unsteady but otherwise fine, hours after being knocked down by a woman who jumped the barrier at the start of Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.” http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/24/world/main6019596.shtml?tag=cbsnewsTwoColLowerPromoArea;morenews
Fortunately the Pontiff was merely shaken and remained unharmed. This repeat of Maiolo’s attack at last year’s Midnight Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica brings to light the questionable reliability of the Vatican security contingent.
“There have been other security breaches at the Vatican . In 2007, during an open-air audience in St. Peter's Square, a mentally unstable German man jumped a security barrier and grabbed the back of the pope's open car before being swarmed by security guards. Then there was the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca in 1981. John Paul suffered a severe abdominal wound as he rode in an open jeep at the start of his weekly audience in the Vatican piazza. The pope is protected by a combination of Swiss Guards, Vatican police and Italian police.”
He might as well be guarded by a combination of Swiss Cheese and Janet Napolitano.
Let us offer our prayers for the continued good health and safety of Pope Benedict XVI.
Ralph Alter blogs at Right on Target www.rightot.blogspot.com
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