Vatican Report. John Thavis: A security breach in St. Peter’s Basilica last Christmas Eve opened the doors to some criticism about the way the Vatican protects the Pope. On this week’s Vatican Report …More
Vatican Report.
John Thavis: A security breach in St. Peter’s Basilica last Christmas Eve opened the doors to some criticism about the way the Vatican protects the Pope. On this week’s Vatican Report we’ll look at who guards the pope and how they try to balance top-notch security with reasonable public access. I’m John Thavis, Catholic News Service Rome Bureau chief.
Carol Glatz: And I’m Carol Glatz CNS Rome correspondent. It seemed like déjà vu at the Vatican on Christmas Eve, as a Swiss-Italian woman leapt over a barricade and rushed the pope, before being tackled by Vatican guards. The woman had tried the same thing the year before. But this time she got close enough to pull on the pope’s vestments and send him tumbling to the ground. The pope wasn’t hurt, but the incident caused people to worry about how someone could get that close to such an important figure.
John Thavis: Salvatore Festa, the head of Italian security at the Vatican, said that despite the mishap, all security procedures had been carried out perfectly that night and guards had performed brilliantly. Now that may sound a lot like the famous phrase, “the system worked,” after the recent terrorism attempt in the United States. But security at the Vatican is not supposed to be like security at an airport. Tickets are first-come, first-served, and there were no video scanning devices that could have warned guards they were letting in the same woman who tried to rush the pope a year earlier.
Carol Glatz: After the incident, there were two noticeable changes made in papal masses. The plainclothes guards have been walking much more closely to the Pope. And the Vatican has widened the space that separates the pope from the faithful as he processes into the basilica.
John Thavis: That doesn’t mean the Pope has become off limits. He still goes out of his way to approach the crowds, inside and outside the Vatican. The guards know how important it is for the Pope to be close to the people, and it’s not unusual to see the Vatican’s chief of security running off to the sidelines to bring babies to the pope for a special blessing.
Carol Glatz: Three security units watch over the Pope and the Vatican: the Swiss Guards, the Vatican's gendarme corps and the Italian police. The Swiss Guards are the most colorful, but they also work undercover. The guards are all former Swiss army soldiers, and are trained in martial arts and skilled in modern firearm use. The Vatican's own police force, the gendarme, is responsible for crowd control and safety within the walls of Vatican City.
John Thavis: The Italian police has a special branch that patrols St. Peter’s Square and the area immediately around Vatican City. They’re the ones riding in these nifty electric-powered Lamborghini minicars, that look like golf carts. The Italian police also provide an armed escort for the Pope and other top Vatican officials every time they leave the Vatican.
Carol Glatz: One thing to keep in mind is the sheer volume of people that stream …
John Thavis: A security breach in St. Peter’s Basilica last Christmas Eve opened the doors to some criticism about the way the Vatican protects the Pope. On this week’s Vatican Report we’ll look at who guards the pope and how they try to balance top-notch security with reasonable public access. I’m John Thavis, Catholic News Service Rome Bureau chief.
Carol Glatz: And I’m Carol Glatz CNS Rome correspondent. It seemed like déjà vu at the Vatican on Christmas Eve, as a Swiss-Italian woman leapt over a barricade and rushed the pope, before being tackled by Vatican guards. The woman had tried the same thing the year before. But this time she got close enough to pull on the pope’s vestments and send him tumbling to the ground. The pope wasn’t hurt, but the incident caused people to worry about how someone could get that close to such an important figure.
John Thavis: Salvatore Festa, the head of Italian security at the Vatican, said that despite the mishap, all security procedures had been carried out perfectly that night and guards had performed brilliantly. Now that may sound a lot like the famous phrase, “the system worked,” after the recent terrorism attempt in the United States. But security at the Vatican is not supposed to be like security at an airport. Tickets are first-come, first-served, and there were no video scanning devices that could have warned guards they were letting in the same woman who tried to rush the pope a year earlier.
Carol Glatz: After the incident, there were two noticeable changes made in papal masses. The plainclothes guards have been walking much more closely to the Pope. And the Vatican has widened the space that separates the pope from the faithful as he processes into the basilica.
John Thavis: That doesn’t mean the Pope has become off limits. He still goes out of his way to approach the crowds, inside and outside the Vatican. The guards know how important it is for the Pope to be close to the people, and it’s not unusual to see the Vatican’s chief of security running off to the sidelines to bring babies to the pope for a special blessing.
Carol Glatz: Three security units watch over the Pope and the Vatican: the Swiss Guards, the Vatican's gendarme corps and the Italian police. The Swiss Guards are the most colorful, but they also work undercover. The guards are all former Swiss army soldiers, and are trained in martial arts and skilled in modern firearm use. The Vatican's own police force, the gendarme, is responsible for crowd control and safety within the walls of Vatican City.
John Thavis: The Italian police has a special branch that patrols St. Peter’s Square and the area immediately around Vatican City. They’re the ones riding in these nifty electric-powered Lamborghini minicars, that look like golf carts. The Italian police also provide an armed escort for the Pope and other top Vatican officials every time they leave the Vatican.
Carol Glatz: One thing to keep in mind is the sheer volume of people that stream …