Pope Benedict XVI was attacked last night while entering St Peter's Basilica for celebration of Christmas Midnight Mass.  The attacker, 25 year old Susanna Maiolo, could be seen in footage scrambing out of her seat and jumping over the small barrier that separated congregants from clergy as they walked to the altar. A security guard tackled her to the ground, but she still managed to pull the 82 year old Pontiff down to the ground by his vestments.

The same woman attacked the Pope last year during Midnight Christmas Mass but was tackled by guards before she could reach the Pontiff. Maiolo was taken to a hospital for 'psychological treatment' after the attack, but belongs more appropriately locked in a prison ward.

Fr. Federico Lombardi, who was appointed as director of the Holy See Press Office by Pope Benedict in July 2006, told the press that the attack "was an assault, but it wasn't dangerous because she wasn't armed." To characterize Lombardi's statement as merely absurd wouldn't begin to do it justice. An attack violently dragging an 82 year old down to the ground isn't dangerous? An Assailant doesn't have to be armed with a gun or knife to pose to lethal threat to someone.

This isn't Lombardi's first controversy. In October of this year, Lombardi made international news when he claimed that Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize  "was greeted with appreciation at the Vatican in light of the president's demonstrated commitment to promoting peace on an international level". This remark was met with dismay and resulted in an outcry by Catholic pro-life groups, with Chicago Cardinal Francis George responding that "the Church cannot betray itself." In response to the outcry over Lombardi's praise of Obama, the Vatican newspaper criticized Obama Peace Prize and ran an editorial correctly noting "the irony of giving a peace award to a president who is continuing to fight two wars begun by his predecessor".

On Christmas, Fr. Lombardi expounded on the Christmas Eve attack of the Pope and tried to downplay the incident, saying “It is impossible to prevent every possibility of something happening, even at close range... If you want watertight security you can’t do that. Being out of touch with people, being far from them, runs against the spirit of his mission so there will always be a risk.”

In 2007, another deranged European, coincidentally also dressed in a red shirt, jumped the barricades and lunged towards the Pope's Jeep . Lombardi at that time also insisted that the man's intent was not to kill the Pope, and explained that the man was taken for "obligatory treatment" by psychiatrists, after being taken to the police station and questioned by a Vatican judge. [See photos of that incident here.]

Pope John Paul II was shot in St. Peter's Square May 13, 1981, by Turkish assassin Mehmet Ali Agca. Fourt bullets hit the Pope, and two bystanders were also injured. Pope John Paul II later met with Agca in prison and forgave him. Agca now claims he wants to meet with Pope Benedict XVI and become a baptised Catholic at the Vatican. He is currently in prison serving a supposed life sentence for the 1979 murder of a journalist, but is eligible to be released in next month, January 2010.

Barely mentioned in the news coverage of last night's attack on Pope Benedict is the fact that
87 year old French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray broke his leg in the attack and is scheduled for surgery "for a fracture to his thigh bone".

This emphasizes the fact that unarmed attacks can indeed be dangerous. In addition, broken bones in the elderly very often lead to the death of the person. An Australian medical study revealed that with broken bones in the elderly, "the death rate was increased by 82% if the patient was male and over 75". Complications such as stroke, blood clots, heart attacks, infections, and "increased debility causing malnutrition" can also result.

Maiolo, the assailant in last night's attack, was reported by the Vatican to be “psychologically unstable” and taken to a hospital for treatment. BBC reported that "French Cardinal Paul Poupard, who was with the pontiff at the time of the incident, told RTL radio it was "definitely a threat to the pope"..."With hindsight, you would say greater vigilance was needed, so those in charge of security should not let their guard drop even for a second," he said"

The Vatican should learn from this disgraceful breach of security, thoroughly reexamine their security policies and put more stringent security measures into effect immediately. We should all give a prayer of thanks that the Pope was not seriously injured or killed last night.
 

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