Pope to take part in procession after security scare
Pope Benedict XVI will take part in a religious procession in central Rome today – a day after a German man tried to jump on the open Popemobile in a security scare in St. Peter’s Square.
The Corpus Christi procession takes the Pope over a half-mile route in a pick-up truck that is covered with flowers and a canopy, but has no protective glass.
Thousands are expected to jam the pavements along the route for a glimpse of the Pontiff.
The debate over whether the Pope should be better protected in public reignited yesterday after a 27-year-old German man, described by the Vatican as showing signs of “mental imbalance,” jumped a security barrier and grabbed hold of Benedict XVI’s open Popemobile before being tackled by security guards.
Benedict was not harmed and appeared not to have even noticed. He did not look back and kept on waving and blessing the crowd in St. Peter’s Square.
However, security analysts said he exposed himself to undue risk by appearing in public at the same place and the same time each week in an open vehicle.
