The Swiss Guard is apparently taking the threat from ISIS quite seriously:
Rome, February 18 – The commander of Vatican City’s 110-man Swiss Guard said his forces are ready to defend Pope Francis from the terrorist militants of Islamic State (ISIS), in an interview with Italian daily Il Giornale on Wednesday.
“Following the terrorists’ threats, we’re asking the guards to be more attentive and observe peoples’ movements closely. We can’t do more than that. If something happens we’re ready, as are the men of the Gendarmerie,” Colonel Christoph Graf said.
Graf was recently promoted from the number-two spot under Colonel Daniel Rudolf Anrig, who left the top post on January 31 after eight years when Pope Francis sacked him in December amidst reports of Anrig being “overly dictatorial”.
The Pontifical Swiss Guard has been providing protection for the pope since the 15th century and is Vatican City’s de facto military force, while the Gendarmerie Corps are the Vatican City’s police and security force.
In a ISIS video released on Sunday showing the killings of 21 Egyptian Christian workers, an executioner said, “We will conquer Rome, by Allah’s permission”.
Security at the Vatican remains “very high”, Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said Tuesday after bilateral talks with the Holy See including discussion of security.
Stay vigilant lads. PopeWatch has a bad feeling that your vigilance will be needed in the near future.
On a peripheral note, that godless man of sin and depravity who occupies the Oval Office is going on national TV to promote jobs for ISIS. I have a great job for ISIS – security guards for Obama and family. What a freaking liberal progressive Democrat idiot! But I am being redundant.
Argh, hadn’t heard that Francis had fired the guy in charge of his safety for being too bossy.
Back to worrying myself sick…..
Foxfier,
https://the-american-catholic.com/2014/12/04/popewatch-daniel-anrig/
The pendulum swings.
I managed to miss that, last I heard was him promising to listen to his protectors after they got him to understand that jumping into a car and zipping off was dangerous.
Humble, my left leg– that’s “I know what is best” and painfully ignorant, and I am not even that specially trained!
I believe the pope is infallible in matters of faith and morals. Go easy on the man. Self-awareness is not a matter for faith and morals.
Go easy on the man. Self-awareness is not a matter for faith and morals.
I cannot “go easy” on someone putting others at risk of life and limb. He is making it publicly clear that he is actively preventing basic security steps– which means he’s more likely to be attacked, and we’re not likely to get as lucky as to have it be a single shooter again, as with JPII. Going off of existing, known risks and methods– I’d say the most likely is some poor developmentally disabled girl with a suicide bomb strapped to her, walking right up to him. They’ve done it before, and the poor kids don’t even know what they’re being used for.
It’s like the drunk drivers who are sure that it does nothing to their driving ability– I don’t blame them for not being able to self-access, I blame them for choosing to ignore those who can evaluate.
Perhaps JP2 was being hopeful that the attempt on his life was the one in the Fatima secret- that we no longer needed to worry about it, the attempt was made and over with… but the secret tells than the pope is in a city in ruins and surrounded by corpses and martyrs
J.M.J.
The third part of the secret revealed at the Cova da Iria-Fátima, on 13 May 1917.
I write in obedience to you, my God, who command me to do so through his Excellency the Bishop of Leiria and through your Most Holy Mother and mine.
After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendour that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: ‘Penance, Penance, Penance!’. And we saw in an immense light that is God: ‘something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it’ a Bishop dressed in White ‘we had the impression that it was the Holy Father’. Other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark; before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God.
JPII didn’t act like he was hoping it would be the last attempt– he put in place a lot of the very security being dis-guarded.
The wonder is that the Vatican has not been hit thus far. Islam is on the move again, and this time the corpses and martyrs will be myriad. Time to girt the loins and pray to the Holy Spirit for fortitude and perseverance.