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Pope Benedict Tackled Before Christmas Eve Mass

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Left photo: Pope Benedict greeting a child during mass. Right photo: From TV footage, security (in black suits) making their way down the aisle of St. Peter's Basilica. (Photographs from AP)

During Christmas Eve mass at St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI was tackled by a woman who jumped a barrier. The pope was apparently unhurt, though shaken.The NY Times reports, per a Vatican spokesman, "the pope quickly got back on his feet and celebrated Mass before thousands of people, urging them in his homily to become 'truly vigilant people.' Television images showed a woman in red leap toward Benedict as he began to walk up the central aisle, as the police and bodyguards scrambled to the aide of the 82-year-old pope."

Cardinal Roger Etchegaray was also knocked down by the woman; he was taken to a hospital for observation. Spokesman Rev. Ciro Benedettin said that the woman seemed "unstable." Here's video of security rushing to the pope (you can't see the pope, but you can see parishioners taking photographs with cameras and cellphones).

The Post reports, "It was the second year in a row there was a security breach at the service. At the end of last year’s Mass a woman who had jumped the barriers got close to the pope but was quickly blocked on the ground by security. Benedettini said it was not immediately known if the same woman was behind Thursday’s incident." And a week and a half ago, Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi was attacked by a man in Milan.

Update: Here's amateur video of the woman jumping into the aisle:

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Comments [rss]

  • zincink

    where is the popemobile!

    that thing can stop bullets and idiotic batman wannabe flying squirrel people

  • potsmoker

    the pope,hahha...no comment...





  • Guest

    the pope's problem is that he looks almost like the exact physical replication of lucifer; it boils some women's blood.

    since when the pope became so high and mighty? what happened to humility? don't they read the books?

    of course, it's all for a show. nice show btw. ;)

  • I'm glad it was a bland European instead of a Jew, a Muslim, or someone of color. That would've started another holy war.

  • longacre

    The guy who shot JPII was Turkish. I don't remember any crusades following that incident.

  • Please, we need the Turks on our side for Thanksgiving.

  • S.K.

    Who ever thought the Pope would be a target of women?

  • GoldenRuler

    I bet she just wanted to sit in his lap and tell him what she wanted for christmas.

  • HuLuvzUbb

    Im actually dumber for having read these posts...

  • twelveicat

    +1

  • robingee

    Good. The pope's an a-hole. Condoms shouldn't be used to prevent AIDS, global warming is a scam, rock music is evil, women shouldn't get abortions even when raped. He should be tackled every day.

  • dadoc

    Um guys, we're talking popes here. Kinda like the Snookis of religion. No hips broken, no kittens microwaved, no bikers down. A Christmas miracle! All those placing their faith in imaginary friends should put their hate on hold, and hope for good fourth quarter retail numbers and more bike lanes. Peace to all tonight.

  • longacre

    I'll bet whoever shot that video is enjoying a sweet Christmas payday right now. Hopefully they don't do something silly like donate the whole thing to the church.

  • thefacts

    Benedict was forced to join the Nazi Youth, just like Israeli youth are forced to join the IDF to kill Palestinian civilians.



    Why blame the Pope for not doing enough to help the Jews , when the Jews did nothing themselves to help their own people?



    As long as they got out of Germany, they didn't give a shit what happened to their brothers and sisters back in Germany or the occupied countries. Now they whine and try to shift the blame to others for their perfidy in abandoning their own kind to the Nazi's extermination machine.



    Believe it or not, Inglourious Basterds is a piece of fiction. The free Jews let their own kind be led away like sheep to slaughter, did not a damn thing because their sorry asses were saved, and now try to expiate their guilt by blaming some dead Italian for not doing enough. (The key word being "enough", whereas the Jews did "NOTHING".)



    What a bunch of hypocrites guys like you are.

  • kazubes

    Hey dumdumb, try reading a book instead of spouting off drivel. There were plenty of Jewish partisan groups, concentration camp uprisings. Try reading up on WW2 history beyond a high school text book.

  • thefacts

    Let's see. You got the Ghetto Uprising: too little, too late.

    You got a group in Slovenia. About two dozen.

    Concentration uprising? Where? Name it! And, even if so, that's also too little, too late.



    Come one, big mouth. Name some more. I defy you.



    IF you can't, STFU and stop your whining and tell your people to grow some balls instead of blaming the goyim.

  • youngpro

    +9

  • trafka

    2012 is upon us

  • Snoopy

    I love the intelligence of Catholic church security for the pope. Two large goons dressed in black suits amongst white vestment wearing, candle bearing lackies. Hardly stealth security.



    At least the Swiss guard dress in colorful costumes. BTW where were they? In fact what do they do day in and day out?

  • Blue387

    Here's an explainer from Slate magazine on the Swiss Guard:

    http://www.slate.com/id/2167830/



    The guards actually use modern weapons like the Secret Service and wear modern clothes.

  • Snoopy

    I normally carry a halberd when visiting the projects in Fort Greene, but I find it cumbersome moving in and out of the subway turnstiles and not that many Brooklynites ride horses anymore. Tis a pity.

  • Snoopy

    Michael Angelo B. must be rolling over in his grave with that news. He worked so hard to make their outfits discreet yet distinctive.

  • Sparafucil

    Michelangelo didn't design the Swiss guard uniforms.

  • Snoopy

    Never ever confuse facts with myth. Myth always wins out.

  • ribaldry

    Yeah, the pope got tackled. Apparently he was running for the end zone on a hail mary. too soon?

  • Snoopy

    "a woman in red"? Holy shit I didn't realize Nancy Reagan was taking holiday in Rome.

  • Spirit of 76

    82? Whatever possessed the Vatican to select someone so old? No offense, but didn't they learn their lesson from Pope John Paul I? (Not the famous John Paul II.) He lasted all of 33 days before God "called him home" and they had to pick the Polish Pope. Not to be callous, but I don't think Pope Benedict will last another five years, as frail as he looks already.

  • ozik

    They specifically chose an old guy because they didn't want a pope hanging around as long as the previous guy did.

  • cucarachita

    that's what you get for having a history of being a nazi youth and then when you're the pope and you really should just avoid the subject of nazis and jews altogether, you go and try to officially turn into a saint the pope who did nothing to help the jews during the holocaust.

  • youngpro

    Catholics were persecuted like Jews by Nazis during WW2, retard.

  • thefacts

    So true, a fact that the Zionist lobby tries to stifle.



    I know an eldely Catholic Polish woman here whose whole town was rounded up into a concentration camp by the Nazis because a German soldier was killed in it by the Polish Resistance. (Note that the Jews had no Resistance Movement, like the rest of the Europeans had.)



    She was so mistreated and underfed that, at four years old, she almost went blind.



    However, she doesn't go around blaming the Jews for not doing enough to resist the rise of Nazism. The Jews who beat up on Pius could learn a lot from her.

  • youngpro

    you don't make any sense. that's like saying your republican boss is to blame for invading iraq.

  • thefacts

    Benedict was forced to join the Nazi Youth, just like Israeli youth are forced to join the IDF to kill Palestinian civilians.



    Why blame the Pope for not doing enough to help the Jews , when the Jews did nothing themselves to help their own people?



    As long as they got out of Germany, they didn't give a shit what happened to their brothers and sisters back in Germany or the occupied countries. Now they whine and try to shift the blame to others for their perfidy in abandoning their own kind to the Nazi's extermination machine.



    Believe it or not, Inglourious Basterds is a piece of fiction. The free Jews let their own kind be led away like sheep to slaughter, did not a damn thing because their sorry asses were saved, and now try to expiate their guilt by blaming some dead Italian for not doing enough. (The key word being "enough", whereas the Jews did "NOTHING".)



    What a bunch of hypocrites guys like you are.

  • Quenepa

    (note to self: do not hire Italian bodyguards)

  • WesleySnipesAlot

    Well, it's not like he could of used force lightning in front of all those people... he needs to keep up the appearance of a humble old man, not a ruthless Sith Lord.

  • +1

  • Janet

    It's crazy that someone could get so close to the Pope. First Berlusconi and now the Pope! Crazy.

  • Gothamist_Cynic

    This post is worthless without video of Palpatine getting tackled by the crazy woman.

  • longacre

    Here you go. Looks like the girl was tackled by a guard before she touched the pope, and he either got knocked down by his own security people or he tripped on the girl/guard who were on the floor.



    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/34589068#34589068

  • longacre

    I take that back, I think she pulled him down as she herself was being pulled by a guard.

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