By Was she just overly enthusiastic about Christmas and being in Vatican City? From AP-
A woman jumped the barriers in St. Peter’s Basilica and knocked down Pope Benedict XVI as he walked down the main aisle to begin Christmas Eve Mass on Thursday.
The 82-year-old pope quickly got up and was unhurt, said a Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini.
Footage aired on Italy’s RAI state TV showed a woman dressed in a red, hooded sweat shirt vaulting over the wooden barriers and rushing toward the pope before being swarmed by bodyguards.
Video shot by a witness showed the woman grabbing the pope’s vestments as she was taken down, with Benedict seemingly falling on top of her.
The commotion occurred as the pope’s procession was making its way toward the main altar and shocked gasps rang out through the public that packed the basilica. The procession came to a halt and security rushed to the trouble spot.
Benedettini said the woman who pushed the pope appeared to be mentally unstable and had been arrested by Vatican police. He said she also knocked down Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, who was taken to hospital for a check up.
“During the procession an unstable person jumped a barrier and knocked down the Holy Father,” Benedettini told The Associated Press by telephone. “(The pope) quickly got up and continued the procession.”
Reuters reported that French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray was also knocked down. In the case of Cardinal Etchegaray, he had to be taken to the hospita where it was discovered he had a broken femur.
7:33 pm on December 24th, 2009 1
‘unstable person’?
Wow. That is textbook Korean crime reporting right there.
8:15 pm on December 24th, 2009 2
If only there were some omnipotent, all powerful deity in the sky to protect him.
Too bad really.
Don’t blame GOD that it happened, but THANK GOD it wasn’t worse. Pretty neat mental gymnastics!
8:21 pm on December 24th, 2009 3
Broken femur? Ouch!
9:01 pm on December 24th, 2009 4
Wow. That runs RIGHT into scripture, from The Man himself.
Careful what you refer back to or you won’t be able to make your point!
9:08 pm on December 24th, 2009 5
Cheese and rice, the guy is 82 yrs old. Give him some slack.
9:23 pm on December 24th, 2009 6
Ain’t they always.
9:30 pm on December 24th, 2009 7
No breaks if your #1 in your field.
Tiger—course he touched back.
The Pope—he is the Pope! “I must touch him!”
Obama? It’s coming—if the first Lady gives him room.
Sorry, It’s the Jim&coke talkin.
9:34 pm on December 24th, 2009 8
I just thought of Katie Couric for some reason.
10:35 pm on December 24th, 2009 9
LOL, life ‘is’ good, tell Jim I said hello.
12:02 am on December 25th, 2009 10
There’s nothing new under the sun.
/lets keep quiet lest the wackos show up.
2:38 am on December 25th, 2009 11
Pontifex Benedictus trudendo insana femina erat?! Eheu! Ista insania est!
5:56 am on December 25th, 2009 12
Eh? This wasn’t a Korean news story, and it was a Vatican spokesperson who said the woman was unstable.
6:21 am on December 25th, 2009 13
T’es colon.
3:08 pm on December 25th, 2009 14
Nice to see the two Korean children dressed in full hanbokin the Pope’s precession.
9:28 pm on December 25th, 2009 15
Amen!