Apparently some Islamic group said that the Pope would be an “easy target”, and so security has been increased.
Security was considerably increased in the Vatican yesterday after direct threats against the Holy Father were made in a recently-released video by a member of an extreme Islamist group. The Pope and the Italian Prime Minister were called “easy targets” in the video. [Source: various Italian agencies, including AGI.]
Biretta tip Rorate.
Do pray for the Holy Father. You could ask Sts. Nunilo and Alodia to intercede with God to change the hearts of the terrorists who would think such a thing.
From the the Enchiridion of Indulgences, #25:
A partial indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who, in a spirit of filial devotion, devoutly recite any duly approved prayer for the Supreme Pontiff (e.g., the Oremus pro Pontifice):
V. Let us pray for our Pontiff, Pope Benedict.
R. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and bless him upon earth, and deliver him not to the will of his enemies.
Our Father. Hail Mary.
Let us pray.
O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful people, look mercifully upon Thy servant Benedict, whom Thou hast chosen as shepherd to preside over Thy Church. Grant him, we beseech Thee, that by his word and example, he may edify those over whom he hath charge, so that together with the flock committed to him, may he attain everlasting life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Also, on the live stream of the Z-Cam & Radio Sabina, I have cycling through the playlist prayers for the Holy Father, the the whole Rosary in Latin, and other prayers and meditations.
If you want to urge others to pray for the Holy Father, you might get some little buttons and hand them out. Perhaps in the parish?
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It is part of my morning prayer to pray for our Holy Father.
I am quite sure that a threat, such as you report, is indeed totally credible. I put nothing past these evil conspirators. The Church is indeed under threat around the world and the Pope has to be a prime target.
We are so blessed to have our present Holy Father. I guess we should be praying for his safety along with his health and everything else. God bless him! I know I don’t pray for him enough.
Being an ex-military guy, I have an easy solution to protect the Pope. Would it be wrong to let the muslims know that if they take the Pope out, we take out Mecca with a nuke. We’ll give ’em 24 hours to clear out, of course, so innocents don’t get vaporized. But no more Mecca for them. It becomes a big parking lot. Nothing personal, just business.
I am trying to be charitable and loving, but right now I don’t feel that way. Why don’t non-radical Muslims and especially their religious (which we are supposed to believe are friendly, law abiding, non-terrorists) speak out about this abomination.
If the same had been said about their religious leader by some US or Western group, we’d have our government officials wringing their hands and falling all over themselves to declare this an out-of-touch ‘fringe group’, and there would be a prompt call for tolerance.
I have lately been adding prayer for our Holy Father. I need to do it more regularly. I always ask for his protection from harm and attack and for his health and length of days. Prayer to Saint Michael might not come amiss, either.
I recommend Corpus Christianum for anyone who wants to pray for the Holy Father on a daily basis (as part of their prayers for the renewal of Christendom).
“Would it be wrong to let the muslims know that if they take the Pope out, we take out Mecca with a nuke?”
I wasn’t aware the Holy See had its own nuclear arsenal.
I pray for our Holy Father’s protection every day in my Rosary, and I use the prayer that Father Z recommends.
Augustin57-I’m with you! Way to go!
There is no such thing as a ‘moderate Moslem’ in my book.
St. Michael the Archangel, Guardian of the Pope, please spread your wings and wield your heavenly sword in defense of our Papa Benedict!
Let’s pray a lot for the Pope.
I hate to even think about it, but a nuke response wouldn’t be right. B16 has his ministerial Archangel and Our Lady, plus a gazillion prayers from the Faithful. Way better than a nuke.
Mike-a ‘spiritual nuke,’ then? I like that!
And ‘a gazillion prayers from the Faithful’-good one, too!
Mike,
Better than a nuke and a lot cleaner, yes? :)
Praying for Papa Benedict, as usual, but perhaps with more fervor this time.
Christ Jesus, King and Lord of the Church, in your presence I renew my unconditional loyalty to
your Vicar on earth, the Pope. In him you have chosen to show us the safe and sure path that we must follow in the midst of confusion, uneasiness and unrest. I firmly believe that through him you govern, teach and sanctify us, with him as our shepherd, we form the Church: one, holy, catholic and apostolic.
Grant me the grace to love, live and spread faithfully our Holy Father’s teachings. Watch over his life, enlighten his mind, strengthen his spirit, defend him from calumny and evil. Calm the erosive winds of infidelity and disobedience. Hear our prayer and keep your Church united around him firm in her belief and action that she may truly be the instrument of your redemption. Amen
I would hate to see it happen, but were the Pope to be killed by mahometans out of hatred for the Faith, he would doubtless be numbered among the holy martyrs in heaven.
One of the things that bothered me about the Vatican interpretation of the 3rd Secret was that there was no mention of Islam. Fatima was the favorite daughter of Mohammed.
“How many divisions does the Pope have?” – Joseph Stalin
“Tell my son Joseph that he will meet my divisions in the next world.” – Ven. Pius XII
On three occasions Europe was under threat from the Ottoman Empire (Malta (16th cent), Lepanto (1570), Vienna (1683 – 9 – 11, hence the choice of date for the attack; the Mohammedans never forget when they are defeated). On all three occasions they were defeated and the instrument of defeat was the Rosary – on the last occasion they were overcome and retreated; no-one knows why, but on one occasion when Assyria was threatening Jerusalem, a disease struck them down and the ancient Israelites lived to see another day – the same might have happened then).
I’d recommend St Michael – he has the powers of an Archangel (as does the Devil) and will know how to defeat the latter.
I wouldn’t doubt it. But on the other hand, is not martyrdom a possible duty of every one of the faithful? Not in the way the perverted Mohammedens practice it, which is mere murder/suicide, but in peaceful and resigned witness to the love of Jesus Christ, who is God and the only begotten Son of the Father? I wonder what in the end does more good for the Church and the West, tighter security around the Holy Father, or allowing him to brave the risks of an office which has been a mortal one since the time of the Saviour Himself.
@Augustin: ooohrah. Charles Martel understood the threat and dealt with it. Sometimes, you need to use a hammer. Civilization survives and we sleep comfortably in our beds because there are rough men who place themselves in harm’s way to bring destruction to those who threaten our safety and freedom.
We’ve grown too soft and wring our hands too freely worried over not doing anything wrong, so we do nothing right, either. Islam is a false religion which means ‘submission’. Whether in the spiritual, physical, moral, or actual sense. It denies free will and admits no error or debate, and failing to live up to its ‘standards’ brings not forgiveness, but condemnation and death.
Civilizations fall not because they defend themselves, but because they allow themselves to accommodate error, falsehoods, and are more concerned with ‘getting along’ than speaking truth to an evil and insensate power.
Dhimitude is a state of servitude. Submit, allow yourself to be enslaved, or die. Those are the three options in Islam, militant or otherwise. When you’ve cut yourself off from the workings of the Holy Spirit (the unpardonable sin…) by actively denying the truth, it would take a big miracle of the type never before seen, to change the hearts of those dedicated to the destruction of the Faith. Singly, perhaps. As a seismic cultural sift? History is replete with examples of, lacking any sort of overwhelming force on the part of the right, nothing of the sort happening. While certainly praying for our Holy Father, I would be the first to rejoice in the wholesale conversion of our Mohamedian bretheren. But I won’t be holding my breath or not taking the necessary precautions either.
Bryan Boyle,
You are correct. The greatest threat to our national security is immorality, hands down. It makes us weak and unable to defend ourselves against this evil. I’ve heard a lot of people say that the violence created by Islam could be stopped if only we would give Israel back to the Palestinians, or treat the Arabs better, or whatever. None of that is true. Violence in Islam is not a means to an end, but an end in itself, because the person behind it all is none other than Satan, who Jesus said was a liar and a murderer from the beginning. His only goal is murder and mayhem.
I was shocked, but not surprised by what happened on 9/11. I am actually a little surprised that we haven’t been hit again yet, but I think it’s coming. As long as we have abortion upon demand, same-sex marriage pushed by the media, suppression of our religious rights, etc., we are vulnerable! God chastises all those sons of His whom He loves. And sometimes He uses our enemies to do so.
One of the first things the Communists used to do after taking over a country was to destroy its morals. Why? Because an immoral people is always easier to enslave than a moral one. We need to take on the full armor of God, which begins with righteousness.
I don’t know about the Holy Father, but to kill the Primo Ministo the perpetrators don’t have to do anything more than put an attractive female killer near him – possibly of adequate age – and he’ll do the rest.
Mundabor
Well, if the Muslims were successful in spite of our prayers, we would have the first Pope Martyr in quite awhile. I’d hate to see that happen. Should it happen, however, it would be a world changing event both secular and spiritual. I love our Holy Father and feel strongly that we need him around until he’s at least 100. I hope the Lord will keep him with us.
The Rosary Prayer is more powerful than all the Nukes in all the arsenals of the world.
Mary from Fatima tells us to pray the Rosary every day to preserve world peace.
The victor of Lepanto, Don John of Austria, was born in Regensburg, where in 2006…
I agree that we need to clean up our act–get rid of the obscenity, abortion, defend marriage, etc. Yet, in my view, that does not excuse the killers of 9-11. Not.one.bit.
Extra security can do nothing to protect the pope. If someone wishes to kill him they will find a way to do it. All that extra security can do is make it easier to catch the killer/s.
“The Pope and the Italian Prime Minister” – I dread to think of the schemes the al-Qaeda special-ops team would think up for getting rid of him. 72 doubtful virgins of ill-repute, packed with plastic explosive?
Sorry; to avoid any possible doubt, my last comment was about Berlusconi, not Benedict XVI.