I foresee big things for this kid.

26 Comments

1. kradcliffe says:

   2 February 2011 at 10:43 AM

   Now can we have another debate about the behaviour of children at Mass? J/K!
   That was really cute. :)
2. Hidden One says:

   2 February 2011 at 10:51 AM

   Hey, if you’re gonna go see the Pope, you might as well get a good view!
3. benedetta says:

   2 February 2011 at 10:53 AM

   Bravo, caro bambino!
4. Legisperitus says:

   2 February 2011 at 10:58 AM

   Msgr. Gaenswein seemed to be managing the situation nicely.
5. Jon says:

   2 February 2011 at 11:11 AM

   Having more courage than men five times his age, unlike those quivering lilies when face to face with Peter, he no doubt said, “Holy Father, when are you going to celebrate the Extraordinary Form? It’s about time!”
6. JohnMa says:

   2 February 2011 at 11:18 AM

   Reason number 56835 that security for the Pope needs to be revamped.
7. Mark of the Vine says:

   2 February 2011 at 11:21 AM

   Had to be Brazilian, didn’t he X-D
8. Mark Pavlak says:

   2 February 2011 at 11:29 AM

   After the man trying to jump in the Popemobile in 2007, the woman knocking down His Holiness at the Christmas Midnight Mass in 2009, and the same woman coming at him during Mass one year prior, seeing this was somewhat refreshing.
   A little boy just wanted to meet his Papa!
9. Elizabeth D says:

   2 February 2011 at 11:37 AM

   Surely, like little Therese Martin, he was asking if he could join the Carmelites right away and not be made to wait till he was 16!!

   “Go… go… you will enter if God wills it!” (Leo XIII to St Therese of Lisieux, right before the guards came and picked the bold Little Flower up by the arms and carried her away)
10. credocatholic says:

    2 February 2011 at 11:39 AM

    Beautiful! “Let the little children come to me.” Thank you for this clip that brought tears to my eyes.
11. EXCHIEF says:

    2 February 2011 at 11:47 AM

    Mixed feelings. Cute, yes of course. But as a law enforcement guy it gives me cause for concern about the Pontiff’s security. No one, even a child, should have that sort of unfettered access out of the crowd and onto the stage. Remember that Islamic terrorists have used children that young as suicide bombers.
12. flyfree432 says:

    2 February 2011 at 11:53 AM

    As much as we are concerned for security, the Holy Father is not a celebrity or political leader, he is a spiritual father. Things like this can be of divine providence.
13. APX says:

    2 February 2011 at 11:57 AM

    Reason #4627 why it’s awesome to be a kid. You can get away with that kind of thing. That’s so adorable.
14. MichaelD says:

    2 February 2011 at 1:48 PM

    Very cool! I expect great things for him as well.
15. bmadamsberry says:

    2 February 2011 at 2:40 PM

    I think something great would be lost if the Pope had strong security. A Shephard cannot take care of his Sheep if he cannot get close to them. People would develop a large detachment from the Pope if he were to have a strong security detail, just like people have since security was revamped after President Kennedy (and his brother’s) assasinations.
16. beez says:

    2 February 2011 at 3:19 PM

    First and foremost, the Holy Father is a bishop and a priest. We have lost if we put security above approachability, especially by the little ones. Someone else has already quoted Our Lord who said, “suffer the little children and forbid them not to come to me”. (Mt. 19:14)

    This little guy wanted to see his shepherd, and his shepherd was, like all rottweilers, gentle and tender. I love it.
17. Thomas S says:

    2 February 2011 at 3:23 PM

    And CTV cameras missed the initial contact. I’m shocked. Shocked, I say.

    I’m surprised they didn’t cut away for a wide angle crowd shot once they had picked up on it.
18. chcrix says:

    2 February 2011 at 4:50 PM

    I second beez on approachability. And I think BXVI himself would say that some risk of this sort is part of the job. Better what was seen here than to have 5 burly 200#’s wrastle the kid to the ground and taser him into a coma.
19. Raymond says:

    2 February 2011 at 8:16 PM

    Having been to St. Peter’s Basilica more than a few times (and once to a papal audience at Paul VI Hall), a suicide bombing would be improbable as one has to go through metal detectors with bags being x-rayed before entering the premises.
20. MJ says:

    2 February 2011 at 8:51 PM

    That’s true, Raymond. I’ve been to St. Peter’s twice, and the second time I visited the metal detectors picked up a pack of gum I had in my pocket…gum!! I figured the shiny gum wrapper must have had some metal in it…or something…cause when I pulled the pack of gum out of my skirt pocket, the guard nodded and pointed to it and waved me on (as though to say, “Yes gum oh that’s it go ahead no problem”).
21. puma19 says:

    3 February 2011 at 6:46 AM

    Oh heck – what a great sight. I agree with John Ma – reason number 33393939393939 for new security for pope. Come off it and Fr Z whilst I agree with a lot of your posts to imagine a kind with bomb in a teddy bear is just going off the planet. What next, an iron bubble for the pope 24 hors a day? Let’s get real, the pope must be able to meet people – YES ORDINARY PEOPLE without a security official coming in, rudely brushing them aside every time. I have watched speechless so many times as those suited men arounf JPII and Benedict come in are rude to priests and nuns and shove them away. I saw some Missionaries of Charity in NY rudely pushed aside by vatican security as the pope came by. All they wanted to do was touch his hand – BUT NO, they weren’t allowed to. This has all gone crazy.
    If Jesus came back today he’d be unable to walk around Gallilee without a hoard of security men in suits stopping every fisherman, carpenter and wife coming close to him.
    No, its gone too far and its ruining the papacy and its need to be close to the people.
    I dread what it will all lead to. Just watching the Vicar of Christ on a 21inch TV screen, sheltered away at Gastelgandolpho 365 days a year. Is that what we really want.
    let the boy come to the pope – HE DID NOT CARRY ANYTHING WITH HIM, JUST HIS YOUTH AND HEART TO MEET THE SUCCESSOR OF PETER.
22. Liz says:

    3 February 2011 at 9:05 AM

    For whatever reason God allowed it. What is it in the bible where the person reaches for Jesus to be healed and her faith is what healed her? Is that: Matthew 9: 20-22? I thought of that. If we had faith like children we would act so differently. We are so prideful and worry about what people think. (That and the fact that an adult would be tackled to the ground and taken in for questioning!) What I loved was the Holy Father’s reaction. He seems delighted.
23. Liz says:

    3 February 2011 at 9:14 AM

    p.s. I guess my second thought was about the Holy Father’s safety. It should be a concern. Didn’t some mentally unstable woman go after him a couple of times? Maybe this is a wake up call.
24. Jaybirdnbham says:

    4 February 2011 at 9:45 AM

    “nefarious neerdowell and rapscallion”? Oh please, just go ahead and call it Islamic fundamentalist terrorist and have done with it. But I think that sector of Islam would lose far more than it could hope to gain, by using a small child as a tool to assassinate a pope. Even the silent sympathizers with their cause would turn against them in response.
    And as to the Church, we’d hold a funeral, a conclave, and in short order would have another pope sitting in the chair of St. Peter. So the terrorists would gain nothing good for themselves.
    Reasonable security, sure. But trust in Divine Providence for the rest, just as the Holy Father did in welcoming that cute little boy (with or without an exploding teddy bear).
25. Fr. John Zuhlsdorf says:

    4 February 2011 at 10:13 AM

    Jaybirdnbham: How do you know I wasn’t thinking of a frustrated aging-hippie liturgist?
26. spock says:

    4 February 2011 at 9:17 PM

    If it was our Lord, would he have had security ?

    That said, I am uncertain as to the direction of my opinion had the child been loaded up with C4 as described.

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