Cool under pressure – Pope’s guards handle pilgrims discreetly
By John Thavis
6/8/2007
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Benedict XVI's security guards are known for composure under pressure, and they showed it when a deranged German tried to jump onto the pope's jeep at a general audience.

Within seconds, 11 Vatican plainclothes agents – Swiss Guards and policemen – subdued the 27-year-old man and pinned him to the ground. He was unarmed, and the pope was unharmed in the June 6 incident.

The whole thing happened so quickly and quietly that it went unnoticed by most people in the square, including the pope. No guns were drawn and no alarms were sounded. The pope's jeep never sped up, and most of the faithful, even those right in front of the scene, just kept snapping pictures of the pontiff.

It was a classic display of the Vatican's elegant and understated approach to security, which relies more on intuitive alertness than a show of force. the rest