Just a Matter of Time

I have thought about the following possibility extensively in the past, and after Pope Benedict's visit to the U.S. it resurfaced as a real and palpable, possible future scenario. Sooner or later - in my humble and unfortunate opinion - the Vatican will suffer a terrorist attack. Before you accuse me of being an alarmist or a "prophet of doom", think about some of the events that directly involve the Holy Father, as well as the geopolitical climate that we are faced with today. The Holy Father is under death threats by Osama bin Laden for his supposed support of the United States and for the Holy See's diplomatic ties to Israel. To illustrate the Vatican's unique relationship with Judaism, Pope Benedict visited a synagogue during his stay in New York - embracing and exchanging gifts with Rabbi Arthur Schneier - while, to the comdemnation of some, excluded from his hectic schedule a visit to a mosque. Vatican officials responded to the criticism by stating that historically, a special kinship exists between Christians and Jews that does not exist between Christians and Muslims. On September of 2006, while delivering a lecture at the University of Regendburg in Germany, Pope Benedict cited a passage by Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus which stated :

"Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

His comments touched-off a flurry of Muslim criticism around the world, and may have even led to the retaliatory murder of Sister Leonella Sgorbati, a missionary nun helping the impoverished people of Africa.

With its openness to the public, who's to say no one can walk into St. Peter's, heavily laden with hidden explosives, and carry out a suicide attack? It seems to me that the misanthropes comprising Al-Qaeda would argue that the Vatican is to Christianity what the Twin Towers were to robust, economic prosperity. Let's hope I'm wrong.