{{ROME}} \u2014 {While acknowledging that ISIS represents a real threat to Pope Francis and the Vatican, the commander of the Vatican gendarmes says security services have no knowledge of a planned attack.}<\/p>\n
\u201cThe threat exists. This is what has emerged from my conversations with Italian and foreign colleagues,\u201d said Domenico Giani, inspector general of the Corpo della Gendarmeria, the police and security service for the Vatican City State.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the moment, I can say that we know of no plan for an attack against the Vatican or the Holy Father,\u201d Giani said.<\/p>\n
The comments came in an interview with Giani in the March edition of the Italian magazine Polizia Moderna, an official publication of Italy\u2019s state police. <\/p>\n
The Italian government went on high alert last week after threats from the Islamic State called Italy \u201cthe nation signed with the blood of the cross.\u201d<\/p>\n
The video threat, released with images of 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt who were beheaded this month, warned that Islamic State forces were \u201csouth of Rome,\u201d in Libya. At its closest point, Libya is little more than 100 miles from the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia.<\/p>\n
This comes four months after the Islamic State\u2019s propaganda magazine Dabiq ran a cover photo of the militant group\u2019s flag flying above the obelisk in St. Peter\u2019s Square in the Vatican with the headline: \u201cThe failed crusade.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the interview, Giani also said that the collaboration between the Vatican and Muslim countries around the world is good, and that these sources give him \u201cvaluable information\u201d on ISIS.<\/p>\n
Muslim countries also send \u201cdeclarations of esteem and admiration for the Holy Father,\u201d Giani said. \u201cI can say that today, Islam regards and respects the Holy Father as the world\u2019s most influential moral authority.\u201d<\/p>\n
Referring to the pope\u2019s attitude regarding the threats against him, Giani said that Francis has no intention of changing the style of his pontificate, which he said is founded on proximity between the pope and the people.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven as pope,\u201d Giani said, \u201che\u2019s still a priest who doesn\u2019t want to lose the contact with his flock. It\u2019s us, those in charge of his safety, are the ones that have to help him, not the other way around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Francis\u2019 lack of concern for his safety is not new.
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While serving as the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 2009, the Argentinian government once asked Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio to wear a bulletproof vest in response to anonymous reports that a local union leader was planning the prelate\u2019s assassination.<\/p>\n
Considering it uncomfortable, and preferring to trust in God\u2019s protection, the future pope wore it only once and then gave it to a friend.<\/p>\n
The pope has referred to his own safety on various occasions, most recently during the plane ride from Sri Lanka to the Philippines last January, when he told the journalists traveling with him that he has a \u201chealthy dose of obliviousness\u201d about his own safety.<\/p>\n
As for the safety of the faithful who attend one of his events, the pontiff said, \u201cI worry about it, truly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Giani said the pope is well aware of the threat he faces, but is mostly concerned for the faithful.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Vatican is a place tens of thousands of people pass through every day, between visits to the Basilica, the Museums, and the Audiences. They need to feel relaxed and safe,\u201d Giani said.<\/p>\n
Talking about the most dangerous moment of his 16 years serving the Vatican\u2019s gendarmerie, nine of which as a commandeer, Giani pointed to the period after a speech by Benedict XVI in Regensburg, Germany, in December 2006.<\/p>\n
\u201c[It was] an intervention that reread today seems prophetic for the denunciation of the degradation of some extremist Islam, which [back] then generated protests and very strong threats against the pope,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In Regensburg, Benedict XVI quoted an obscure 14th-century dialogue between a long-forgotten Byzantine Christian emperor and a Persian scholar, in which the emperor associates Muhammad with violence.<\/p>\n
Giani also said that the 130 police officers who safeguard the Vatican aren\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the risks that we face, there should be more of us,\u201d he said. But, he added, there are budget constraints and an austerity plan in the Vatican.<\/p>\n
When questioned about the profiles of a candidate for the male-only position of Vatican Gendarme, Giani mentioned being Catholic and loving the Church, standing at least 5\u20198\u201d, and being a high school graduate. Having served in the military isn\u2019t required, Giani said, but is an advantage.<\/p>\n
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