Attack on pope prompts review of Vatican security

Benedict, 82, wasn't hurt in the Thursday night incident, and the next day he delivered his traditional Christmas Day greetings in 65 languages from the loggia overlooking St. Peter's Square. Though a bit unsteady at first, he also delivered a short speech about the world's trouble spots.

(...) The Vatican identified the woman as Susanna Maiolo, 25, a Swiss Italian national with psychiatric problems who was immediately taken to a clinic for treatment. Officials said she lives in Switzerland, and the Italian ANSA news agency said she had traveled to Rome specifically for the Mass, as she did last year.

In 2008, Maiolo never managed to reach the pope and was quietly held back by security. At Thursday night's service, she launched herself over the barricade as Benedict walked down the aisle in the procession at the start of the service. As security guards wrestled her to the ground, she grabbed Benedict's vestments, taking him down with her.

Virtually anyone can get into a papal Mass. Tickets are required but are easy to get if requested in advance. Identification is not necessary to gain entrance, though visitors must pass through a metal detector.

Father Federico Lombardi, the pope's spokesman, said it's not realistic to think the Vatican can ensure 100% security for the pontiff because he is regularly surrounded by tens of thousands of people for his weekly audiences, services, papal greetings and other events.

"It seems that they intervened at the earliest possible moment in a situation in which 'zero risk' cannot be achieved," he said of Vatican security officials. They will nonetheless review the episode and "try to learn from experience," Lombardi said.