The LA Times reports that Pope Francis’ car took a wring turn yesterday and ended up smack in the middle of a mob of people.
Pope Francis has been in Brazil for several days, celebrating World Youth Day and visiting different areas. He was headed to a stop in Rio de Janeiro, along an established and secure motorcade route, when his driver made a wrong turn. Pope Francis, with his secretary riding shotgun, found themselves surrounded by thousands of fans, and the vehicle was unable to move.
Reports say that his secretary was quite shaken up by the whole ordeal. But the pope himself rolled his window down and shook hands and kissed babies.
Vatican spokesman, Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the pope never feared for his safety.”His secretary was afraid, but the pope was happy, with his hand out the window waving,” Lombardi said.
“There are no concerns for security. The concerns are that the enthusiasm is so great that it’s difficult to respond to so much enthusiasm for the pope. But there is no fear and no concern,” Lombardi told reporters.
But CNN had reported that there was an explosive device found in another area where the pope was to travel.
Security was non-existent for this particular scare. No uniformed policemen were around. The pope was in his ever-popular Fiat, not the bulletproof “popemobile” that has been sued ever since Pope John Paul II was shot. The Vatican acknowledged that there were lessons to be learned from how the whole incident happened and was handled. But they insist that the pope was never in any real danger.
There are anti-government protests coinciding with the Pope’s visit.