Man fires air gun at papal security staff

SECURITY staff for Pope Benedict XVI were on high alert yesterday after a man fired an air gun at a guard minutes before the pontiff was due to celebrate Mass at an open-air ceremony in Germany.

Around 30,000 pilgrims were gathered in the square beneath the city of Erfurt’s main cathedral early yesterday when the man, who was later arrested, discharged the weapon on the edge of the security zone. The guard was unhurt.

Papal spokesman, the Reverend Federico Lombardi, said the Pope was not informed about the incident before the Mass.

“It didn’t seem particularly urgent,” Lombardi said.

German police later identified the suspect as a 30-year-old Erfurt man who lives in Berlin. They said an air rifle and pistol were found in his apartment, and that he was being held on suspicion of attempting to cause serious bodily harm.

Benedict’s four-day state visit comes as Germany’s church has been losing tens of thousands of followers amid revelations that hundreds of children and young people were abused by clergy and church employees.

On Friday night, Benedict took a step to placate some of the anger by meeting for half an hour two women and three men from parishes across Germany who were among the abused. The Vatican said the Pope expressed “deep compassion and regret” at the suffering of those who were abused and assured them the church was seeking “effective measures to protect children”.

German church leaders acknowledge the scandal has cost them badly needed trust among the country’s 24 million Catholics.

The former Cardinal Ratzinger’s third trip home since his election in 2005 has attracted small crowds and protests against his position on same-sex marriage, birth control and the abuse scandal.

The 84-year-old praised those who remained faithful despite repression but appeared disappointed there had been no resurgence in faith since reunification in 1990. After the Mass, he flew in his private jet to Freiburg, a city with a large Catholic population.