Osama bin Laden Threatens Pope

Several weeks ago when I spoke with Jeff Ostermayer, spokesman with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security about whether the pope's visit heightens the potential for any kind of terrorist activity, he suggested that it did not, saying only that the department will continue to "monitor terrorism and remain vigilant." As the pope is a visiting head-of-state, the lead security providers for the event are the U.S. Secret Service.

However, this AP story suggests that in an audio message posted Wednesday on a militant Islamic web site, that Osama bin Laden mentioned Pope Benedict XVI saying that the Pope has played a "large role in a 'New Crusade' against Islam" and warning Europeans of a "severe" reaction to come because of Danish publication of drawings he called insulting to the prophet Muhammed. bin Laden linked the Pope to the drawings. According to this Reuter's story, Italian security officials are taking the threat against the Pope seriously and plan to examine the tape.

Unfortunately, the story fails to mention that the Pope has condemned the cartoons that were published in Europe. The New York Times makes that point in its story.

Father Jonathan Morris, over at Fox News, had a bit different take. He says that Pope Benedict is indeed leading a "crusade" - a crusade of rescuing human reason from fundamentalism.

One can't help but wonder how this new message might impact plans for the pope's security during his visit.