Papal Security and the Anatomy of a Media Pool

Speaking of motorcades, there's been a great deal of attention recently about security during the Pope's visit. You'll find basically the same security story here, here, here, and here.

All of them say that Osama bin Laden's video threat hasn't prompted changes to the security plan, and all of them say that in addition to uniformed officers, there will be undercover officers, bomb-sniffing dogs, mounted patrols, helicopters, boats, scuba divers, and radiation detectors on the scene.

Some other details, include the fact that most of the venues where the Pope will be speaking will have "frozen zones" around them, meaning that there will be no access within the immediate streets surrounding those venues.

To give you some idea of how this works, allow me to offer the anatomy of a media pool. For those who wonder what it's like to be a reporter covering these events, here are the details.

First, because of the number of media (over 5,000) who applied for media pool positions to cover the various venues, only a limited number were provided access, and that access was reduced to no more than one event per day for each reporter. After you read the details surrounding how the media pool works, you'll learn why it's no more than one per day.

For example, let's say that 50 media personnel (I don't know the actual number, that's simply being used for illustration) were allowed to attend the Evening Vespers and Address to the U.S. Bishops taking place at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on April 16 at 5:30 p.m. If you were fortunate enough to obtain credentials for that event (and I was), this is what that means.

Set-up for the event needs to be completed by 9:30 that morning, after which there is no access to secured areas, including the Catholic University of America campus mall. Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. security sweeps are conducted throughout the Basilica.

Those in the media pool must be at the media center/hotel to board buses at 12:00 noon, while a security sweep is done of the bus and media personnel. So, between 12 noon and 5:30 p.m. when the Pope arrives, that means that the reporter is sitting/standing either on the bus, at a stop-off point, or at the Basilica.

So, to cover one venue/speech, you sacrifice five hours of your day, making it impossible for you to attend more than one event during the day. Granted, if you have your laptop and an extra battery or access to power, and wi-fi access, you may be able to do some work/writing. Otherwise, you're reduced to having to hurry back to the media center after the speech to file your story. Interviews during the waiting period often become difficult, if impossible, because you aren't allowed access to or from a given area. You are treated as a group, and moved and often corralled as a group, sometimes in fenced-off holding areas (this happened at World Youth Day in Toronto). I've often seen media interviewing other media in these situations. So, if you're in the media pool you may have a lot of spare time on your hands. Reporters might want to bring along a copy of Pope Benedict's Spe Salvi, Deus Caritas Est, or Jesus of Nazareth to read while they wait, wait, and wait some more.

The Pope Trusts His Guardian Angels

There have been several stories indicating that regarding the Pope's safety, he is trusting in God and his Guardian Angels for protection during his U.S. trip. Here's an AP video that mentions this fact.

Here's a print story on the topic from the AP.

Yankee Stadium Communion Distribution Safety Video

The Archdiocese of New York has released a 6-minute video explaining how Holy Communion will be distributed at Yankee Stadium. They are encouraging all those who are attending the Mass to watch the video, so that distribution can be safe, reverent, and timely. They've described it as their "Safety-First" video to help explain how they will distribute Holy Communion to 50,000 of the faithful in just under 15 minutes (at least that is the hope).

The Pope's Paramedics

What happens if the Pope should require medical attention during his U.S. stay?

Newsday has this story on 14 paramedics from St. Vincent's Hospital who will be working in 12-hour shifts during the Pope's three-day stay in New York in case the Pope should require medical attention. Three of the 14 worked a similar detail during Pope John Paul II's 1995 New York visit and were chosen because of their experience.

Ken Karger, 43, was part of that team. He said that visit was choreographed down to the second -- except for just after John Paul finished his sermon at St. Patrick's Cathedral and walked outside.

The pope stopped and tugged at the stethoscope draped around Karger's neck.

"He said, 'Thank you,'" Karger said. "That was the most memorable moment."

Here's a separate NY1 story on the blessing of the Pope's ambulance.

Protecting the Pope from those who Love Him

Nicole Neroulias with Religion News Service has a great story we haven't seen yet, focused on security for the Pope and the difficulties of protecting someone who is so loved. She puts into words what many of us think about, but few have put into print.

Neroulias writes: "There's a different, euphoric atmosphere with the pope," he explained. "You've got to worry about mentally ill people, you've got to worry about Islamic radical fundamentalists, and on top of that, you've got to be concerned about people who just want to touch him and overwhelm the protective detail around him by loving him."

While the Secret Service once focused on protecting John Paul II from gunmen -- the last assassination attempt on a pope was the 1981 shooting at the Vatican -- modern security measures must guard against suicide bombers and terrorism plots that target the crowd, too.

Naturally, those she talks to don't want to get into specifics, or whether there is a heightened risk. I had the same sort of reaction when I spoke with the Secret Service. I can add that from my perspective the security measures, protocols, screenings, and background checks for the media seem far more intense than the previous times I have covered the pope.

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.

Who will Protect the Pope?

UPI has the story, that the Pope's primary bodyguard, Col. Elmar Theodore Maeder, has decided not to seek a second five-year mandate as head of the Swiss Guards, but is still expected to accompany the pope to Washington and New York?

The story originally was broke by John Phillips of The Washington Times. The Times reports that the main problem is a "turf battle between the usual bodyguard and a rival Italian security force over who gets to protect the pope."

"The problem stemmed from a proposal by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, to deprive the Swiss Guards of their exclusive security responsibility in the Apostolic Palace, the official papal residence in Vatican City," says the Times. "Bertone wants the Vatican's other security force, the Vatican Gendarmerie, to guard the Apostolic Palace as well as other parts of the Vatican, a change that would end a centuries-old tradition of pike-wielding Swiss Guards protecting the pope."

As has been reported previously on this blog, the U.S. Secret Service will be overseeing all security protocols while the Pope is in the U.S.