Normally, the Italian police are inclined to protect the Pope. They have great sympathy for him as a figurehead of paternal benevolence, even if they are not Catholic. But this is not always the case. They were not effective at keeping Napoleon out in the early 1800's, when the Pope was absconded to France by force. Nor later that century when Pius IX was forced into exile. But those were Italian popes. Now we have a German, and one might pause to wonder how loyal the non-Catholic, non-German Italian policemen might be for this foreigner?
. . . although the Pope has been in Rome for many years, and has apparently endeared himself to the locals. In person, he is an unassuming and disarmingly modest man.
Do you think there is some sort of threat to the Pope's life, and if so, why? Don't recall you mentioning that earlier.