As Pope Benedict was about to deliver this year’s traditional Christmas Eve message to the world, a lady jumped the barricades and knocked him over.

He went on to give his message anyway.

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Being pope you inevitably have enemies.

Even within the Church itself, many would like to see the present pope out of the way.

A few months ago, when Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications of bishops in the Church’s largest remaining group of traditional Catholics (the Society of Saint Pius the Tenth), one theologian, Father Hermann  Haering,  told the media, “If the pope wants to do some good for the church, he should leave his job.”

A number of others, including some bishops, have said similar things, but in more timid words.

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Anyway, we hope the pope will recover from whatever degree of shock the attack caused him.

And we hope he will deal decisively with the enemies of Catholic tradition who have somehow maintained themselves in influential positions within the Church.

And we pray that he will increasingly support those in the Church who stand up for the Traditional Faith.

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After all, being persecuted is part of the deal for those who choose to follow Christ.

Jesus told his disciples that anyone wanting to be his disciple must “take up his cross daily and follow me.”

If we who consider ourselves Christians go through life without encountering at least some persecution, we should take a look at ourselves to see whether we are compromising our Faith simply to keep out of trouble.