Word: petered
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...Snow White and spice them up with audience participation, cross-dressing, double entendres, sexual innuendo and deliberately hammy acting. Big stars have become a staple of the most lucrative shows in recent years - Henry Winkler, a.k.a. the Fonz, is currently starring as Captain Hook in a pantomime of Peter Pan in Liverpool, following in the footsteps of actors like Steve Guttenberg and Mickey Rooney. When done well, pantomimes draw huge crowds and revenue. When done poorly, they can do even better. (See pictures of the history of pantomime...
Because Thursday's incident took place inside St. Peter's, and the Vatican is an independent city-state, it is up to the Pope whether a criminal investigation will proceed against Maiolo. Both Paul VI and John Paul II made a point of forgiving the men who tried to kill them. And though he didn't mention the incident during his Christmas day ceremony, Benedict is likely to make a point of forgiving what was a much less severe attack. Along with mixing amongst the faithful, forgiveness is part of the job description...
...heads the Vatican gendarmes, a private police force responsible for protecting the Pope. Giani, who is always within arm's length of the Pope, also helped wrestle away a mentally disturbed German man in 2007 who'd jumped on the Pope's open jeep he uses to circle St. Peter's Square before and after his weekly Wednesday General Audience...
Maiolo timed her lunge better this time, and managed to grab Benedict's vestments even as she was being tackled by Giani, bringing the 82-year-old Pope down with them in a heap to the marble floor of St. Peter's Basilica during the opening procession of the evening mass. (Benedict had moved what was long the Midnight mass up to 10 p.m.). Caught in the scrum was Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, 87, of France, who broke his hip, and will require surgery. Commentators in Italy have been asking if there is a general security problem, with the Pope incident...
...pope is protected by a combination of Swiss Guards, Vatican police and Italian police. Since the Sep. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, security has tightened at the Vatican, and all visitors to St. Peter's must past through metal detectors. Still, compared to other mega-visible leaders, including the U.S. President, close access to the Pope, while not guaranteed, is never really rendered impossible either. (Read "Pope Benedict on the Question of Judaism...