He has dismissed and demoted cardinals, bishops and the Vatican secretary of state, and now Pope Francis’s reformist zeal has claimed a new scalp – the head of his own private army, the Swiss Guard.
By Nick Squires|The Telegraph|National Post|Raw Story
In a dispassionate one-sentence notice, the Vatican’s official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, announced Wednesday that Col. Daniel Anrig will no longer serve as the commandant of the 500-year-old corps after the end of next month.
No official explanation was given for the decision, but it was widely rumoured that the Argentine Pope, who has established a warmer, more inclusive style of governance since being appointed pontiff in March last year, found the commander’s manner overly strict and „Teutonic.“
The 77-year-old Pope is said to have been appalled recently to have emerged one morning from his private suite of rooms to find that a Swiss Guard had been standing outside all night.
„Sit down,“ he told the young guardsman, to which the soldier said: „I can’t, it’s against orders.“
