[Infowarrior] - Vatican air' passengers' holy water confiscated

[Richard Forno]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/29/wvatican129.
xml

'Vatican air' passengers' holy water confiscated

By Malcolm Moore in Rome
Last Updated: 2:54am BST 31/08/2007

The passengers on board the Vatican¹s first flight to Lourdes may have been
pilgrims in search of spiritual healing, but they still had to obey
anti-terrorism rules, it has emerged, after several of them had their holy
water confiscated. 

The Vatican¹s new service, a Boeing 737 painted in yellow-and-white papal
livery, took off from Rome¹s Fiumicino airport on Monday, serving swordfish
canapes to 148 pilgrims reclining on headrests stamped with the message: ³I
search for your face, oh Lord².

While the outward journey was smooth, turbulence struck on the return when
anti-terror rules were strictly applied by the French police.

No bottles containing more than 100ml of liquid were allowed on board unless
checked in, meaning passengers were forced give up the holy water they had
just collected at Lourdes.

Many hoped to ferry the water back to sick relatives.

Instead, dozens of plastic containers in the shape of the Madonna were left
at security, while one man decided to drink all of his.

One passenger drank all of his holy water rather than discard it

³I did tell others that their containers would not be allowed. Those who
travel a lot know that they do not make exceptions,² said Massimo Barra,
head of the Red Cross in Italy, who was on board.

Monsignor Liberio Andreatta, the official on board from the Vatican¹s travel
agency, did not even try to argue with the rules, to the dismay of the
pilgrims.

Many passengers asked the police how they could be foolhardy enough to throw
away the miraculous water, according to the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

The spring at the sanctuary at Lourdes, where the Virgin Mary is said to
have appeared in 1858, is famed for its miraculous healing powers, and every
day long queues of believers wait to fill up their containers.

The water is so valuable that one French website, www.lourdes-water.com, is
offering a litre for £64.

Despite the hiccup, the new service cut down an difficult overland
pilgrimage to two hours.

Cardinal Ruini, the former head of the Italian bishops, was on board, along
with Luciano Moggi, the disgraced former head of Juventus football club, who
was seeking some spiritual comfort.

The Vatican has promised that seats would cost at least 10 per cent less
than the industry average, and that some pilgrims may be able to fly to
Lourdes and back in the same day.

It also wants to expand its service to routes such as Fatima in Portugal,
Santiago de Compostela in Spain, and possibly even Jerusalem.

Mistral Air, the charter company which is providing the planes for the
Vatican, said it expects to transport 150,000 pilgrims annually.