‘Assassination? Make it quick’

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is on high security alert for the visit of Pope Francis, with officials saying that while there is no specific threat, they are not taking any chances.

The pontiff himself, however, prefers to ignore threats, tweeting on the plane to Manila from Sri Lanka yesterday, “My life is in the hands of God.”

If he faces death, the pope quipped, “I tell God to make it quick. I’m not good in facing pain.”

There were plots to assassinate two popes who visited Manila. In 1970, Pope Paul VI was wounded in the chest by a Bolivian painter who posed as a priest and stabbed him.

In 1995, a plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II was uncovered just days before he arrived in Manila. Among the plotters were Ramzi Yousef, convicted mastermind of the first attack on the World Trade Center in New York, and 9/11 terror architect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Pope Francis has eschewed bulletproof popemobiles, preferring open vehicles, and likes mingling with crowds.