In what has become yet another case of re-litigating an old point, people are calling out Pope Francis for another tone-deaf public pronouncement.

In December, the Vatican released a “Decree of the President of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State” regarding those who enter the Vatican under false pretenses.  It states, “Anyone who enters the territory of the Vatican City State with violence, threats or deception is punishable by imprisonment from one to four years and a fine from €10,000.00 to €25,000.00.  Entry is considered to have occurred ‘by deception’ when the entry occurs through fraudulent evasion of the security and protection systems of the State, or by evading border controls.”

This is coming from an authority ensconced behind 40-foot walls.  Those walls have been there a long time.  After Muslim raiders sacked Old St. Peter’s Basilica in 846, then-pope Leo IV had them constructed around the Vatican.  The purpose was “to provide protection from invading forces.”  The walls are constructed of travertine, an attractive type of limestone, and serve practical, aesthetic, and symbolic purposes.

Hopefully, no one is expecting hordes of Muslim invaders to sack St. Peter’s anytime soon.  But the way things are going, who knows?  God willing, their practical purpose will never be put to the test.  They are undeniably beautiful and are visible from some distance away.  They symbolically separate the spiritual aspects of the Catholic Church from the temporal aspects of the world.