Czech priest arrested for trying to enter Vatican carrying weapons

A Czech parish priest who tried to enter the Vatican on Sunday carrying an air pistol, two knives and a screwdriver in his bag was detained by the police, Italian media reports. He was accompanying a group of pilgrims from Czechia but was apprehended during the security checks visitors are required to go through in order to enter the Vatican. The bag in which the police found the suspicious items allegedly belonged to someone else from the party, who is also being prosecuted for illegally arming the clergyman.

During interrogation, the priest claimed that the weapons were only intended for self-defence, a story which, according to Italian daily Corriere della Sera, investigators do not find credible. The current theory is that the man may have entrusted the bag to the priest thinking that he would not be subjected to a thorough security check due to his ecclesiastical status.