Fake bishop tries to sneak into Vatican meeting
The gathering of cardinals in the Vatican was overshadowed not just by scandal
but by farce too, when a German man masquerading as a bishop tried to
infiltrate the meeting.
Ralph Napierski, a self-appointed bishop from an apparently fictional order
called Corpus Dei, managed to get through a checkpoint manned by Swiss
Guards but was stopped before entering the Paul VI Hall, where the cardinals
were gathering.
Dressed in fake bishop’s vestments, complete with a purple sash, Mr Napierski
smiled to photographers as he mixed with more than 140 cardinals from around
the world as they filed into the hall to discuss the challenges facing the
Church and possible “papabili” or papal candidates.
On closer inspection the sash turned out to be a scarf.
Unlike the elderly cardinals, who wore their distinctive red skull caps, the
impostor wore a black fedora-style hat with a rim.
