Pope Francis told members of the Vatican Inspectorate of Public Security that their work “requires high moral qualities and above all dedication and sacrifice for the attainment of the common good.”
“The common good and peace in society cannot be improvised and do not always flourish spontaneously,” the Pope said during a February 10 audience. “The lights and shadows of our human nature, limited and wounded by sin, entail the need for there to be those who, when faced with evil, do not stand by and watch, but take the responsibility to intervene, to protect the victims and bring the transgressors back to order, always having the good of all at heart.”
The members of the Inspectorate of Public Security are Italian police officers who patrol St. Peter’s Square; they are distinct from the Vatican Gendarmerie and the Pontifical Swiss Guard.