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BELGIUM
Ex-priest arrestedOnce attacked the Pope
A former Spanish priest who once served three years in prison for attacking the Pope in Portugal in 1982 was arrested in May after he vaulted over barricades separating crowds from Belgium’s king and queen as they awaited the arrival of the king and queen of Spain.
The Belga news agency reported that Juan Fernandez Krohn was dragged away by police after he climbed over a barricade in front of the Royal Palace in Brussels, as King Albert and Queen Paola stood about 50 feet away. The Belgian royals were waiting for the arrival of Spain’s King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia at the beginning of a four-day visit. Police declined to comment on the incident.
Just days before the incident, Portuguese police and the Interpol agency were seeking information about Krohn’s whereabouts as they made security preparations for Pope John Paul II’s visit to Portugal. Krohn had been jailed in 1982 after he lunged with a bayonet at the Pope, who was making a visit to the Fatima shrine. The Pope was not harmed. He was expelled from Portugal in 1985 after serving half of a six-year jail term. He was thought to have been living in Belgium since 1990, but recently left his home in Brussels. Krohn had claimed the attack on the Pope was motivated by what he saw as a growing liberalism in the Church.