Pope Benedict has delivered his traditional Christmas message at the Vatican, hours after a woman leapt at him and dragged him to the ground.
The Pope spoke in a firm voice in front of thousands of pilgrims, appearing undaunted by the earlier incident.
He said the Church was a “source of unity” for many people across the world and called for those in conflict zones to show respect for one another.
The Vatican said the woman who jumped at the Pope had been taken to hospital.
Vatican officials said she appeared to be mentally unstable, and that she had attempted to get to the Pope at the same event last year.
French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, 87, who was standing a few metres away, fell and broke his hip during the incident.
The assault took place as the pontiff was about to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass at St Peter’s Basilica.
The BBC’s David Willey, in Rome, says the Vatican is trying its best to play down the incident.
But our correspondent says the Pope’s security is a very difficult issue as the pontiff has to interact with the congregation and many Catholics would be angry if he was only ever seen from behind a screen.
The 82-year-old pontiff made no mention of the incident during his Christmas message.
