Pope Francis sacks Swiss Guard chief for being `too strict`

Even Pope Francis, who appears ready to embrace all, appears to dislike some people. L`Osservatore Romano, the Vatican`s official newspaper, said on Wednesday that Commander of the Swiss Guard Daniel Rudolf Anrig has been dismissed. The Vatican did not disclose a specific reason.

Regarding that, Britain’s BBC cited Pope Francis, according to Vatican sources, as “being unhappy at the Swiss officer`s excessively strict military discipline...Pope Francis is apparently also unhappy at the commander`s refurbishment of a large and luxurious penthouse apartment for his family above the barracks inside the Vatican where the Swiss Guard are quartered.” The U.K. daily newspaper The Guardian said the “Pontiff is said to have unease at the security chief’s militaristic style, becoming unpleasant with the order’s grueling shifts and strict rules.”

Pope Francis, who is continuing breaking with tradition to shake off authoritarianism, requires a less rigid attitude from his guards. In that process, sources say that the Pope had a few disputes with the management methods of the oppressive Swiss Guard leader. The U.K. newspaper The Telegraph reported that the pope is said to have found that “a Swiss Guard had been standing guard all night. “Sit down,” he told the young guardsman, to which the soldier said: “I can’t, it’s against orders.” “

The Swiss Guard have guarded the Vatican and protected the Pope since 1506. A total of 110 soldiers are the Vatican’s only armed forces with no separate military.