ROME (AFP) – A Vatican court will judge the woman who launched a Christmas Eve assault on Pope Benedict XVI “within a few weeks”, its president said on Sunday.

The 25-year-old woman identified as Susanna Maiolo leapt over a security barrier and knocked the pope to the ground at midnight mass in Saint Peter's Basilica.
She was taken for psychiatric treatment after the incident, and in an interview with Italian bishops' newspaper Avvenire, Vatican court president Giuseppe Dalla Torre said her mental state would be an important issue.
The pope came through the assault apparently unscathed and was able to celebrate the mass as planned.
French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, injured in the incident, meanwhile underwent successful surgery Sunday to repair his right hip and was in good condition in hospital, the Vatican said in a statement.
Etchegaray, 87, who was close to the pope in the procession, had apparently lost his balance in the incident and fell, breaking the hip bone.
Maiolo, who has Swiss and Italian nationality, tried to reach the pope in almost identical circumstances last year, but was stopped by security staff.
After questioning by Vatican police following the latest incident, she was taken to a psychiatric unit.
Photo: Pope Benedict XVI on December 25, 2009 in Vatican City.