Vatican accepts attacker's release

[gilliam]

I think our beloved Pope John Paul would have liked this:

THE Vatican said today it accepted the decision by a Turkish court to release Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who attempted to kill the late pope John Paul II in 1981.

“With legal issues, the Holy See leaves it up to the courts with competence in these areas,” Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.

He said the Vatican had only learned of the court’s decision from press agencies and had not been given prior notice. Agca, 48, is expected to be released between Tuesday and Sunday, Turkish officials told the Anatolia news agency.

heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,17767342^1702,00.html

 

[Tristan_daCunha]

gilliam:

I think our beloved Pope John Paul would have liked this

Yes, I think you are right. He personally forgave Agca, in Agca’s prison cell.

Agca looks fairly old for someone in his 40s. There is a photo of him, taken in 2000, in this article.

 

[JKirkLVNV]

Perhaps he will convert. He would have to leave his home and probably live in secret. I understood that a Muslim can be killed for “apostacy.”

God give rest to the soul of HH Pope John Paul II of happy memory.

 

[Thekla]

Go in peace, Mr. Agca. You were shown the way by God’s own representative here on Earth.