Posted on 02/04/2005 2:48:58 PM PST by nickcarraway
ISTANBUL, TURKEY - The Turkish man who shot Pope John Paul II wished the hospitalized pontiff a speedy recovery Thursday, but also urged him to tell the world that its end is near — the latest cryptic message from the mysterious man behind the 1981 attack.
Mehmet Ali Agca was extradited to Turkey in 2000 after serving almost 20 years in Italy for the 1981 shooting of the pope.
Agca, who is serving a prison sentence in Turkey in a murder and two robberies committed in 1979, has given conflicting reasons for the attack on the pope, and his motives remain unclear.
In a brief, handwritten letter in Italian, Agca wished the pope well.
But he also made apocalyptic references, referring to the end of the world.
"You and I suffer for the realization of a universal divine plan," Agca said. "I wish you a speedy recovery."
Agca also thanked the pope for revealing the so-called "third secret" of Fatima in 2000, a 1917 vision of a pope struck down by bullets and arrows but spared from death.
"I thank you for having revealed on May 13 the third secret of Fatima. Dear Pope, now you have to confirm the Divine Truth that we are at the end of the world," Agca wrote.
"This is the last generation of humanity on planet Earth. Only like this will God give you health and miraculous strength for the coming years," the letter says.
The pope has long forgiven Agca and even worked to secure his release from prison in Italy.
In 2000, Agca was extradited to Turkey and was sent to prison to serve a 10-year sentence in the 1979 murder of journalist Abdi Ipekci.
He was separately sentenced to seven years and four months for two 1979 robberies.
KGB agent, Muslim fanatic, or nutball? Or maybe all three?
ping Thank you
I hope the Turkey prisons are like they are shown in the movies.
Ping
ping
Interesting...
Ping in case you have not read this report elsewhere. It appeared in a few venues yesterday and the day prior.
When the Pope finally does die, if his cause of death is in any way related to the injuries he sustained in 1981, wouldn't that be a fresh charge of murder? Remember, there is no statute of limitations on murder.
I think this guy was using a 9mm. On such an old guy even at the time! Now what does that say about the 9mm? See, if he'd been using a .45 he'd be upstairs right now.....OTOH, perhaps it does speak more to the issue of divine intervention....
Know what? I agree.
FYI
Mehmet Ali Aðca (born January 9, 1958) is a Turkish militant who shot Pope John Paul II in Saint Peter's Square on May 13, 1981, in an assassination attempt. Following the shooting, John Paul asked people to, "...pray for my brother (Agca), whom I have sincerely forgiven." In 1983, John Paul and his would be assassin Agca met privately at the Italian prison where Agca was being held. What was said at this meeting remains secret to this day.
As a youth, Agca became a petty criminal and a member of street gangs in his home town. He later became a smuggler in the lucrative trade between Turkey and Bulgaria. He then went to Syria where he received two months of training in weaponry and terrorist tactics. He claims this was paid for by the Bulgarian government. After this training he went to work for the far-right Turkish Grey Wolves, who the Bulgarians felt were a usefully destabilizing force in Turkey. Agca describes himself as a mercenary of no political orientation who was willing to do anything for enough money. In 1979, under orders from the Grey Wolves, he killed the left-wing newspaper editor Abdi Ýpekçi in Istanbul. He was caught due to an informant and was sentenced to life in prison. He soon escaped, with the help of the Grey Wolves.
Agca fled to Bulgaria. There in Sofia he states that he was approached by the Bulgarian Secret Service, who offered him three million German Marks to assassinate the Pope. It is presumed that the Bulgarians were instructed by the KGB to assassinate the Pope because of his support of Poland's Solidarity movement. However many feel Agca's story is dubious at best. No definite motive has been established.
Beginning in August 1980 Agca began criss crossing the Mediterranean region, changing passports and identities, likely to hide his point of origin in Sofia. He entered Rome on May 10, 1981 coming by train from Milan.
In Rome he claimed that he met up with three accomplices, one fellow Turk and two Bulgarians. According to Agca the entire operation was commanded by Zilo Vassilev the Bulgarian military attaché in Rome.
The plan was for Agca, and a back-up gunman Oral Celik, to fire from St. Peter's Square and then detonate a panic bomb to create chaos and allow the group to escape to the Bulgarian embassy. On May 13 they sat in the square writing postcards waiting for the Pope to arrive. When he passed, Agca fired two shots at the Pope, however he was grabbed by the members of the crowd and prevented from continuing to fire or escape. Celik panicked and did not set off his bomb, or fire at the Pope, instead disappearing into the crowd.
Originally Agca claimed to be a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, but they denied any ties to him.
Soon after Sergei Antonov, one of the Bulgarians was arrested based on Agca's testimony. After a three year trial he was found not-guilty for want of evidence. Agca's testimony proved to be often contradictory and occasionally descended into insane ranting, including claims of being Jesus. The Bulgarians have always insisted they were innocent and argued that Agca story an anti-communist plant placed by the far-right Grey Wolves, the Italian secret service, and the CIA.
Agca was sentenced to life imprisonment in Italy, but was pardoned by president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in June 2000. Agca returned to Turkey, where he was imprisoned for the murder of Abdi Ýpekçi.
Agca is quoted as saying "To me [the pope] was the incarnation of all that is capitalism." In November 2004, Turkish authorities announced that he is scheduled for release in 2005.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehmet_Ali_Agca
Thanks for the ping my friend
Imagine, a muslim killing a religious figure of another faith.
Who could have guessed?
Islam MUST be eradicated.
All of the above?
This is a nice link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehmet_Ali_Agca
Agca initially claimed he was acting alone, but later said he was trained by Bulgarian and Czech experts and that the KGB was responsible for the attempted assassination.
During his trial in Italy, he said part of his testimony had been lies and even claimed to be Jesus Christ.
In Turkey, Agca has been linked to the ultranationalist group, the Gray Wolves, and is admired by some right-wing extremists, who consider him a patriot for fighting leftists in Turkey in the 1970s.
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