Today is the 28th anniversary of the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II by Mehmet Ali Agca.
Agca was forgiven, in person, by John Paul II in 1983 and has since completed serving his term for the attempted murder of the Pope. He is, however, still in jail for the 1979 murder of Turkish journalist, editor and human rights activist Abdi İpekçi and is scheduled to be released on January 18, 2010.
During the years of his incarceration, Agca has several times publicly stated that he would like to convert to Catholicism. Most recently, he has said that he would like to be baptised in a ceremony at the Vatican. He has also claimed at various times that he is the Messiah. Mental health issues notwithstanding, Agca will be freed in eight months’ time.
He is known to have written a letter to Pope Benedict XVI, warning him against his planned November 2006 trip to Turkey. Happily, the excursion transpired without incident.
