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Man who tried to kill Pope John Paul II puts roses on his tomb
VATICAN CITY Sat Dec 27, 2014 1:02pm EST
A tapestry featuring Pope John Paul II is seen in St. Peter's square at the Vatican, April 25, 2014. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini
(Reuters) - The man who tried to kill former Pope John Paul II 33 years ago showed up at the Vatican on Saturday to put white roses on his tomb and said he wanted to meet Pope Francis.
Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turk, left John Paul critically injured after firing several shots in the failed assassination attempt in St. Peter's Square on May 13, 1981.
The former pope forgave Agca, once a member of a Turkish far right group known as the Grey Wolves, and went to meet him in 1983 in the Rome prison where he had been sentenced to life imprisonment for the attack.
Agca called the Italian daily la Repubblica on Saturday to announce he had arrived in the Vatican, his first visit since the assassination attempt and exactly 31 years after John Paul met him in prison.
The visit was confirmed to Reuters by Father Ciro Benedettini, the Vatican's deputy spokesman, who said Agca stood for a few moments in silent meditation over the tomb in St. Peter's Basilica before leaving two bunches of white roses.
Agca, 56, was pardoned by Italy in 2000 and extradited to Turkey where he was imprisoned for the 1979 murder of a journalist and other crimes. He was released from jail in 2010.
The attack against John Paul, who died in 2005, has remained clouded by unanswered questions over who may have been behind it. An Italian investigative parliamentary commission said in 2006 it was "beyond reasonable doubt" that it was masterminded by leaders of the former Soviet Union.
The Vatican on Saturday gave a cool response to Agca's request to meet with Pope Francis. "He has put his flowers on John Paul's tomb; I think that is enough," Vatican spokesman father Federico Lombardi told la Repubblica.
(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Writing by Gavin Jones; Editing by Stephen Powell)
Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish man who tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II in 1981, holds flowers, meant for his tomb, in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. Photo: AFP
The Turkish gunman who shot and wounded John Paul II in 1981 laid white flowers on the saint's tomb in St Peter's Basilica, in what is believed to be his first time in the Vatican since the assassination attempt
The surprise visit by Mehmet Ali Agca lasted a few minutes on Saturday.
As with other flowers left by visitors to the tomb, the blossoms were later removed by basilica workers.
"I felt the need to make this gesture," he told police, according to Italian media who had been tipped off in advance about his visit that came on the 31st anniversary of his meeting with the pope.
Granted authorisation to pay his respects under a discreet police escort, Agca was filmed by the ADNKronos news agency murmuring a prayer at the side of the tomb after he had deposited his bouquet of white roses.
"A thousand thanks holiness," he said in Italian. "This is a miracle that goes on. The mystery of Fatima goes on. Long live Jesus Christ!"
He also said: "Today I have come because on December 27, 1983, I met the pope."
Agca requested a meeting with Pope Francis when the current pontiff visited Turkey last month.
But that was declined as was a fresh request for an audience this weekend in Rome.
Pope John Paul II collapsing (left) after being shot in 1981 and two years later talking with his attacker in prison.Photos: EPA and Reuters
"He has put his flowers on John Paul's tomb; I think that is enough," Vatican spokesman father Federico Lombardi told la Repubblica.
The Vatican said there are no legal matters pending against Agca in the Vatican and he was free to visit. John Paul, who forgave his attacker, visited Agca in a Rome prison on December 27, 1983, and later intervened to gain Agca's release in 2000.
The pope two years later talking with his attacker in prison. Photo: Reuters
Agca was extradited to Turkey for the 1979 killing of a Turkish journalist, and he completed a 10-year sentence there in 2010.
When Agca was apprehended after shooting the pontiff in St. Peter's Square during a public audience, the Turk said he acted alone. Later he suggested Bulgaria and the Soviet secret services masterminded the attack on the Polish-born pontiff, whose championing of the Polish Solidarity labour movement alarmed Moscow.
Twice, Italian juries acquitted three Bulgarians and three Turks of alleged roles in the shooting. Agca has often given contradictory accounts and has claimed to be a Messiah.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse and Reuters
