Mehmet Ali Agca, who shot John Paul II, seeks meeting with Pope Francis

November 20, 2014

The would-be assassin of St. John Paul II has requested a meeting with Pope Francis.

Mehmet Ali Agca, who shot and gravely wounded Pope John Paul II in May 1981, said that he would like to meet with Pope Francis during the papal visit to Turkey later this month.

Agca, a native of Turkey, spent 19 years in prison in Italy after his conviction for the assassination attempt. He was pardoned of that crime by Italy's President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in June 2000, with the tacit approval of his intended victim, who had encouraged pardons during the Jubilee Year. Returned to Turkey, he was imprisoned there on a prior murder conviction, and released in January 2010.

Agca, who has given many different and contradictory explanations for his attempt on the Pope's life, has a history of making bizarre claims about his relationship with the papacy and the Catholic Church.

 

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Further information:

• Man who shot John Paul II requests meeting with Pope Francis (AFP)