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John Paul II's Attacker Wants Vatican Baptism

Man who shot pontiff seeks ceremony after prison release

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted May 13, 2009 1:46 PM CDT

(Newser) – The man who shot Pope John Paul II gets out of prison in January—and when he does, he wants to be baptized at the Vatican, his lawyer says. Over the years, Mehmet Ali Agca has claimed to be the Messiah or Jesus Christ, fueling speculation about his mental health and the possibility that he had converted to Christianity. But his lawyer tells the AP Agca’s “not formally a Christian.”

Pope John Paul II, right, and Romanian Orthodox Patriarch Teoctist, left, arrive for a ceremony at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest Friday, May 7, 1999. (AP Photo/Massimo Sambucetti)

This Jan 12, 2006 file photo shows Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish gunman who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981. (AP Photo/Osman Orsal)

This Dec. 27, 1983 file photo shows Pope John Paul II, left, talking with his would-be assassin Mehmet Ali Agca during a private meeting in Agca's prison cell in Rome. (AP Photo/Arturo Mari)

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John Paul II's Attacker Wants Vatican Baptism

Man who shot pontiff seeks ceremony after prison release

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Pope John Paul II Immortalized by This?

Vatican newspaper says statue is a travesty

John Paul Deserves His Sainthood

He worked a political miracle against communism: Peggy Noonan

Pope John Paul’s Body Exhumed for Beatification

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John Paul Hits Facebook

Part of Vatican's social-networking push

Pope's Coffin Will Be Exhumed for Beatification

Faithful will be able to pray before it at John Paul's May ceremony

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Man who shot pontiff seeks ceremony after prison release

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Christianity • Vatican • Pope John Paul II • assassination attempt • conversion • baptism • Mehmet Ali Agca

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Pope John Paul II Immortalized by This?

Vatican newspaper says statue is a travesty

John Paul Deserves His Sainthood

He worked a political miracle against communism: Peggy Noonan

Pope John Paul’s Body Exhumed for Beatification

Rome in throes of 'beatification fever'

John Paul Hits Facebook

Part of Vatican's social-networking push

Pope's Coffin Will Be Exhumed for Beatification

Faithful will be able to pray before it at John Paul's May ceremony

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

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