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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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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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(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.
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.
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.
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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Robert_Dada
May 13, 09 5:31 PM CDT
Anyone that WANTS to be baptized has got to be crazy. Reply
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Yourself
May 13, 09 7:08 PM CDT
if they refuse him, then so much for their theory that God forgives people for their mistakes.. lol Reply
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Christianity • Vatican • Pope John Paul II • assassination attempt • conversion • baptism • Mehmet Ali Agca

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