Soviet Union ordered Pope Shooting? - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

Drbio · 03-02-2006, 12:07 PM

Italian Panel: Soviets Behind Pope Attack
Mar 02 11:28 AM US/Eastern
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By VICTOR L. SIMPSON
Associated Press Writer

ROME

An Italian parliamentary commission concluded "beyond any reasonable doubt" that the Soviet Union was behind the 1981 attempt to kill Pope John Paul II _ a theory long alleged but never proved, according to a draft report made available Thursday.

The commission held that the pope was a danger to the Soviet bloc because of his support for the Solidarity labor movement in his native Poland. Solidarity was the first free trade union in communist eastern Europe.

"This commission believes, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the leaders of the Soviet Union took the initiative to eliminate the pope Karol Wojtyla," said a draft of the commission's report obtained by The Associated Press. Wojtyla was John Paul's Polish name.

The draft has no bearing on any judicial investigations, which have long been closed. If the commission approves the report in its final form, that would mark the first time an official body had blamed the Soviet Union for shooting John Paul.

The report also said a photograph shows that a Bulgarian man acquitted of involvement in the May 13, 1981, assassination attempt was in St. Peter's Square when the pontiff was shot by Mehmet Ali Agca.

The Bulgarian secret service allegedly was working for Soviet military intelligence, but the Italian court held that the evidence was insufficient to convict the Bulgarians in the plot.

Agca, a Turk, has changed his story often and investigators said it was never clear who he was working for. He initially blamed the Soviets.

Agca served 19 years in an Italian prison for shooting the pope and then 5 1/2 years in Turkey for murdering journalist Abdi Ipekci.

He was released from the Turkish prison Jan. 12 but returned days later when prosecutors said he must serve more of his 10-year term for killing Ipekci. He will be released in 2010.

The Italian commission was originally established to investigate any KGB penetration of Italy during the Cold War.

The commission president, Sen. Paolo Guzzanti, said he decided to investigate the 1981 shooting after John Paul said in his book "Memory and Identity: Conversations Between Millenniums" that "someone else planned it, someone else commissioned it." The book came out shortly before the pope's death last year.

The report said the commission used all the evidence gathered during trials in Italy as well as information given by French anti-terrorism judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere.

Sergei Antonov, former Rome station manager of Bulgaria's state airline, claimed during his trial that he was in his office when John Paul was shot. Italy had accused him of complicity with Agca.

Antonov's lawyer, Giuseppe Consolo, said it was a case of mistaken identity and the man in the photograph came forward during the investigation as an American tourist of Hungarian origin. Consolo said the photo was not used as evidence in the trial.

Guzzanti said the photo was discarded because the technology of the time could not determine whether it showed Antonov, but recent computer comparisons with other shots of the Bulgarian show "there is a 100 percent compatibility."

"We don't believe it's possible to reopen the case against Antonov," Guzzanti told the AP. "We just want to set the record straight."

The report must be approved by the full commission, which meets March 7.

dalmations202 · 03-02-2006, 01:48 PM

Does this surprise anyone?

Drbio · 03-02-2006, 01:50 PM

Talk about taking the Hell express. Shooting the Pope?

Mavdog · 03-02-2006, 02:07 PM

but didn't the Pope forgive Agca? if I recall correctly he met agca in prison and (I presume) gave him absolution.

and no, I don't expect that anybody is surprised by this article pointing to the KGB as the ones behind the attempt to kill the pope.

orangedays · 03-02-2006, 02:14 PM

Yes, John Paul forgave Ali Agca:

Quote:

A few years after the event, Pope John Paul visited Ali Agca in his prison cell. They talked for about 30 minutes. The Pope forgave Ali for his crime. Pope John Paul listen to Ali describe his life in prison. As the Pope left, the would-be assassin kissed the Pope’s hand.
Photographs of their visit together in the jail cell were on the front pages of newspapers, magazines and evening TV news for days after.

Linkage

orangedays · 03-02-2006, 02:16 PM

Here's an interesting article about Agca that's more in the historical context, from the er...Catholic World News (CWN)...close to CNN I guess, should be legit:

WOULD-BE ASSASSIN PLEADS FOR RELEASE (Linkage)

May. 13, 1996

VATICAN (CWN) -- Mehmet Ali Agca, who was convicted of an attempt to kill Pope John Paul II (bio - news) fifteen years ago today, appealed to the Vatican for help in his quest for release from prison. His appeal came in a television broadcast which aired in Italy last night.

"I ask pardon from the Pope," Agca said. "I ask the Vatican and the Pope to issue a formal statement in favor of my release." Neither the Pope nor the Vatican in general has any direct authority in Agca's case, since he is serving time in an Italian prison for violation of Italian laws. But the Turkish convict argues that Italian authorities would bow to the wishes of the Holy Father.

Agca is serving a life sentence. His attorney, Marina Magistrelli, has argued that the sentence should be reduced, since Italian courts rarely impose such lengthy prison terms.

Asked today to respond to Agca's requests, the head of the Vatican press office pointed out that Pope John Paul has already, on two separate occasions, stated that he forgives his would-be killer. The spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, offered a noncommital response to the question of Vatican intervention in the case. "The Vatican has confidence in the Italian justice system," he said.

The anniversary of the attempted assassination was on the minds of others in Rome today. Cardinal Carlo Martini of Milan, who was at the Vatican with a delegation of 7,000 pilgrims for the beatification of Cardinal Schuster, told Pope John Paul that he remembered "the very special act of protection which the Virgin of Fatima provided for Your Holiness on that dramatic day." The Holy Father replied simply, thanking Cardinal Martini for recalling "the divine mercy which was shown, with regard to my person, 15 years ago."

Dooby · 03-02-2006, 03:27 PM

What I think is interesting is that this is the entire plot for Tom Clancy's "Red Rabbit;" the Jack Ryan prequel -the Russians' plot to kill Pope John Paul II in '81. So, what did Clancy know? Or was he making it all up and just ended up being incredibly lucky? And why has nobody brought this up?

orangedays · 03-02-2006, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dooby

What I think is interesting is that this is the entire plot for Tom Clancy's "Red Rabbit;" the Jack Ryan prequel -the Russians' plot to kill Pope John Paul II in '81. So, what did Clancy know? Or was he making it all up and just ended up being incredibly lucky? And why has nobody brought this up?

It was right under our noses the entire time! AND...Oswald couldn't have been the lone gunman...Clancy DNA found on the grassy knoll??

j/k

kg_veteran · 03-02-2006, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dooby

What I think is interesting is that this is the entire plot for Tom Clancy's "Red Rabbit;" the Jack Ryan prequel -the Russians' plot to kill Pope John Paul II in '81. So, what did Clancy know? Or was he making it all up and just ended up being incredibly lucky? And why has nobody brought this up?

This is like 2 Dooby sightings in 2 days.

If you keep it up I'm gonna get spoiled.

Murphy3 · 03-02-2006, 09:39 PM

You can never accuse the Soviets of overrating the pope.