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Pope John Paul II shooter free, mental stability in question

The man who attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II in 1981 was freed from a Turkish prison on Monday. His mental stability is in question after a statement was circulated, upon his release, that includes his self-proclamation as being "Christ eternal," reports Catholic News Agency.

After 52-year-old Mehmet Ali Agca had left the prison in Ankara on Monday, lawyers representing him reportedly distributed handwritten copies of a statement from their client claiming, among other things, that the end of the world is upon us and that he himself is "Christ eternal."

"All the world will be destroyed in this century. Every human being will die in this century," reads the note, according to Italy's Libero News.

Also included in the message are claims that he is "not God" and "not the son of God", but "Christ eternal," the sacred Word made flesh.

The declaration further claims that the "trinity doesn't exist," because the Holy Spirit is no more than a mere angel created by God and that "The Bible is full of errors," which Agca declared he plans to remedy when he writes his own version.

According to the London Times, this is not the first time Agca has made such statements. Just last week, he wrote a letter to the newspaper, stating that "My plan is to proclaim the end of the world and to write the PERFECT GOSPEL [sic] ... I will proclaim the Perfect Christianity that Vatican [sic] has never understood.”

In the same letter, the Turk wrote that he was “sane and strong both physically and psychologically.”

Agca had been in jail nearly continuously since May 13, 1981 when he shot Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square. Following the Pope's recovery, the Holy Father went to the prison to meet with Agca and forgive his attempted assassin. Upon his release from jail in Italy, he was extradited to Turkey where he served ten years of time behind bars for his involvement in the assassination of a journalist and robberies he committed in the late-1970's.

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TAGS: Turkey Pope John Paul II Mehmet Ali Agca assassination mental stability

[01/19/2010]

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