Man Who Shot Pope to Be Freed

By SELCAN HACAOGLU
Associated Press Writer
ANKARA, Turkey

A court has approved the release from prison the man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981, saying he completed his sentence for crimes he committed in Turkey, the semiofficial Anatolia news agency reported Sunday.

Mehmet Ali Agca was extradited to Turkey in 2000 after serving almost 20 years in Italy for shooting and wounding the pope in St. Peter's Square in Rome. His motive for the attack remains unclear. Agca, 46, was expected to be released as early as Monday. Anatolia said he was expected to be immediately enlisted by the military for obligatory service, Anatolia said.
His lawyer and family said they were not aware of the court decision.
"I'm surprised," his lawyer, Dogan Yildirim, told The Associated Press by telephone. "If its true, justice will finally be served. He has been in prison for so long."
Agca's sister, Fatma Agca, also was surprised. "We did not hear it," Fatma Agca told the AP from family home in the southeastern city of Malatya. She refused to comment.

Upon his return to Turkey, Agca immediately was sent to prison to serve a 10-year sentence for murdering Turkish journalist Abdi Ipekci in 1979. He was separately sentenced to seven years and four months for two robberies in Turkey the same year.
An Istanbul court ruled in 2004 that Agca should only serve the longest sentence _ his conviction for killing Ipekci. That 10-year sentence was changed twice because of new Turkish laws.

Agca served less than six months in Turkish prison in 1979 for killing Ipekci before he escaped, resurfacing in 1981 in Rome. Given that earlier time served, the prison asked a court for permission to release Agca. The court ruled that Agca could now be freed this week, Anatolia said. Agca reportedly identified with the Gray Wolves, a far right-wing militant group that fought street battles against leftists in the He first confessed to killing Ipekci, one of the country's most prominent left-wing newspaper columnists, but later retracted his statements.

One of the great memories I have of John Paul "the Great" is when he went to visit and forgive Mehmet Ali Agca in prison after the assassination attempt. The image, shown on television, of the Pope sitting next to the man who tried to kill him was, and remains, a powerful witness to Christ's command to forgive. "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." It also reminds me of the great responsibility given to St. Peter and the other Apostles by Our Lord after His resurrection: "He breathed on them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit, If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven, if you retain anyone's sins, they are retained (John 20:22-23)." Today, and every day, is a great day to forgive someone! But, it is also important for us, individually, to ask for forgiveness. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is there for all of us! In St. Faustina's Dairy she reminds all of us that "In the Tribunal of Mercy (Sacrament of Reconciliation)...the greatest miracles take place and are incessantly repeated (1448). Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy (1602)." Pope John Paul II cetainly taught us a lot about forgiveness and mercy, by his words and actions. May we follow his example!