Man Who Tried to Assassinate the Pope Says He is 'Mourning the Loss of His Spiritiual Brother' and Wants to Attend the Funeral

Amberin Zaman / Teresa Neumann reporting : Apr 5, 2005
Fox News

Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish man who shot and seriously wounded Pope John Paul II in 1981, has requested a leave from prison to attend the pontiff's funeral, saying he is mourning the loss of his "spiritual brother."

"I must be there," Agca said Monday through his attorney. "I must attend the funeral."

According to the Fox News report, his lawyer, Mustafa Demirag, met with Agca in Istanbul's Kartal prison and said he would seek permission from a prosecutor for his client to travel to Rome, acknowledging that it was unlikely he would be allowed to attend.

The pope met with Agca in an Italian prison in 1983 and forgave the gunman for the shooting. "Agca absolutely adores the pope; his death would be an enormous blow," said Agca's brother, Adnan, in a recent interview before John Paul died Saturday.