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Agca says he is now a Catholic
Published: April 30, 2009

In a letter written from a Turkish prison, Mehmet Ali Agca, author of the failed attempt against Pope John Paul II in 1981, claims to have renounced Islam and embraced the Catholic faith.

Italian weekly Diva e people donna published the letter, French journal 7s7 reports.

"I am looking for an Italian woman, who wants to correspond with me. Obviously (I hope) she is Catholic because from May 13 2007, I decided to renounce the Muslim faith and becoming a member of the Roman Catholic Church," Agca writes.

"I have decided to return peacefully to the (St Peter's) square and to testify to the world of my conversion to Catholicism," he says in the letter written in Italian.


"Just for a day, I would wish to return to Rome to pray at the tomb of John Paul II to express my filial appreciation for his forgiveness," he adds.

Questioned by AFP in Turkey, his former lawyer Mustafa Demirbag, said he was "very skeptical" about the conversion, given the steps required to receive baptism.

Ali Agca also claimed to have expressed his desire to visit St Peter's Square to Pope Benedict XVI, without having received "no response to date". He also claimed to have informed the Vatican of his conversion.

"For the Vatican, I may still be the man who tried to assassinate the Polish Pope, but now I have changed, I am a different man," he says.

SOURCE

Glory to God for his conversion!

The visit of Pope JPII, of blessed memory-- a living saint and a living icon of Christ-- surely brought this about!

Alice

Christ was able to transform Matthew the tax collector into a collector of miracles and parables; and Saul the persecuting Pharisee into Paul the Apostle.

Thanks be to God that the transforming power of the Gospel continues even to our own day.

Some people were skeptical about this because Ali Agca is mentally "not quite right," apparently. But others (with whom I agree) have pointed out that salvation in Christ is not just for the smart, or rich, or good-looking, or even sane. ALL people are called to Christ, regardless of their mental condition.

Alexis

VERY good points, Garrett!!!

Let's not forget that some of the holiest people, the saints and fools for Christ, often seemed strange, quirky, and/or even crazy and insane to the societal standards of what is considered 'normal' for behaviour.

Assuming these statements are true, it would seem that Agca does not know what's involved in becoming a Catholic. The statements suggest an informal, personal conversion rather than a formal one.


Hopefully, these words are true. However, when one protests one's having changed completely like that, it is often a sign that this is not the case.

Let us pray, however, that this conversion is real--many discouraged Catholics will be cheered by the news.


Peace,
Deacon Richard

I think this is one of those cases where we will have to see what fruit develops .... "by their fruit you will know them."
abby
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