I remember when Pope John Paul II first met with Mehmet Ali Agca in 1983. Ali Agca tried to kill the Pope two years earlier. My impression from media reports was that this meeting was a major reconciliation with Ali Agca apologizing for his actions and asking for forgiveness. The Pope publicly forgave him.
I just finished reading A Life with Karol, a book in which Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwicz recounts his forty years of serving as Pope John Paul II's personal secretary. Cardinal Dziwicz gives a different impression of the Pope's meeting with Ali Agca in 1983. The only question Ali Agca had for the Pope was, "So, why aren't you dead?" Ali Agca could not believe that the Pope was still alive after he got two good shots at him from close range. When the Pope told him that the Virgin Mary saved him (the Pope), Ali Agca became very agitated and fearful that the Virgin Mary would seek revenge against him. The Pope was bothered for many years because Ali Agca never asked for forgiveness for his actions, even thought the Pope offered forgiveness.
"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us".
No comments:
Post a Comment