Gunman Who Shot Pope Released
PHILLIPS: The Turkish gunman who shot and wounded Pope John Paul II walked out of prison today, but there's a chance that he'll be back behind bars. The decision to free Mehmet Ali Agca has raised such an outcry in Turkey that the government said today it will review the release for possible errors. The story now from Istanbul, CNN's Paula Newton. And Paula, tell us more about these possible errors. And do you think his release really will be repealed?</s>PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Really a dramatic day today, Kyra, and what the Turkish government is responding to is the outrage that this man should walk free after serving less than five years, not for the attempted assassination on the pope, but for the murder of a Turkish journalist. The Turkish justice minister today said he is reviewing the basis on which the judges set him free earlier this month. What's happening here in Turkey, Kyra, is that they're having judicial review, and Agca is benefiting from that judicial review. What happened is they are applying the almost two decades of incarceration he had in Italy for the crime of attempting to murder the pope, applying that to his crimes here, and that's what led to his early release. I have to tell you, there is a lot of outrage. The newspapers were full of speculation that this had to be reviewed, and the government responded to that in kind -- Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: Paula, with that frustration also came a group of individuals who were there cheering him on, hailing him as a hero. Who were those people?</s>NEWTON: You know, it is incredible out there, what we saw today. We had supporters and detractors. The supporters, they were few in number, albeit, a few dozen. And there are also nationalists who call him a hero. They really -- at one point, two of the men who were in the crowd in 1997 had tried to hijack a plane in order to get Agca free. They are saying that what he did in honor of his Muslim brotherhood. And so that is what really has the Turkish people concerned here. They feel that it mars the reputation of their entire country -- Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: CNN's Paula Newton, thank you so much. And more background now on the story of the attack on Pope John Paul II and the man who pulled the trigger. Here's CNN's Delia Gallagher.</s>DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The man who shot John Paul II has spend nearly 25 years behind bars. Mehmet Ali Agca fired a nine-millimeter pistol at John Paul II in broad daylight amidst a huge crowd in St. Peter's Square. Wounded in his hand and abdomen, the pope survived the assassination attempt and forgave Agca from his hospital bed. An Italian court sentenced him to life in prison. Two years later, the pope visited his famous would-be assassin in a maximum security prison in Rome.</s>MEHMET ALI AGCA: I am Jesus Christ. In this generation, all the world will be destroyed.</s>GALLAGHER: Agca claimed at times to be the messiah. His trial attorney called him a religious fanatic, with delusions of grandeur. Neither the pope nor Italian investigators ever believed Agca acted alone, giving rise to many conspiracy theories.</s>JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: The most popular theory is that the Bulgarian secret police, the most popular theory, were the immediate coordinators of the assassination attempt, and perhaps ultimately acting on instructions from Moscow.</s>GALLAGHER: 1981 was the height of the Cold War, and the Polish- born pope supported the solidarity movement, the beginning of the end of communism in Europe. Italy tried three Turks and three Bulgarians who were allegedly involved. They were acquitted for lack of evidence. The pope never pressed for answers.</s>ALLEN: I think in his mind it was clear it was much bigger than that. You know, ultimately, it was about the powers of this world, the demonic forces that work in the world that were trying to interfere, stop the work of good that he was attempting to do.</s>GALLAGHER: After 19 years, Agca was let go. Italian President Ciampi pardoning him as part of a millennium amnesty for prisoners, a program set in motion by the pope. Agca was sent back to his native Turkey to serve time for the previous murder of a newspaper editor in Istanbul. A recent court ruling reducing Agca's sentence cleared the way for his release today.</s>PHILLIPS: Faith and values correspondent Delia Gallagher joins us now live from New York. Delia, let's talk about the time that the pope met with Agca. Do we -- or have we ever really found out what was said in that meeting? And did he tell the pope he thought he was the messiah?</s>GALLAGHER: Well, in fact we don't know exactly what was said during that meeting, Kyra. It was in 1983, after of course the pope was shot of course in 1981, and he went to the prison in Rome to meet with Ali Agca. It was a private conversation, and it was never revealed exactly what was said between the two men. However, some years after that, the pope's private secretary, Stanislaw Dziwisz, did say this during the meeting he was asked if Ali Agca ever asked for forgiveness from the pope, because of course we know that the pope gave his forgiveness to Ali Agca, but we don't know whether it was ever asked for, and the pope's private secretary said the only thing Ali Agca was concerned about in that meeting was whether he had offended the Virgin Mary. So it was a sort of discussion. Remember that it happened May 13th, which was the anniversary of the Virgin of Fatima, the appearance of Mary in Portugal. And so Ali Agca during his prison time had gotten into This secret of Fatima, as it were, and of course the pope himself believed that he was saved, he wrote about, by the hand of the Virgin Mary. So there was also this great mystery about the Secret of Fatima and what was going on, so apparently, according to the pope's private secretary, Ali Agca, very interested in this aspect of it, but that's all we know of the conversation.</s>PHILLIPS: Well, now apparently Ali Agca has written this letter to Pope Benedict, this letter was published in the "La Republican," and it says, "We as the Agca family are grateful to the Vatican. Over the past 25 years the Vatican has always helped me, it has supported me, always been as open as possible, and for this reason, I offer the Vatican my deepest gratitude." Delia was there really a relationship there, and did those in the Vatican, were they fighting to get him released?</s>GALLAGHER: Well, I would say absolutely not with 100 percent certainty the officials that I've spoken to have said publicly it has been a matter for the Turkish authorities to deal with. However, it's quite right he should be grateful to the Vatican, because of course were it not for the fact that Pope John Paul II forgave him and sort of set in motion his subsequent pardon by the judicial authorities in Italy, By the president of Italy, he would never have been returned to Turkey. So in that sense, of course, fair enough to say he's grateful to the Vatican but to suggest that subsequently there was any behind the scenes movement on behalf of Ali Agca by the Vatican would be simply wishful thinking on his part.</s>PHILLIPS: Now this 1979 draft dodger, being released from prison, on his way apparently to see if he's fit for military service?</s>GALLAGHER: Yes, there is a one-year Turkish military service requirement in Turkey, and he hasn't served it. The problem there is that is he now 48 years old, and the maximum age to serve military service is 41. So there's sort of a question as to how he's going to do it but the Turkish officials I spoke to said that, absolutely, under the law he's required to serve his military time, and it looks like that may be what is in store for him in the future.</s>PHILLIPS: Did they say anything about could this man actually be given a weapon?</s>GALLAGHER: I also mentioned that, Kyra, and in fact, they said quite possibly. So we don't yet, but as you reported earlier, I think the outcry in Turkey right now with regard to the very fact that he has been released, it remains to be seen just where this is going to go, if he indeed going to be a free man.</s>PHILLIPS: The twist and turns to his life are quite amazing. Delia Gallagher, thanks so much for your time today.</s>GALLAGHER: Thanks, Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: Well, a quarter century after he shot pope John Paul II, Mehmet Ali Agca walked out of prison this morning. As we've been telling you, with his release, we thought you'd like background on his life and criminal past.</s>PHILLIPS: In February, 1979, Mehmet Ali Agca killed a prominent Turkish journalist for which where he spent 153 days in a military prison in Istanbul before escaping. Two years on May 13, 1981, he shot and Wounded Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square. He was sentenced in Rome to life in prison. The pope met Agca in prison on December 27th, 1983 and forgave him. Italy pardoned Agca in 2000 and extradited him to Turkey, where he was imprisoned to serve his remaining term for killing the journalist. On January 5th of this year, Turkish court decided Agca had completed his prison term, and he was freed today.</s>PHILLIPS: Baby Noor, the Iraqi girl who's in the United States getting life-saving treatment, she is just one of many children around the world who just do not have access to medical care at home. Straight ahead on LIVE FROM, what's being done to help them and how you can join the effort.