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mabfanTwenty-four years ago today...
On May 13, 1981, Near the start of his weekly general audience in Rome's St. Peter's Square, Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded while passing through the square in an open car. The assailant, 23-year-old escaped Turkish murderer Mehmet Ali Agca, fired four shots, one of which hit the pontiff in the abdomen, narrowly missing vital organs, and another that hit the pope's left hand. A third bullet struck 60-year-old American Ann Odre in the chest, seriously wounding her, and the fourth hit 21-year-old Jamaican Rose Hill in the arm. Agca's weapon was knocked out of his hand by bystanders, and he was detained until his arrest by police. The pope was rushed by ambulance to Rome's Gemelli Hospital, where he underwent more than five hours of surgery and was listed in critical but stable condition.
And today, it's just been announced by Pope Benedict XVI that he plans to begin the process to make Pope John Paul II a saint.
For more information on the shooting and the shooter:
http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=leadstory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehmet_Ali_Agca
On May 13, 1981, Near the start of his weekly general audience in Rome's St. Peter's Square, Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded while passing through the square in an open car. The assailant, 23-year-old escaped Turkish murderer Mehmet Ali Agca, fired four shots, one of which hit the pontiff in the abdomen, narrowly missing vital organs, and another that hit the pope's left hand. A third bullet struck 60-year-old American Ann Odre in the chest, seriously wounding her, and the fourth hit 21-year-old Jamaican Rose Hill in the arm. Agca's weapon was knocked out of his hand by bystanders, and he was detained until his arrest by police. The pope was rushed by ambulance to Rome's Gemelli Hospital, where he underwent more than five hours of surgery and was listed in critical but stable condition.
And today, it's just been announced by Pope Benedict XVI that he plans to begin the process to make Pope John Paul II a saint.
For more information on the shooting and the shooter:
http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=leadstory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehmet_Ali_Agca
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Date: 2005-05-13 07:05 pm (UTC)What annoys me about this (and when they similarly waived the 5-year waiting period for Mother Theresa) is that this is being done solely for popularity. You're supposed to have miracles attributed to you to be eligible to become a saint. And yet, with JPII (and Mother Theresa), the process was started *before* any miracles had been mentioned.