The late Pope John Paul II's private secretary has revealed the former pontiff was wounded by a knife-wielding priest in a shocking new documentary.

THE Vatican defended the late archbishop Paul Marcinkus, the head of the Vatican Bank whose tenure was marred by financial scandal, from reports yesterday that he ordered the killing of a 15-year-old girl in 1983.

Attackers killed three people today at a publishing house that had been the subject of protests for distributing Bibles in Turkey, the government-run Anatolia news agency reported.

AN ITALIAN parliamentary commission has concluded “beyond any reasonable doubt” that the Soviet Union was behind the 1981 attempt to kill Pope John Paul II.

An Italian parliamentary commission has concluded that the Soviet Union was behind the 1981 attempt to kill Pope John Paul II, a theory long alleged, but never proved.

Turkish prosecutors today ruled that the man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 must stay in prison until the beginning of 2010, the Anatolia news agency reported.

The Turkish man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 returned to prison after an appeals court ruled that he should serve more time for the killing of a Turkish journalist and other crimes.

A Turkish court today ruled that the Turkish gunman who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 should return to prison to serve more time for killing a Turkish journalist and for other crimes in Turkey.

The Turkish man who shot Pope John Paul II offered in 2000 to capture al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and planed to kill the late Syrian President Hafez Assad, a Turkish newspaper reported today, printing what it said were letters the gunman wrote.

A military hospital that pronounced the Turk who shot Pope John Paul II unfit for military service determined that he had an “anti-social” personality, a newspaper reported today.

A Turkish military hospital today said the Turkish man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 was not fit for obligatory military service, his lawyer said.

Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish gunman who shot Pope John Paul II, might have been released from prison by mistake and might return to his cell to serve at least 11 more months, a newspaper said today, quoting the country’s justice minister.

THE Turkish gunman who spent 25 years behind bars for shooting Pope John Paul II in 1981 was released yesterday but may soon be returned to jail.

The release of the Turkish gunman who shot Pope John Paul II passed with little notice at the Vatican today, with the Vatican newspaper ignoring the news and Pope Benedict XVI making no public mention of it during a busy day of audiences and speeches.

Turkey’s justice minister today said authorities would review the release from prison of the Turkish gunman who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981.

The Turkish gunman who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 left prison a free man today after serving 25 years behind bars in Italy and Turkey for the plot against the Pontiff and the killing of a Turkish journalist.

The Turkish gunman who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 wants to put the assassination attempt behind him after his release from prison this week, and wants to work for world peace, his lawyer said today.

TURKEY yesterday raced to contain an outbreak of bird flu and reassure the world it had the potentially fatal illness under control.

Turkey today raced to contain an outbreak of bird flu and reassure the world it had the potentially fatal illness under control, after preliminary tests showed at least 15 people – two of them children who have died – were infected with the deadly H5N1 strain.

THE Turk who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 will be released from prison on Thursday, but he then may be tried in a military court for allegedly dodging the draft and escaping military custody, an official said yesterday.

The Turkish man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 is looking forward to his release from prison but has not made any plans for the future, his lawyer said.

THE brother of the Turkish gunman who shot and seriously wounded Pope John Paul II said he has requested an audience with Pope Benedict XVI.

MORE than 6,000 extra police, including snipers, bomb disposal experts and motorcycle escorts, have been deployed to protect the crowds of faithful and world leaders converging on the Vatican to mourn Pope John Paul II.

Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish gunman who attempted to assassinate John Paul 24 years ago, said from his prison cell today that he was joining in mourning the pontiff’s death.

Pope John Paul II, who died today aged 84, will be remembered as one of the greatest communicators and most influential figures of modern times.

THE Vatican’s description of Pope John Paul II as “serenely” fading away contrasted starkly with the last time he faced death.

MILLIONS of faithful around the world were praying for Pope John Paul II, as the 84-year-old head of the Catholic Church appeared to be approaching his final hours.

IN his new book, Pope John Paul II for the first time describes publicly the moments after he was gravely wounded in 1981, saying he was fearful and in pain, but had “a strange feeling of confidence” that he would live.

LUCIA de Jesus dos Santos, the last of three children who claimed to see the Virgin Mary at Fatima and who revealed a vision the Catholic Church said foretold the attempt to kill Pope John Paul II, died on Sunday, the Church said.

Pope John Paul’s condition is improving and he is expected to make his weekly address from his Rome hospital bed on Sunday, the Vatican said today.