The man who tried to kill the Pope

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

Then, the violence of a gunman’s attack on a revered figure in white as he moved among his people in St Peter’s Square, shocked the Christian world.

The reasons behind Mehmet Ali Agca’s attempt to assassinate the Pope remain a mystery. Theories abound and each one is disputed by another.