And he should know. Agca also called upon the Pope to resign. It seems as if almost everyone in the world, including Western leaders who should know better, wants him to bow before Islamic intimidation in one way or another. From the Evening Standard, with thanks to Mackie:
Pope Benedict faces a growing chorus of demands to make an unequivocal apology for remarks seen as portraying Islam as a violent faith, despite attempts by Western leaders and churchmen to defuse the crisis.
The calls came as it emerged papal hitman Mehmet Ali Agca, who is serving a life sentence for the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in May 1981, has written to Pope Benedict XVI from jail, warning him not to go to Turkey as planned in November in the light of his remarks.
Agca, a Turk gave his ominous warning in a letter to an Italian daily newspaper….
In his two page letter to leading Italian Rome based daily La Repubblica, Agca, who was a member of the Turkish terrorist cell the White Wolves, wrote: “Pope Ratzinger listen to someone who knows these things very well.
“Your life is in danger. You absolutely must not come to Turkey. Pope Benedict you must know that between 1980 and 2000 I was in contact with various Western intelligence services and with the Vatican.
“In those twenty tears I learnt many things and I came into possession of many classified secrets.”
The letter closed with Agca imploring Pope Benedict to resign for his own safety he wrote: “For your own welfare you must make a grand gesture of honour and resign.
“Then you must return to your native land (Germany) and in your place an Italian cardinal can be elected Pope, possibly (cardinal Dionigi) Tettamanzi or (cardinal Tarcisio) Bertone.
“Then the Vatican should become a centre of peace and fraternity. The world has a need of this it does not need hatred and vendetta.”
The hatred and vendetta is coming only from one side, Agca.