May 12, 1982 Catholic Priest Attempted to kill the Pope
Father Juan Mara Fernández y Krohn, a Spanish priest, attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II on May 12, 1982, while he was visiting Fátima, Portugal, in retaliation for Mehmet Ali Aca’s attack on St. Peter’s Square one year prior that left him unharmed.
The Pope was reportedly approached by Fernández y Krohn, who then lunged at him with a bayonet. But before he could really hurt the Pope, security quickly overpowered him and captured him. Fortunately, Pope John Paul II only suffered minor injuries from the assault.
Some years earlier, the priest had been kicked out of the clergy for holding radical ideas.
“Down with the Pope, down with the Second Vatican Council,” yelled Fernández y Krohn as he emerged from the crowd wearing a cassock. He then used a Mauser rifle’s 40 cm (16 in) long bayonet to stab Pope John Paul II. When they returned to the Vatican, there was blood on the floor, according to a pope’s assistant, thus he did harm him.
This incident continues to be a key one in papal security history and serves as a reminder of the dangers that public people, particularly religious leaders, confront and the value of security measures under these circumstances.
Furthermore, it demonstrates that, no matter how well-intentioned, our ‘good’ deeds could be interpreted in a different way. Therefore, everyone should learn how to manage expectations in interpersonal relationships.
John Paul II was attacked yet lived to bless the attempted murderer. Security took Fernández y Krohn into custody without a struggle.
Both canon law and Portuguese criminal law applied to attempted murder, and Juan Mara Fernandez y Krohn was required to provide an account.
After being found guilty of attempted murder, Fernández y Krohn received a six-and-a-half-year prison term.
He declared during his trial that he disagreed with the Vatican II reforms and thought that Pope John Paul II had collaborated with the Soviet Union or perhaps was a Communist spy aiming to infiltrate the Vatican. He said that the pope was unharmed. Fernández y Krohn was released and deported in 1985 following his release from a Lisbon prison after serving three years.
The culprit was subject to excommunication as a member of the Roman Catholic Church in accordance with Canons 1331 and 1370 1 of the Church law. When force is used against the pope, the punishment is applied immediately and without a hearing. Fernández y Krohn was excommunicated.
Not the First
May 13, 1981
Pope John Paul II was shot and critically injured while driving through St. Peter’s Square in Rome just before the commencement of his weekly general audience. Mehmet Ali Agca, a 23-year-old Turkish was accused of the shooting. He went on the run after the incident.
Four shots had proceeded from the barrels of his weapon, striking the pontiff in the abdomen with one bullet narrowly missing vital organs and the pope’s left hand with the other. The third round gravely injured 60-year-old American Ann Odre in the chest, and the fourth shot damaged Jamaican Rose Hill in the arm. Bystanders forced Agca’s firearm out of his hands, and he was held captive until the police arrived to make the arrest. The pope was taken by ambulance to the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where he received more treatment.
The pope had more than five hours of surgery and was reported in critical but stable condition after being evacuated by ambulance to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.
John Paul II was installed as pope in 1978, becoming the first non-Italian pope in 456 years and the former spiritual leader of around 600 million Roman Catholics worldwide. He was well-versed in seven contemporary languages, as well as Latin, and was seen as a world traveller who was not particularly shy in public. He apologised to his would-be assassin from his hospital bed four days after being shot. Prior to being discharged from the hospital after three weeks, the pontiff underwent a full recovery from his injuries.
Mehmet Ali Agca’s motivations for attempting to assassinate the head of the Roman Catholic Church were and still are a mystery. Agca joined the Gray Wolves, a right-wing terrorist organisation in Turkey, in the 1970s. As part of their effort to rid Turkey of leftist influence, the gang is accused of killing hundreds of public servants, labour activists, journalists, and left-wing activists. The Grey Wolves had tight links with right-wing politicians, spies, and police chiefs. A liberal newspaper editor named Abdi Ipekci was assassinated in Istanbul close to his home in February 1979. Mehmet Ali Agca was detained and accused of the offence. In November 1979, Agca broke out of a military jail while he was awaiting trial.
Pope John Paul II expressed hope that the Italian government would release Mehmet in 2000 in the late 1990s. The year 2000 was designated by him as a holy “Jubilee” year, with forgiveness serving as its cornerstone. The shooter was granted pardon on June 14, 2000 and extradited to Turkey for trial on other accusations of crime committed earlier.
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