Pope Gives Blessing For Publication Of His Last Testament
The Times, London
VATICAN CITY, Jan. 24, 2005 � The Pope is to publish his �last testament�, in which he will give his first account of his thoughts during the attempt on his life by a Turkish assassin in 1981.
The rare personal revelations will guarantee that the book, Memory and Identity, is an instant bestseller when it lands in bookshops around the world in March. Aimed at a global audience rather than just the Roman Catholic faithful, it is also certain to be hailed as the most important religious book of recent times.
Defying the old age and illness that have marked the final years of his pontificate, the 84-year-old Pope has written the 400-page tome in a question and answer format.
The personal and moving account of how he almost lost his life to an assassin�s bullet in St Peter�s Square on 13 May 1981 is in the epilogue.
�It has a very moving last chapter,� Lord Weidenfeld, the
multimillionaire tycoon who is publishing the book, said. �He describes the day of the assassination in detail. He found himself suddenly in the presence of death. He was aware, conscious that some guy was shooting at him to kill him. He describes what was going on in his mind.�
Mehmet Ali Agca shot the Pope while he circled St Peter�s Square before his General Audience. Severely wounded, he was operated on for six hours at Gemelli Hospital.
Four days later, he recited the Angelus from his hospital bed: �Pray for the brother who shot me, whom I have sincerely forgiven.�
In a deal negotiated by Lord Weidenfeld, who has spent 15 years on a quest for the book, which is written in Polish and Italian, the hardback will be published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson in March.
The Vatican says that the royalties from the Pope�s books are used for charitable and humanitarian projects. The book is described as an �autobiographical, philosophical and historical reflection on the
horrors of the 20th century and the Pope�s hopes for the new millennium�.
It will explore issues such as the nature of evil in society, the conflict between communism and capitalism, the evangelisation of Europe and modern democracy. (courtesy: The Statesman)
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