Planned attack on Pope! Turkish citizen in custody

Planned attack on Pope! Turkish citizen in custody

Current investigations indicate a planned attack on Pope Francis by a Turkish group with connections to “IS-K”, the branch of the Islamic State in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The incident is being taken seriously by various security agencies after a pistol was discovered in an abandoned trolley at the train station in Trieste on July 6, 2024. This weapon, a CZ Model 7B automatic pistol, caliber 9mm Luger, was equipped with a magazine and 14 cartridges. According to the report by Small newspaper There is evidence that this incident is directly linked to an assassination plot against the Pope.

A Turkish citizen was arrested by Interpol in the Netherlands and is being held in solitary confinement after his extradition, first in Milan and now in Trieste. The investigators suspect that he is connected to the suitcase left at the train station. The security incident occurs in a critical context, as Pope Francis, who took part in the closing event of the 50th Social Week of Catholics in Italy on July 7, 2024, died in April 2024 at the age of 88.

The Pope's health situation

In another aspect, Pope Francis is still in focus even after his hospital stay. He addressed the faithful for the first time since his admission on February 14th because of complicated bilateral pneumonia. In an audio message played in St. Peter's Square that evening, he warmly thanked the faithful for their prayers and blessed them. This message was delivered in Spanish with a broken voice and heavy breathing, prompting applause from the audience. The pope's condition, who has been in a Roman hospital for almost three weeks, was officially described as stable, but with a "cautious prognosis" given by the medical team, it was reported ZDF.

During his hospitalization, evening rosary prayers for the Pope were led by various high-ranking church officials in St. Peter's Square, amid speculation that the Pope might resign. Pope Francis has written to the faithful several times in the past and thanked them for their sympathy. This audio message is the first opportunity to hear his voice since medical treatment.

Interreligious dialogue and the call for unity

But Pope Francis' legacy extends far beyond his health challenges. In his speeches he has always reiterated that peace and unity among religions are of utmost importance. He condemned violence in the name of faith and called for cooperation between different religious communities. He demonstrated this particularly impressively during his trip to Iraq, where he brought together representatives of different faiths. In Ur, an ancient city considered the home of Abraham, he affirmed the importance of interreligious dialogue and made it clear that hostility and extremism do not arise from a religious soul, according to a report by Vatican News.

With his message of fraternity and the call to stop the production of weapons, Pope Francis has sent a strong signal for peace. These values ​​and the constant commitment to human rights and the basic needs of all people remain in memory and underline his constant desire for harmonious coexistence among believers.