An unconfirmed news report says that Turkish security forces have stopped a plot to kill a cardinal during Pope Benedict’s visit to turkey this week. The FOCUS news agency claims that extremists planned to assassinate Cardinal Walter Kasper, prefect of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity. No further details were given.
Kasper is a key figure in this papal pilgrimage, organizing the ecumenical meetings between the Pope and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. Evidently, Islamic terrorists, unable to penetrate the security coverage of the Pope, had decided that Kasper presented a softer target. If true, I’m grateful to Turkish security for stopping the attack.
It reminds me to redouble my prayers for the Pope and all who will either accompany him to Turkey or those who will go see him at appearances. At my parish today, we not only prayed for the Pope in the prayer intentions, but we were also given a prayer distributed by the Knights of Columbus who are encouraging all Catholics to accompany the Pope in a spiritual pilgrimage.
Technorati Tags:Catholic, Islam, Kasper, Pope, pope benedict xvi, terrorism, Turkey
