Pope tells of sadness over bishop's murder
The pope today said he was “deeply saddened” by the killing of a Catholic bishop in Turkey but added it was not political and would not cloud his pilgrimage to Cyprus.
He said en route to the island that “this has nothing to do with the themes and realities of this trip.”
The pope began a sensitive, three-day visit to Cyprus just a day after the killing in Turkey of Bishop Luigi Padovese, who had been scheduled to meet him.
The bishop was apparently stabbed to death by his driver, a man who suffered from mental instability.
He said that “we must not give responsibility to Turkey or the Turks.”
The pope appeared to accept Turkey’s explanation about the killing, saying it was not “a political or religious assassination, it was something personal.”
