The Pope

They also do irony in Turkey.

Pope gunman grief-stricken over John Paul's death.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca, who gravely wounded Pope John Paul in a failed assassination attempt in 1981, was grief-stricken over the Pontiff's death, Agca's brother said on Sunday.

Agca, now in an Istanbul prison, was mourning the loss of "a great friend", the gunman's brother Adnan Agca told Reuters.

I don't really want to say very much on the death of the Pope. I gave up on my religion about 15 years ago and it was Church of England not Catholicism. It was a tough decision, harder than even my family may realise and I'm sure I'll write more on it.

Pope John Paul II was something of a dichotomy. He obviously loved humanity greatly and felt its pain. He was a man of peace and compassion. He visited Mehmet Ali Agca in prison, forgave him and they became friends. He built bridges between his faith and the C of E when he visited Britain in 1982. But he was a conservative and his stance on abortion, contraception and the role of women in society and the church was at odds with many of his followers.

Men of his strength are rare. I hope he is at peace.