Turkey Update 1 - Assassination attempt foiled

It appears that Turkey secret service have foiled a plan to assassinate German Cardinal Walter Kasper, who will accompany the pope during his visit to the country this week. Cardinal Kasper is the head of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and has been outspoken against Turkey's inclusion in the European Union.

Also, it looks like the popemobile will sit in the garage during this trip. He apparently will travel in an armour-plated car, with several lookalikes also on the roads as decoys. This story is quite interesting... officials (doesn't specify if they mean Vatican or Turkey government officials) apparently want BXVI to wear a bulletproof vest under his papal garments.

Whether you agree or disagree with the direction Pope Benedict is taking the church, you have to admit that he has guts.

While we should be praying intently for the pope's safety during this trip, there is an interesting related note regarding Pope John Paul II. He visited Turkey in 1979 and, thanks in part to massive security from the Turkish government, came home safely. A Turkish man did eventually try to assassinate JPII, but it was in the pope's backyard, so to speak, at St. Peter's Square two years after the visit.

Catholic News Service's John Thavis offers this interesting flashback of Pope John Paul II's visit to Turkey in 1979 and comparisons between it and Benedict's trip this week.