Bulgaria not behind shooting, says Pope

Speculation that Bulgaria was behind a 1981 attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II was dismissed by the pontiff himself for the first time yesterday.

On the second day of his trip to the former communist state, the Pope broke his silence on the subject, saying he has never believed that the Turkish gunman who shot him on 13 May 1981 in St Peter's Square was working for the Bulgarian secret services.

Mehmet Ali Agca, who was jailed for life for the shooting, claimed he was commissioned by Bulgaria on the orders of the Soviet KGB.

Agca later recanted but suspicions continued, despite the fact that an Italian court acquitted three Bulgarians and three other Turks in the alleged conspiracy for lack of evidence.

The shooting nearly killed the Pope, now 82. His statement after meeting President Georgi Parvanov was welcomed by Bulgarians. "I am extremely happy," Solomon Passy, the Foreign Minister, said. "For 20 years Bulgaria has been waging a tough battle to remove this unjust stain on the dignity of our people."

* The Pope has accepted the resignation of the American Roman Catholic Archbishop of Milwaukee, Rembert Weakland, 75, who is alleged to have sexually abused a young priest.