Plane hijacked to protest pope's November trip to Turkey

Published: 2006-10-03

ROME (CNS) -- Two Turks hijacked a plane en route to Turkey to protest Pope Benedict XVI's planned visit to their country in November. After the Turkish Airlines flight carrying 113 passengers landed Oct. 3 in the southern Italian city of Brindisi, the hijackers had said they were prepared to surrender but wanted a message delivered to the pope, according to Italian wire services. The hijackers surrendered, and a passenger told Turkish television that one of the hijackers waved and apologized to the passengers, The Associated Press reported. The Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, told Catholic News Service that the Vatican was following developments closely. He said it was unclear what the hijackers wanted. Father Lombardi said the incident had not prompted reconsideration of the pope's visit, which is scheduled for Nov. 28-Dec. 1. In September at the University of Regensburg, Germany, the pope gave a speech in which his remarks on Islam caused widespread indignation among Muslims. Some of the harshest comments came from Turkey.

Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .