Man who tried to kill John Paul asks to meet Pope

ISTANBUL, Nov 29 (Reuters) The man who tried to kill Pope John Paul II in 1981 wants a day's leave from jail to discuss theology with Pope Benedict, currently in Turkey, his lawyer said.

''I (Mehmet Ali Agca) asked the Turkish government to release me for one day so that I can discuss theological issues with (Pope) Ratzinger,'' Agca said in comments passed on by his lawyer Mustafa Demirbag at a news conference on Monday.

''I want to discuss with him religious and mystic issues,'' Demirbag quoted Agca as saying.

Agca is serving a sentence for the killing of a newspaper editor in the 1970s and for robbery and is scheduled to be released from prison in 2010.

The former right-wing gangster served 19 years in an Italian prison for his attempted assassination of John Paul, before being pardoned at the late pope's behest in 2000 and extradited to Turkey.

REUTERS YA ND1046