Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who shot and wounded Pope John Paul II in 1981, was released from a Turkish prison today.

Agca was released from Italian prison in 2000, after being pardoned at the Pope’s behest; Pope John Paul forgave his would-be assassin in 1983 after meeting him. In Turkey, Agca, who had been a member of a Turkish nationalist group, was sentenced to serve another 10 years for the murder of a newspaper editor in 1979 and also for two robberies in the same year, The Guardian reported.

Agca’s mental health has long been questioned, given his bizarre outbursts and frequent claims that he is the new messiah, The Guardian said. In a statement issued on his release from prison, Agca said, “I proclaim the end of the world. All the world will be destroyed in this century. Every human being will die in this century… I am the Christ eternal.” The 52-year-old is undergoing a medical assessment to see if he is fit for Turkey’s compulsory military service, the BBC reported.

It remains a mystery why Agca attempted to kill the Pope: According to the BBC, Agca first claimed to be acting alone, but has since changed his story several times, including claiming that he was ordered to do it by the Bulgarian secret service. Agca has promised to explain the reason of the attack in the next few weeks. However, the BBC doubts if the real story behind the attack will ever be known: Agca has changed his story so often that it is unlikely that his next statement will be convincing.

Pope John Paull II was shot and badly injured on 13 May, 1981, by Agca. Photo credit: Tyler