The Soviet Union sponsored a 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II according to an Italian commission, the Associated Press reported.
The report states the Soviets felt the Pope's support for the Solidarity Labor Movement was a threat to its communism.
"This commission believes, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the leaders of the Soviet Union took the initiative to eliminate the pope [John Paul II]," a draft of the commission's report says.
The report also cites a picture of a Bulgarian man in St. Peter's square at the time of the shooting. The man was previously acquitted of involvement in the shooting, lending credibility to accusations of Bulgarian intelligence services working for the Soviet Union.
The Soviet involvement theory has long been held by some, but never proved.
