Cardinal Bernard Yago said Saturday a plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II was uncovered prior to a papal visit earlier this month, but denied Ivory Coast opposition parties were involved. The cardinal attributed the plot to a group based in Ghana, and condemned President Felix Houphouet-Boigny for disclosing details about the plot. ``He should have kept it secret. ... He has held political interests above those of the (Roman Catholic) Church,'' the cardinal said in rare criticism of Ivory Coast's leader of 30 years. The cardinal noted Houphouet-Boigny accusation's came as the president faced the nation's first multiparty elections on Oct. 28. The 85-year-old president did not name those he claimed were responsible for hiring mercenaries and former soldiers to kill John Paul when he visited Ivory Coast on Sept. 9-10. No attack was made on the pontiff. Yago said one assassination plotter had confessed to a parish priest, and said he was ``disgusted'' by Houphouet-Boigny's ``political use'' of knowledge that came from the confessional. Emile Boga, a leader of the opposition Ivorian Popular Front, called the assassination plot allegations ``a fabrication.'' The cardinal said the pontiff had been told about the plot before the visit. Earlier, chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro, asked about Houphouet-Boigny's claim, said, ``We never comment on such matters.''
