- The 900-year-old prophecies of an Irish saint have suddenly
become new year's reading among Roman Catholics wondering who might be
the next Pope - and worried about Armageddon.
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- Bishop Malachy O'Morgair had a vision on a pilgrimage
to Rome in 1139 which prophesied that the successor to the current pontiff,
John Paul II, would be the second last to reign before the world ends.
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- Although not as widely known as Nostradamus, credited
with foreseeing major events including the rise of the Beatles and the
assassination of John F. Kennedy, Bishop O'Morgair has developed a huge
following, including several Web sites.
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- The current Pope is the 110th nominated in the Malachy
Prophesy, in which Bishop O'Morgair named 112 popes, the last of whom would
reign as the world came to an end.
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- Adherents say the prophecy is moving into its final phases,
triggered by plans by John Paul to prepare for his successor.
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- He will appoint 25 new cardinals as early as next month,
bringing the number of "red hats" to 120 - the number required
to elect a successor to the 80-year-old Pope, who has Parkinson's disease
and may be forced to step aside.
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- Each pope identified in the prophecy had a mystical title,
with the 110th described as De Labore Solis - "from the Labour of
the Sun" - and is taken by many to allude to the fact that John Paul
II is the son of a labourer, or a reference to his globe-circling missions,
or even that he was born on a total eclipse.
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- John Paul II's successor was described by Malachy as
Gloria Olivae, The Glory of the Olive. Wags link this with one of the front-runners
for the next election, the 73-year-old Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Carlo
Maria Martini (Martini and Olive on the Rock - of Peter, that is).
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- But some who believe in the prophecy relate it to the
Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and hence point to the Jew who is Archbishop
of Paris, Cardinal Jean Lustiger, 74.
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- Others claim it indicates an olive sprig bearer, a peacemaker,
such as John Paul's global troubleshooter, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, another
Frenchman, who is 78.
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- Still others see it as a reference to the Olivetan branch
of the Benedictine religious order.
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- The Prophecy says the 112th pope will be named Peter
II and his reign will coincide with Armageddon.
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- Malachy was a 12th-century monk who reformed the church
in Ireland, linking it more closely with Rome.
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- He presented his vision to Pope Innocent II, but the
prophecy was suppressed or forgotten and was first published in Venice
in 1595. Like those of Nostradamus, it is in code, and sceptics claim they
are fake.
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