ARTICLE: Ailing Pope Tipped To Win Peace Prize

[Murray Charters <mcharters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ailing Pope Tipped To Win Peace Prize
September 30, 2003

Rome: Pope John Paul II was the hottest tip as winner of this year's Nobel 
Peace Prize after the secretive committee
sealed its verdict to be announced in 10 day's time yesterday.

The Pope's appointment of 31 new cardinals on Sunday is being taken as a clear 
sign that "his days are numbered",
according to a Vatican insider. The 83-year-old pontiff's health has 
deteriorated sharply in recent weeks.

He has been suffering from Parkinson's disease for a decade, but speculation 
last week that he now also has cancer of
the intestine has not been denied.

Speculation about the Nobel prize has been further fuelled by the pontiff's 
deteriorating health.

The director of the independent Peace Research Institute in Oslo, Stein 
Toennesson, said he believed the Pope was the
most likely winner, even though he thought the committee wanted a Muslim winner.

"No Muslim candidate sent a message of peace in Iraq . . . to the same degree 
as the Pope."

The Pope was a stalwart, often fiery opponent of the war in Iraq. Despite his 
poor health he mounted a sustained
diplomatic campaign of resistance.

Rumours of the Nobel award came one day after the Pope made arrangements for 
what one insider called his "final
sprint".

It is the conclave of cardinals, meeting a fortnight after a Pope's death, that 
chooses the successor.

His October calendar is already crowded with important events, including the 
silver jubilee of his papacy on October 16
and the beatification of his old friend Mother Teresa three days later.

Those who see him close up report that his enormous energy is finally failing. 
He struggles to read aloud for more than
five minutes at a stretch and has lost a lot of his spontaneity. - Independent 
Foreign Service

SOURCE: The Mercury, Africa


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