BY VIVIANE HEWITT IN ROME
CARDINAL JOSEPH Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has confirmed that the third secret of Fatima does not predict the end of the world.
Of the three secrets, one predicted the Second World War, and the second foretold the collapse of the Soviet Empire. An secrets were confided by a vision of Our Lady to three young shepherds in Portugal on 13
May 1917.The phenomenon was particularly significant during this Pontificate because the date of the vision coincides with the 13 May 1981 attempt on the Pope's life in St Peter's Square.
John Paul H has always believed that his life was saved by the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima.
He has visited the shrine in Portugal as a pilgrim marking the anniversary of the shooting.
Fatima is the most revered shrine after Lourdes.