According to my copy of Apocalypse Wow! A Memoir For The End Of Time (Which does make the olive branch/Benedictine connection even though it was printed in 1997), Malachy left out Innocent III (1179-1180) and Benedict XIV of 1425, in his list.
This of course means that the current Pope is actually Peter the Roman and that Armageddon should start any time now.
Julian Simon, a conservative economist, used to get amused at people who babbled about the inevitable collapse of our society. And he used to make this offer, whenever he heard someone say “Our society will collapse within 5 years,” or “the world will end within 5 years.”
Simon would whip out his checkbook and say, “You really believe that? Here’s your chance to prove it: I’ll write you a check right now for $5,000- in return, you sign a contract saying that your house will belong to me January 1, 10 years from today.”
“If you really believe the world is going to be destroyed by then, you should jumpt at this chance. You’ll be getting five thousand bucks to enjoy right now, and you’ll never have to give me your house. Whaddya say?”
Simon never found any self-proclaimed prophets of doom willing to make that deal.
But maybe the religious nuts will be different. If you encounter one, make them Julian Simon’s proposition. Offer them fifty bucks right now, in exchange for a huge payoff after the end is supposed to come.
Let’s see how seriously they take the coming apocalypse.