Human tide pays last respects to Pope

A swelling, ceaseless tide of faithful streamed past Pope John Paul's body yesterday in a day and night vigil that will culminate on Friday in the biggest funeral in Vatican history.

Secluded from the sea of humanity, the Roman Catholic cardinals temporarily running the Church met for a second day to discuss the elaborate funeral rites and the eventual election of a successor.

The crowds stretched as far as the eye could see, pouring up the broad boulevard that leads to St Peter's Square and into the basilica, where John Paul's crimson-robed body lay bathed in light, as visible and popular in death as he was in life.

The Vatican said up to 18,000 people an hour were filing past the cream bier, with the total for Monday and yesterday reaching one million and a further 600,000 expected today.

"It's a beautiful experience to be here and see how many people have come to bear witness to the passing of this great Pope," said 21-year-old Caterina Avantagiato, who had travelled up to Rome on a night train from her village in southern Italy.

The cardinals decided that the vaulted basilica should stay open until tomorrow night, when the Pope's body would be removed from the bier and laid in a plain cypress wood coffin for Friday's funeral.

The funeral rites will last three hours and will draw together kings, presidents and prime ministers, briefly united in mourning for the world's best known religious leader.

Up to two million faithful are expected for the service in an unprecedented salute for a man who helped bring down the Iron Curtain, travelled the world to spread his message and alienated some with his uncompromising orthodoxy.

Amidst the roar of praise, some dissenting voices stood out, accusing the late Pope of destroying democracy in the Church and alienating many with his rigid moral values. "The Polish Pope's internal policies were devastating," said Roman Catholicism's leading rebel theologian Hans Kueng, accusing John Paul of bequeathing his Church a "dead hand".

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said 91 of the church's 183 cardinals met in the Vatican yesterday. Only those cardinals under 80 years of age - 117 in all - will be admitted to the secretive conclave to elect a new pope.

Many voices are already been raised for the Polish Pontiff to be called "John Paul the Great" in recognition of a papacy that made him one of the world's dominating figures of his time.

But the unstinting praise angered some, notably in France, where critics accused the government of riding rough shod over the state's commitment to secularism by ordering that flags be flown at half mast in honour of the dead Pope.

Crowds continued to press towards St Peter's, carrying flags, crosses, pictures of John Paul and umbrellas to protect them from the sun on the crammed streets surrounding the Vatican.

"It's out of control. But everyone is so patient, so nice, it's a very peaceful multitude," a policeman said.

Gearing up for the arrival of more pilgrims and presidents than at any time in its history for Friday's funeral, Rome is erecting a defence shield that will include a no-fly zone and anti-aircraft missiles.

World leaders planning to attend the funeral range from US President George W. Bush to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, making the service the most star-studded in Vatican history.

Pope John Paul I's funeral in 1978 was attended by just 105 VIPs, with the US delegation headed by President Jimmy Carter's wife, Rosalynn, instead of the president himself.