Vatican: Conclave electing new pope could start before March 15th

 

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The conclave to choose Pope Benedict's successor could start earlier than expected, giving the Roman Catholic Church a new leader by mid March, the Vatican said on Saturday.

Less than two weeks away from a historic papal resignation, the Vatican also stressed again that the pope was not abandoning the Church in times of difficulties and urged the faithful to trust in God and in the next pope.

Five days after Benedict announced his resignation in Latin to a small group of cardinals, the Vatican was still in a state of spiritual and bureaucratic shock, groping for ways to deal with a situation without precedent for at least six centuries.

Some 117 cardinals under the age of 80 will be eligible to enter the secretive conclave to elect Benedict's successor. Church rules say the conclave has to start between 15-20 days after the papacy becomes vacant, which it will on February 28.

But since the Church is now dealing with an announced resignation and not a sudden death, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the Vatican would be "interpreting" the law to see if it could start earlier.

Cardinals around the world have already begun informal consultations by phone and email to construct a profile of the man they think would be best suited to lead the Church in a period of continuing crisis.

The Vatican appears to be aiming to have a new pope elected and then formally installed in a solemn ceremony before Palm Sunday on March 24 so he can preside at Holy Week services leading to Easter.

The 85-year-old Benedict was having as normal a Saturday as possible, considering that his remaining scheduled public appearances can now be counted on one hand.

The Vatican has been at pains to stress that the pope was leaving exclusively because of diminishing spiritual and physical forces and that the pontiff was certain it was the right thing to do and would not hurt the Church.

"Benedict is not abandoning us in times of difficulty," Lombardi said in his weekly editorial for Vatican Radio. "With confidence, he is inviting the Church to trust in the Spirit and in a new successor of St. Peter."

DETERIORATING HEALTH

Benedict's papacy was rocked by crises over sex abuse of children by priests in Europe and the United States, most of which preceded his time in office but came to light during it.

His reign also saw Muslim anger after he compared Islam to violence. Jews were upset over his rehabilitation of a Holocaust denier. During a scandal over the Church's business dealings, his butler was convicted of leaking his private papers.

Meanwhile, new details emerged on Saturday about the state of Benedict's health in the months before his shock decision.

Peter Seewald, a German journalist who wrote a book with the pope in 2010 in which Benedict first floated the possibility of resigning, visited him again about 10 weeks ago and asked what else could be expected from his papacy.

According to excepts published in the German magazine Focus, the pope answered: "From me? Not much from me. I'm an old man and the strength is ebbing. I think what I've done is enough."

Asked if he was considering resigning, the pope said: "That depends on how much my physical strength will force me to that".

Seewald said he was alarmed about the pope's health.

"His hearing had deteriorated. He couldn't see with his left eye. His body had become so thin that the tailors had difficulty in keeping up with newly fitted clothes ... I'd never seen him so exhausted-looking, so worn down."

Keeping to his schedule, Benedict met a group of Italian bishops and Guatemala's president on Saturday morning and in the afternoon was receiving caretaker Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti in a farewell audience.

Monti, a devout Catholic, is leading a centrist coalition in next week's elections but the Vatican says the farewell meeting has nothing to do with the vote.

On Sunday, the pope will hold his customary noon blessing from his window overlooking St Peter's Square before going into a previously scheduled, week-long Lenten spiritual retreat. He will emerge from that on Feb 23.

He will then say one more Sunday noon prayer on February 24, hold a final general audience on February 27. The next day he will take a helicopter to the papal summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, flying into the history books.

Vatican officials said he would stay there for the two months or so needed to restore the convent inside the Vatican where he will live out his remaining years.

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Additional reporting by Erik Kirschbaum, James Mackenzie and Tom Heneghan; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

source: http://news.yahoo.com/conclave-electing-pope-could-start-march-15-vatican-151630409.html

Pope Benedict to step down on February 28

Pope resigns, saying no longer has strength to fulfill ministry

WILL HE BE THE LAST POPE?

"In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock amid many tribulations, after which the seven- hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people. The End." 

Reuters/Reuters - Pope Benedict XVI waves during a mass conducted by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, for the 900th anniversary of the Order of the Knights of Malta at the St. Peter Basilica in Vatican February 9, 2013. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 

ROME (Reuters) - Pope Benedict said on Monday he will resign on Feb 28 because he no longer has the strength to fulfill the duties of his office, becoming the first pontiff since the Middle Ages to take such a step.

The 85-year-old pope said he had noticed that his strength had deteriorated over recent months "to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me".

"For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter," he said according to a statement from the Vatican.

A Vatican spokesman said the pontiff would step down from 1900 GMT on February 28, leaving the office vacant until a successor is chosen. [1]

(Reporting by Steve Scherer; editing by Janet McBride)

source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-benedict-step-down-february-28-110422132.html

 According to The Prophecy of the Popes, attributed to Saint Malachy, we are at the last one!



“Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope Is Here” the 900-year old Catholic prophecy which states the next pope will pave the path for the anti-Christ.

Approximately 900 years ago, Pope Innocent II summoned Saint Malachy, a popular archbishop, to Rome to update the Vatican on the status of Malachy's Northern Ireland diocese. Malachy made the arduous journey from Northern Ireland to Italy and gave his full report.

As he was leaving Rome to return to his church he had what he described as a “frenzied vision.” In this vision, Malachy was given the descriptive information of every pope that would ever exist, beginning with Pope Innocent II all the way to the final pope, Pope Petrus Romanus.

Malachy's vision tallied 112 popes, ending with Pope Petrus Romanus, and the current pope,Pope Benedict XVI, is number 111, which means there will only be one more pope.

Whether we choose to believe in the prophecy or not, states Horn, “It's historic in the sense that we have this medieval prophecy and the very next pope will be the last one on the list.”

When host, George Noory, asked Horn the significance of the prophecy and the last pope, Horn explained the prophecy states this final pope will be the pope who leads the church into the great Tribulation.

He then provided an English translation of the prophecy for the last pope:

"In extreme persecution the seat of the Holy Roman Church will be occupied by Peter the Roman, who will feed the sheep through many tribulations. When they are over, the City of 7 Hills will be destroyed and the terrible or fearsome judge will judge his people."

In his research for his book, Horn spoke with many Catholic theologians who believe the final pope will not be the anti-Christ, but he'll be a false pope, under the influence of Satan. Horn believes this final pope will be the person who steers the religious community into following a great political figure who will be the anti-Christ.

Horn's research also indicated that the third secret of Fatima, as well as other Marian prophecies, stated that the last pope would be affiliated with Satan.

According to Horn, Pope Petrus Romanus, or Peter of Rome, won't necessarily have to be named Peter. Every pope who ascends to the Throne of Peter becomes a direct descendant of Saint Peter. However, if the next pope is Italian, then the prophecy will be fulfilled.

But, why should this Catholic prophecy be of concern to people of other religions? If you're not Catholic, who cares if there's only one more pope or one hundred?

According to the prophecy this final pope will signal the beginning of the Tribulation period, the time when the anti-Christ starts coming into power. This will effect everyone on the planet, no matter your religion.

The 900-year old prophecy predicting the final pope is close at hand. Pope Benedict XVI, the current pope, is 85 years old and in very poor health. He himself has stated that he'll resign the office should his health prevent him from making the necessary decisions to run the Catholic church.

His brother, who is also a priest, is already encouraging the Holy Father to do just that. Pope Benedict XVI appears to be in good health but he's becoming frail and weak. He's almost always wheeled on a cart when greeting the public and has to be carried up the stairs. The College of Cardinals has already starting making plans for the conclave to elect the next pope.

Since it would appear the Pope Benedict XVI will soon be vacating the office, that can only mean one thing: The next pope is already here. The question we need to be asking is: Will he be the pope who triggers the Apocalypse?

The "Prophecies" of Saint Malachy

— (This article is presented as a matter of record and interest only, and NOT as fact) —

The most famous and best known prophecies about the popes are those attributed to St. Malachy, a medieval Irish priest and Kabbalist. In 1139 he went to Rome to give an account of the affairs of his diocese to the pope, Innocent II, who promised him two palliums for the metropolitan Sees of Armagh and Cashel. While at Rome, he received (according to the Abbot Cucherat) the strange vision of the future wherein was unfolded before his mind the long list of illustrious pontiffs who were to rule the Church until the end of time. The same author tells us that St. Malachy gave his manuscript to Innocent II to console him in the midst of his tribulations, and that the document remained unknown in the Roman Archives until its discovery in 1590 (Cucherat, "Proph. de la succession des papes", ch. xv). They were first published by Arnold de Wyon, and ever since there has been much discussion as to whether they are genuine predictions of St. Malachy or forgeries. The silence of 400 years on the part of so many learned authors who had written about the popes, and the silence of St. Bernard especially, who wrote the "Life of St. Malachy", is a strong argument against their authenticity, but it is not conclusive if we adopt Cucherat's theory that they were hidden in the Archives during those 400 years.

These short prophetical announcements, in number 112, indicate some noticeable trait of all future popes from Celestine II, who was elected in the year 1130, until the end of the world. They are enunciated under mystical titles. Those who have undertaken to interpret and explain these symbolical prophecies have succeeded in discovering some trait, allusion, point, or similitude in their application to the individual popes, either as to their country, their name, their coat of arms or insignia, their birth-place, their talent or learning, the title of their cardinalate, the dignities which they held etc. For example, the prophecy concerning Urban VIII is Lilium et Rosa (the lily and the rose); he was a native of Florence and on the arms of Florence figured a fleur-de-lis; he had three bees emblazoned on his escutcheon, and the bees gather honey from the lilies and roses. Again, the name accords often with some remarkable and rare circumstance in the pope's career; thus Peregrinus apostolicus (pilgrim pope), which designates Pius VI, appears to be verified by his journey when pope into Germany, by his long career as pope, and by his expatriation from Rome at the end of his pontificate. Those who have lived and followed the course of events in an intelligent manner during the pontificates of Pius IX, Leo XIII, and Pius X cannot fail to be impressed with the titles given to each by the prophecies of St. Malachy and their wonderful appropriateness: Crux de Cruce (Cross from a Cross) Pius IX; Lumen in caelo (Light in the Sky) Leo XIII; Ignis ardens (Burning Fire) Pius X. There is something more than coincidence in the designations given to these three popes so many hundred years before their time. We need not have recourse either to the family names, armorial bearings or cardinalatial titles, to see the fitness of their designations as given in the prophecies. The afflictions and crosses of Pius IX were more than fell to the lot of his predecessors; and the more aggravating of these crosses were brought on by the House of Savoy whose emblem was a cross. Leo XIII was a veritable luminary of the papacy. The present pope is truly a burning fire of zeal for the restoration of all things to Christ.

The last of these prophecies concerns the end of the world and is as follows: "In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock amid many tribulations, after which the seven- hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people. The End." It has been noticed concerning Petrus Romanus, who according to St. Malachy's list is to be the last pope, that the prophecy does not say that no popes will intervene between him and his predecessor designated Gloria olivoe. It merely says that he is to be the last, so that we may suppose as many popes as we please before "Peter the Roman". Cornelius a Lapide refers to this prophecy in his commentary "On the Gospel of St. John" (C. xvi) and "On the Apocalypse" (cc. xvii-xx), and he endeavours to calculate according to it the remaining years of time (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913).

source: 
[1] http://news.yahoo.com/pope-benedict-step-down-february-28-110422132.html

[2] http://www.examiner.com/article/catholic-prophecy-the-final-pope-is-here