YOU TELL ME

George Offerman

Catholics cannot help but feel somewhat overwhelmed or at least wonder what is going on concerning the resignation of Pope Benedict, the first one in over 600 years.  Of course, there is a lot of speculation on this matter, and in many senses of the word, it doesn’t really matter what the reasons are, because it is what is currently going on behind the scenes that seems to be taking on a life of its own.  Regardless of Pope Benedict’s health, the odds were that had he continued on in the Papacy, his time may have been very short lived anyway.  This is in no way an attempt to disparage the Pope, but merely to point out how the times have changed, and even matters that appeared to be written in stone are subject to change in these strange times.

I’ve been a follower of the prophecies of St. Malachy since I first was introduced to them by my pastor while in high school.  I was in the beginning stages of studies in Revelation, and my pastor told me about these prophecies when I told him that I believed I would live to see the fulfillment of Revelation in my lifetime (such youthful foolishness).  I found them intriguing, but remember thinking that someone had made them up recently to make them look accurate and then credited them to some guy that lived over 700 years ago.  I was most intrigued with the last Pope, who would be known as “Peter the Roman”.  I thought that there would be a good possibility that I would be alive to see this, given John Paul II had just taken the Seat of Peter, and we only needed two more popes after that.  But more importantly, I remember thinking this is a fairly specific prophecy, and St. Malachy would have to nail this one perfectly before I would believe in this.

Fast forward 35 years.  We now have a cardinal from Ghana named Peter Kowodo Applah Turkson who appears to be the ‘frontrunner’ in the upcoming conclave to elect a new Supreme Pontiff.  Despite being from Ghana, Turkson studied in the United States, and finished his Theological Studies in Rome, earning the nickname “Peter the Roman” from his native Ghanaians. On top of that, Cardinal Turkson has come out with a comprehensive plan on how to deal with the many dissenting factions and social problems that many in the church are looking for.  However, all is not rosy concerning Cardinal Turkson, as noted in this Wikipedia entry:

In October 2011 Cardinal Turkson called for the establishment of a “global public authority” and a “central world bank” to rule over financial institutions that have become outdated and often ineffective in dealing fairly with crises. The document, Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of a Global Public Authority was very specific, calling for taxation measures on financial transactions. It notes that “The economic and financial crisis which the world is going through calls everyone, individuals and peoples, to examine in depth the principles and the cultural and moral values at the basis of social coexistence,” it said. The document condemned what it called “the idolatry of the market” as well as a “neo-liberal thinking” that it said looked exclusively at technical solutions to economic problems. “In fact, the crisis has revealed behaviors like selfishness, collective greed and hoarding of goods on a great scale,” it said, adding that world economics needed an “ethic of solidarity” among rich and poor nations.[11][12]   Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Turkson 

Read below St Malachy’s prediction for the last pope:

The prediction in full is "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”

Read more: http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/St-Malachy-predicted-Pope-Benedicts-successor-will-be-last-pope-190715001.html#ixzz2KpC0LQzJ

We have the potential for a major conflict as Pope Benedict abdicates the Seat of Peter in about 2 weeks.  Soon, we will know if those in the Vatican, that have been trying to warn the laity and other clergy that dark forces have infiltrated and are on the verge of total control over the church are right.  Either way, we are entering a very dark period of time in world history, and it is way past time to remain vigilant and in constant prayer asking the Lord to reveal his will to us.