Me and my friend have been studying the alleged prophecies of St. Malachy - beleive me, not something we do every day.
Malachy predicted every Pope from his own time up until the end and collpase of the Catholic Church - if you beleive this sort of thing he was correct with every guess, although from past experience i know that it isn't too difficult to find some way to prove a prophecy true so long as you try hard enough.
But to the point, me and my friend have been following a line of investigation to make a point in context - who will the next Pope be, according to the prophecies.
The crux of the prophecy is:
"De Gloria Olivae/From the Glory of the Olives: The Order of Saint Benedict has claimed that this pope will come from their ranks. Saint Benedict himself prophesied that before the end of the world his Order, known also as the Olivetans, will triumphantly lead the Catholic Church in its fight against evil."
If this information, combined with any knowledge you may have or be able to attain can lead to an answer - especially if it corresponds to a name on the list of suspected papal successors - would be greatly appreciated.
I know its a bit bizarre but... isn't this what Hatrack is for?
And plus, seeing how there are only two Catholic Popes supposedly left (according to St. Malachy) after John Paul II, isn't curiosity enough?
Thanks.
Proteus.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Interesting topic.
I don't know any of the players in Church politics, and I don't know how many knowledgeable people there are here on the topic.
Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
If even I, who live in a mostly Catholic country, don't care abouyt the next Pope, I wonder who will. I mean, even for a lot of Catholics the Pope means less and less.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Quick googling found 5 people considered "likely" to be selected Pope. 3 of them were the "most likely." I also found several statements to the effect that predicting the next Pope is near-impossible.
None of the articles identified the orders of the candidates.
Sorry.
Dagonee
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:If even I, who live in a mostly Catholic country, don't care abouyt the next Pope, I wonder who will. I mean, even for a lot of Catholics the Pope means less and less.
You say you live in a mostly Catholic country, but are you Catholic yourself?
I don't see the Pope meaning less and less to Catholics over here.
Dagonee
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Hm. He means less and less to most -- if not all -- of the Catholics I know. I suppose a more precise statement is that the Pope means less and less to less devout Catholics, and that Catholics in general are becoming less devout.
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
quote:Hm. He means less and less to most -- if not all -- of the Catholics I know. I suppose a more precise statement is that the Pope means less and less to less devout Catholics, and that Catholics in general are becoming less devout.
The collapse is nigh!
But seriously, I have not noticed this trend. The Pope's status for the Catholics I know (my family) hasn't decreased. Well... he isn't the godemperor anymore... but still the spiritual leader. But that doesn't mean people can't disagree with him. Happens all the time.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Just to take one specific example: I have often heard the sentiment "Well, the Pope can't tell me what to do with my body," regarding abortion and/or birth control. I would argue that, even fifty years ago, most Catholics would have said the Pope could. Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
Cool. Let's start the campaign now.
Olivet for Pope! Olivet for Pope! Olivet for Pope!
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
Well, the Pope still tries. But fewer people listen nowadays.
As for me, I am going to be heartbroken when JPII dies. Anyone who doubts his significance wasn't there at World Youth Day a couple summers ago when hundreds of thousands of people came from all over the world to see him, listen to him, and to chant his name in approval.
And the only name I've ever heard mentioned as potential next pope is Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. But he's not a particularly liberal person, she there's a lot of people who don't want to see him.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Sadly, of the four people I know personally who went to World Youth Day, three of them wound up "hooking up" and sleeping with a stranger they met there. *cringe* I'm reasonably sure that their admiration for the Pope has little to no impact on their actual sense of morality.
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
Today, in my Talmud class, a girl was wearing a t-shirt that said "POPE" across the front... and the professor asked her what it was. She said it was the name of her high school, it was an acronym for something, or something like that... and my professor said "Oh, I thought you just had high ambitions."
And then a girl yelled "I AM GOING TO BECOME THE FIRST. FEMALE. JEWISH. POPE!"
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