Pope Potpourri
By Bret Burquest
On
As prescribed by traditional
ritual of the Catholic Church in these circumstances, the chamberlain entered
the room and asked the Pope, "Are you dead?" The chamberlain then
tapped the Pope's head with a silver hammer and repeated the question. Assuming
there was no reply, the chamberlain called out the Pope's baptismal name. With
no response from the deceased, the chamberlain officially declared the Pope to
be dead.
Pope John Paul II was replaced by
a German cardinal named Josef Ratzinger who dubbed
himself Pope Benedict XVI, not to be confused with Pope Benedict V who raped a
young girl in 964 and absconded to
As Pope Benedict XVI takes over, a
very curious process has been taking place in the procession of Popes.
Nearly a thousand years ago, in
1139, an Irish saint called Malachy met with Pope
Innocent II in
Saint Malachy
gave his list of 112 popes to Pope Innocent II who promptly stored it away in a
vault where it remained for more than 400 years until its rediscovery in 1597.
Although dismissed by some, Saint Malachy's
prophesies have been remarkably accurate right up to the present.
For example, Saint Malachy's descriptions of the last several Popes are listed
here.
Pope #108 – Malachy
described him as "Flos Florum"
which means "flower of the flowers." Pope Paul VI (1963-78) was
Giovanni Battista Montini whose coat of arms included
three flowers of iris.
Pope #109 – was termed "De Mediatate Lunae" by Malachy which means "from the half moon." Pope
John Paul I (1978) was Albino Luciani who was made
Pope on
Pope #110 – Malachy
called him "De Labore Solis" meaning
"out of a solar eclipse." Pope John Paul II (1978-2005) was Karol
Josef Wojtyla who was born during a solar eclipse on
The Malachy
prophesy for Pope #111, the present Pope, is "Gloria Olivae"
which means "glory of the olive." This may be a reference to an olive
branch which is the Biblical symbol of peace. Perhaps Pope Benedict XVI will
become a peacemaker between religions or nations in these troubled times.
Pope #112, the last Pope on the
list, is dubbed "Petrus Romanus"
by Malachy meaning "Peter the Roman."
According to the writings of Saint Malachy, "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, at the term
of which the city of seven hills [Rome] will be destroyed, and the formidable
Judge will judge his people. The End."
The end, indeed.
Jesuit priest Malachi Martin, a
close confidante to Popes for some 30 years and author of 16 books about
Catholicism, was a Dead Seas Scroll scholar and chief exorcist for the
Just prior to his death in 1999,
Father Martin claimed that this prophesy predicted terrible wars and diseases
that will wipe out whole nations, three days of darkness, violent tornadoes and
storms, and parts of the earth being washed into the sea. He believed this
would happen not long after Pope John Paul II (#110) passed away.
If your ambition is to become Pope,
you'd better get in line quickly. And if you're standing in line behind an
Italian named Peter, you may want to consider entering another profession, far
inland.
* * *
Bret Burquest is an award-winning columnist and author of four
novels. Contact bret@centurytel.net
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