Rowina (6
March 2013)
"To Gino on a last
pope who reigns during persecution"
Yes. the final Pope, according to St. Malachy, reigns
during a time of persecution of the church. The text from
Malachy does not say anything about the final pope being a bad
man.
I have posted this before. I would look up the exact text
but I'm in a rush today.
However, I am certain that the final pope, according to Malachy
reigns during a time of trouble for the church, and he is not
pinpointed as causing it. Obvious to us, the church is
already in a super mess. The final pope does not have to
bring it to fruition.
But this raises another point. You say Catholics and
Evangelicals are being tortured and killed together, and yet you
emphasize that they have differing beliefs. Yes, Catholics
and Evangelicals have some varied beliefs, but their core gospel
is the same. This is something which should be emphasized
to those who assume that all Catholics are spawns of the devil
and unsaved. I have met some born again Catholics, more
than a few.
Do they have a few differing beliefs from Evangelicals?
Yes, they ask Mary to pray to God for forgiveness for
them. Jack Hayford, the noted evangelical pastor,
stated that he thought
prayers asking Mary for prayers just got rerouted to God,
without harm. This may be a bit flippant, for it IS a
serious issue with us. We prefer not to go through the
Mary switchboard, but to go directly to God with our
prayers. But to say that something like this condemns
Catholics to hell is going too far, in my opinion.
Yes, Catholics sin, and big time! The priest scandal, the
abuse of children, the money-laundering in the Vatican, all
rotten! Sin indeed. Let me tell you a little
secret. We sin too.
I don't have to describe it to you. You already know it.
Catholics and Evangelicals, as well as the primary Protestant
liturgical churches have, in general, the same basic gospel
beliefs. In the Episcopal and a few other churches this is
summarized by the Nicene Creed, which is recited every Sunday by
the faithful in the congregations. It's the
"fundamentals."
Have some Episcopals and others departed from the
fundamentals? Yes. Pastors have denied the
resurrection of Jesus, for instance. A grave
scandal. Might I point out that this grave scandal is not
typically found in the Catholic church. It may be found in
the apostate priests we have heard about, for sure. It
could happen in any denomination. It happened in a church
I attended in Seattle--I left the congregation and let them know
why. It hurt to leave. I was leaving--again--my
basic network of friends.
My point must be clear...I don't have to hammer it in.
To get back to St. Malachy, he did not say the Pope at the end
times would be evil. He said there would be grave trouble
among the faithful, that the pope would be their shepherd in a
time of misery.
As for the name "Peter the Roman"--"Peter" is often used simply
to refer to any pope, as he follows in the steps of St. Peter,
in their tradition. The more important part of this
name is "the Roman". What does that refer to? Too
diffuse to know for sure but it could refer to a person
primarily having lived and worked in Rome, or born in the Roman
province.
It could refer to a pope, as Gino says, who takes the name Peter
as his papal name, regardless of his baptismal name. We
may find out soon if it means anything to us, when the new Pope
is chosen in a few days.