John Allen of the National Chismatic Reporter has an article on Cardinal PETER Turkson of Ghana who could well be the first Africa pope in many, many centuries. You can read it by pressing HERE.
Now, I am not one to spread rumors about St. Malachy's Prophecies, especially since I was wrong about the end of the world on my birthday, December 21, 2012 when the Mayan Calendar ran out, but do we need to add fuel to the fire of those trying to predict the last days by playing into their hands and naming as the pope someone who has the first name of Peter who will then move to Rome and become Peter the Roman? It would be fun, yes, but wise? no!
In case you don't know what St. Malachy's prophecy is, read the following by By Alan Boyle, Science [fiction?] Editor, NBC News:
...The text that's been attributed to Malachy came to light in 1595, in a book by Benedictine monk Arnold de Wyon. Supposedly, Malachy experienced a vision of future popes during a trip to Rome in 1139, and wrote down a series of 112 cryptic phrases that described each pope in turn. The text was said to have lain unnoticed in Rome's archives until Wyon published it.
Doomsday fans have found ways to link each phrase to a corresponding pope through the centuries. That includes John Paul II, who is associated with phrase No. 110, "From the labor of the sun," because he was born on the day of a solar eclipse and was entombed on the day of a solar eclipse as well. Benedict XVI, No. 111, is supposedly "glory of the olive" because some members of a branch of the monastic order founded by St. Benedict are known as Olivetans.
Then there's No. 112: "In the extreme persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there will sit ... Peter the Roman, who will nourish the sheep in many tribulations; when they are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The end."
The end? This could be the beginning for a doomsday meme that hangs over a whole generation, if it's taken seriously. There's already a 586-page book about the coming apocalypse, titled "Petrus Romanus." One theologian, Michael K. Lake, is quoted as saying that "Catholic and evangelical scholars have dreaded this moment for centuries."
In fact, the Catholic Church doesn't put any stock in the prophecies, for a variety of reasons. One of the biggest red flags is that no mention was made about the papal prophecies until the 1590s — not even by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, a close friend of Malachy's who wrote his biography and hailed his gift of prophecy. And then there's always the biblical dictum that no one knows the day or the hour for doomsday — a rule of thumb that works for believers as well as non-believers.
Most experts have concluded that the text was made up to boost a 16th-century cardinal's bid to become pope.
But if the coming papal conclave really wanted to drum up the doomsday talk, as well as sales for "Petrus Romanus," all they'd have to do is elect one of the leading candidates: Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson, a member of the Roman Curia. Even though church tradition would forbid any pope from taking the name Peter II, Turkson could arguably be described as Peter the Roman. Others suggest that he could be the "young red black one" mentioned in the similarly cryptic doomsday prophecies of Nostradamus.
Whomever the conclave picks, there'll surely be a way to connect him somehow with "Peter the Roman" — after all, isn't every pope a successor to St. Peter, based in Rome? "Any pope can be thought of as the latest Peter in the line," Tom Horn, one of the authors of "Petrus Romanus," said a couple of months ago on the "Coast to Coast AM" radio show.
22 comments:
Father, why are you provoking Pater Ignotus? This is all just fantasy. Any conspiracy against the Church is just fantasy. Freemasonry's Permanent Instruction of the Alta Vendita is just fantasy. The homosexual underground in the clergy is a fantasy. Lourdes is a fantasy. Fatima was a fantasy (and mass group hallucination). St. Faustina Kowalska's visions were all fantasy. The apparitions of Akita are just fantasy. The Eucharistic miracles of Lanciano and Orvieto are all fantasy. The notion that the image on the Shroud of Turin is an image of Jesus Christ is a fantasy. Transubstantiation and the Resurrection are both just...oh, never mind.
@ Chuck;
LOL!!!!! You nailed it! WoOt!
Well, Chuck, in my own fantasies, the College of Cardinals gives us either Burke or Ranjith. Though if they were to elect an older pope, I would be very pleased with the still vigorous Cardinal Arinze.
That is funny, "Church's Tradition would forbid any Pope from..." That was a mindset from earlier times...I don't think it exists anymore after the "changes" that Vatican II and Pope Paul ushered in.
Sorry to disappoint you, Chuck, but am unprovoked.
I don't think there is any "conspiracy" against the Church. There are people who disagree and/or oppose the Church's teaching, but the notion that there is a conspiracy is, I think, untenable.
Lourdes and Fatima and Divine Mercy are approved apparitions and worthy of belief, if one so chooses. Akita I don't know much about.
Eucharistic miracles are harder to judge. I don't know if they have been judged "worthy of belief," or if, in fact, there has been any formal judgment. I think the evidence on the Shroud points to a pious fraud, but I am open to evidence to the contrary.
Transubstantiation is a useful philosophical explanation of the miracle of the Eucharist, and the Resurrection is dogma.
Siri's "election" and subsequent rejection is, without evidence, a fantasy. As are the predictions of St. Malachy.
All joking aside, a truly Catholic fantasy:
http://www.christianorder.com/features/features_2004/features_feb04.html
Off topic: Father McD, I asked my pastor and musical director if they would have "God Bless Our Pope" as the recessional hymn at this weekend's Masses, in honor of Benedict XVI. They discussed it with the parish staff, and unfortuately decided not to use that hymn (too Catholic I guess for a typical Novus Ordo community). Will your parish be using "God Bless Our Pope" this weekend?
No worries Pater Ignotus. That's exactly the type of cold, dry, legalistic, minimalist rationalism I was expecting.
I haven't thought about Sunday as it is a Lenten Sunday Mass, but I might suggest to our music director that we sing "Long live the Pope" as our recessional in honor of Pope Benedict. However, we do have a special Mass for His Holiness on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 12 noon, two hours before his abdication at 2:00 PM our time and the following is the music from our St. Michael Hymnal for that Mass:
Introit Chant: hymnal #804, Tu Es petrus leading to the congregational hymn,
#619, “Long Live the Pope” with all verses!
Offertory: #705 Oremus Pro Pontifice
Communion: Lenten Antiphon and verses
Recessional : “Sing of Mary” #748 all four verses
Chuck - I have found that being reasonable is always a good strategy.
Or you might have them sing
God bless our Pope, the great, the good.
I might mention that my link above was intended, mainly for Pater Ignotus' amusement:
I will be known as Gregory Leo Pius I
Though it indicates why this might be the favorite new papal name for traditional Catholics.
Chuck, Ain't Ignotus a piece of work? LOL! He walks the fine line between belief and unbelief really well, don't you think? He could never be straight-forward with us on this blog. I pity his poor parishioners, at least those of them that do not know any better; others are there because they are like him.
Pin/Gene - Oh, I am a piece of work-God's work. As such, I do not skip mass when it strikes my fancy; (you do); I do not tell "jokes" that demean women (you do); I do not refer to African-Americans as a "feral minority" (you do); and I don't make anti-Semitic slurs (you do.)
Yes, I am a piece of work.
Fr. Kavanaugh, detraction is a sin. Is it beneficial in some way to continually and publicly point out things Gene has either publicly retracted (and publicly admitted he brought to Sacramental Confession) or attempted to explain?
I'm certainly not very good at avoiding detraction and even calumny in these comments (and elsewhere), so I point out the splinter in your eye is the same as the plank in my own. Perhaps lets all try to remember these things are sinful, even if they are done with the cloak of the Internet. Again, I say this more for myself than for your or anyone else's remembrance.
Ignotus, I do not skip Mass when it suits my fancy. You are a liar. When have I made anti-semitic slurs on here? I have no problem with either men or women telling jokes that reflect the unique quirks of each sex; you have no sense of humor. A high percentage of Blacks in this country (as depicted by your liberal media)behave as a feral minority. Truth is truth. You are a deceiver, a shape-shifter, a word twister. While I have no doubt that the Holy Spirit works through you when you are in persona Christi, every time you are in St. Jo's for a penance service, I still feel the floors and walls need to be scrubbed with Holy Water...
Marc - Pin/Gene defends his choices to demean women (they're just jokes), to skip mass (he wants to avoid "carnivals"), to make anti-Semitic remarks (he was just repeating what he's heard), or to refer to African-Americans as a "feral minority" (he cites the mayor of Atlanta as his authority). He has retracted nothing.
Pin/Gene - I do indeed have a sense of humor. It's one of the reasons I keep reading your posts!
Fr. Kavanaugh, I won't take issue with anything other than your assertion regarding Gene's intentionally missing Mass. He has on numerous occasions said he chose incorrectly, he went to Confession for this sin, he regretted it, and he wouldn't advocate others doing the same. Perhaps I missed something somewhere where he boasted about this, but I think his publicly admitting he confessed the sin and regretted it is enough to warrant your discontinuing using this as part of your public argument against him.
With regard to the rest of your points, Gene has given his explanation here. I know Gene in person, so I can evaluate what he intends as jokes. Since he likes to make these jokes and you find them offensive, I think you are within your rights to call him on it every time.
Again, I just disagree with your doing so about the missing Mass issue because of his particular public repentance of that sin.
As an aside, I'd pay money to see you guys meet in person. Since Gene teaches karate and is like 6 foot something and can ride a bike longer than I'm comfortable driving a car, my money is on him. :-)
I have no desire to ever meet Fr. Kavanaugh personally, and I am sure the feeling is so very mutual. I consider him to be an enemy of the Church and a wolf in sheep's clothing. He is discussed in Ephesians 6.
Regardless of Gene's leanings, if he views that a particular Mass is scandalous and that it would do harm to his soul, he obligated NOT to assist at it.
At that point he would bring it up with his spiritual director and/or confessor to gain the appropriate answer to his concern.
It seems, Fr. Kavanaugh, that you are quick to judge. I know many people who tell off-color jokes, I know many people who view blacks as minorities, when in actuality they are not, such as in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, where the black population is the greatest population 54% to the next largest which would be white at 38%. Or even Memphis, TN where the black population 62% and the next largest population is white at 32%. So, I would argue that we should stop referring to blacks as minorites, feral or otherwise. They simply are not. I would argue that whites should be supported by the ACLU and other civil rights organizations in said cities and other cities of the same makeup because the white population is now the defined minority. I suppose that will not sit with someone as "gentrified" as your good Southern self, now will it Father....
You do remind me so of Mons. Whittle from "The Cardinal."
If Gene is rough around the edges, so was Simon the Zealot, but he was an Apostle despite his leanings now wasn't he Father...?
I am of the same opinion as Marc, get that 2x4 out before you start looking for the splinters...it's unbecoming a holy priest of God, Father...
Regardless of Gene's leanings, if he views that a particular Mass is scandalous and that it would do harm to his soul, he obligated NOT to assist at it.
At that point he would bring it up with his spiritual director and/or confessor to gain the appropriate answer to his concern.
It seems, Fr. Kavanaugh, that you are quick to judge. I know many people who tell off-color jokes, I know many people who view blacks as minorities, when in actuality they are not, such as in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, where the black population is the greatest population 54% to the next largest which would be white at 38%. Or even Memphis, TN where the black population 62% and the next largest population is white at 32%. So, I would argue that we should stop referring to blacks as minorites, feral or otherwise. They simply are not. I would argue that whites should be supported by the ACLU and other civil rights organizations in said cities and other cities of the same makeup because the white population is now the defined minority. I suppose that will not sit with someone as "gentrified" as your good Southern self, now will it Father....
You do remind me so of Mons. Whittle from "The Cardinal."
If Gene is rough around the edges, so was Simon the Zealot, but he was an Apostle despite his leanings now wasn't he Father...?
I am of the same opinion as Marc, get that 2x4 out before you start looking for the splinters...it's unbecoming a holy priest of God, Father...
Andy - White Americans (non-Hispanic/Latino and Hispanic/Latino) are the racial majority, with a 72% share of the U.S. population, according to the 2010 US Census. Hispanic and Latino Americans comprise 15% of the population, making up the largest ethnic minority. Black Americans are the largest racial minority, comprising nearly 13% of the population. Yes, African-Americans are a minority race.
The ACLU defends people regardless of race. Many of the people they have defended have been white.
"Jokes" that demean women are not jokes. They are acts of violence, intended to damage, put down, or otherwise harm those who are the target of the "jokes."
ANY Catholic is obliged to attend mass on EVERY Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation. And I didn't go "looking for splinters." The owner thereof proclaimed there here publicly.
Fr. Kavanaugh,
If that is the case, why must we demean the White American for simply being that which he is? It is a fallacy and folly to detract one from the truth, by playing a game in which one must simply state that because one is in the minority one has less dignity. That is not the case.
The "Black Argument" went out the window long ago. It simply doesn't hold water. Blacks are not anything other than what they are, black. To label them as you just have pins them into a position where they do not belong. The Black man has risen to the highest levels of society since the end of the Civil War, yet it is the "bleeding heart" liberal who must continually tell him that he is beneath and must continue to "rise above."
Had the Black man realized this as soon as it was happening, much of this would have been avoided. But don't pin this on the White American. Pin this on the White liberal American who refused to let the Black man see what he was, an American.
To argue based upon race is passe. To argue based upon race is flawed. How can one argue that the Black man is in a less advantageous position, now that a Black man is the sitting President of these United States.
This whole feigning of racism, is a bunch of bunk. Racism is a crutch for the Black man to stay down, so that he can continue claim to be what he is not, despite what he has become. An American, who can acheive anything. Puhleeeeezzzee.
I am so sick and tired of minority this and minority that. If the Black man is a minority, why did my family move from Memphis to Iowa? Because my father, a hard working, driven and educated man could not move any further up the scale at Memphis Light Gas and Water....why? Because he was white and that was in 1980. Phssht. Incidentally, he finally did make it to being what he deserved. In a place where race had no meaning and in a place where a man could achieve what he was capable of, on merit, and not the color of his skin.
Racism my A$$. Get over yourself you snide, little, liberal man. Racism does exist...just not as you see it.
Oh, you better check your facts about the requirements of Catholic assistance at Holy Mass. You're wrong.
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