c. The next Pope after John Paul II will take the name Pope Benedict XVI, in imitation of Saint Benedict and also of Pope Benedict XV. Just as Pope Benedict XV was an emissary of peace, so will Pope Benedict XVI be an emissary of peace. Just as Pope Benedict XV sought peace and spoke of peace and wrote papal documents seeking peace, so will Pope Benedict XVI do also. Just as Pope Benedict XV failed to achieve peace in the world, so will Pope Benedict XVI fail to achieve peace in the world. Just as the Pontificate of Benedict XV began prior to World War I, so will the Pontificate of Benedict XVI occur prior to World War III. After the Pontificate of Benedict XVI, World War III will begin. The Arab nations will threaten and attack the United States; they will threaten, attack, invade and conquer Europe; they will threaten, attack, invade and conquer the northern part of Africa. It is God's will.
d. Pope Benedict XVI will be like Saint Benedict, who lived in the fifth and sixth centuries. He will be a man dedicated to peace and holiness. There is another Saint Benedict, a well-known Saint called Saint Benedict the Black (il moro santo, the holy Moor). Pope Benedict XVI will also be like Saint Benedict the Black. Pope Benedict XVI will be a black man, like Saint Benedict the Moor. He will be a holy Pope, who reinforces the teaching of the Church in opposition to the errors of modern culture. e. Pope Benedict XVI is mentioned in Sacred Scripture, in a hidden manner.
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The Church will experience an event that will begin to transfigure the Church to greater holiness. Pope Benedict XVI will be Pope at that time. Very soon after that event, Pope Benedict XVI will suggest to the world that three booths, that is, three places, be built in Jerusalem: a Temple, a Church, and a Mosque. He will suggest that the city of Jerusalem become a place of peace and of worship for all three religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Luke's Gospel adds a comment about Peter's suggestion: ?not knowing what he said? (Luke 9:33). This suggestion of Pope Benedict XVI will not take place, at least not anytime in the near future. Instead of peace, war will break out. First a small war will occur among the Arab nations (A.D. 2009). Then, a great war will begin between the Arab nations and the western nations (A.D. 2010).
When the transfiguration of Jesus was completed, they arose and saw only Jesus. When the initial transfiguration of the Church is accomplished (by A.D. 2040), Christianity will be the dominant religion in Israel and in Jerusalem and in the world. When the transfiguration of the Church on earth is mature (in the mid 25th century A.D.), Christianity will be the only religion on earth. In that future time, everyone on earth will be a Catholic Christian.
f. Pope Benedict XVI will die prior to, or at the very beginning of, World War III. Therefore, he will die in either 2009 or 2010. His reign will be short, like the reign of the holy Pope who reigns after him. I am not certain when Pope Benedict's reign will begin. He must have some number of years in his brief reign, to accomplish his tasks of peace-making. He must therefore be elected soon.
The Second Pope After John Paul II
Pope #112 on St. Malachy's list is given this description: ?In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there shall reign Peter the Roman who will feed his flock amid many tribulations, after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the terrible judge will judge the people.? [6]
Why is he called Peter the Roman? The descriptions given for John Paul I and II were about their Pontificates, not about their lives before they were elected Pope. Will Peter the Roman be someone born in Rome or who grew up in Rome or who has spent most of his vocation in Rome? Perhaps. But I think it is more likely that the expression ?Peter the Roman? refers to his Pontificate.
As a description of his Pontificate, the phrase ?Peter the Roman? indicates that this Pope reaffirms the authority of the Pope over the Church, authority based on his place as a Successor of Peter. The expression also indicates that this Pope will reaffirm Rome as the proper seat of authority in the Church and require the faithful to acknowledge ?the holy, Catholic, and apostolic Roman Church as the mother and teacher of all churches.? [7] His predecessor, the Pope of Peace (Pope Benedict XVI), will emphasize the good in other faiths and the unity among all peoples. But Peter the Roman will emphasize the supremacy of the Roman Catholic Faith and the Roman Catholic Church above all other religions and denominations, and its authority over all Christians and all peoples of the world.
Perhaps this Pope will take the name Pope Peter II. No Pope has chosen the name Peter since Christ gave that name to Simon bar-Jonah, who became Saint Peter, leader of the Apostles and the first Pope of the Church. The choice of the name Peter by this modern Pope would reaffirm that the Pope is the Successor of Peter. On the other hand, he might not actually take the name ?Peter.? It could be that ?Peter the Roman? is merely an expression describing his Pontificate.
Some people think that Peter the Roman will be the last Pope ever and that the world will end during his Pontificate. No, not so! Peter the Roman is merely the last Pope on this list, not the last Pope ever. The time of Peter the Roman's Pontificate is described in Apocalyptic terms because His Pontificate will see the beginning of the events described in the Book of Revelation, especially the beginning of World War III (which is the first of the seven seals and the first of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse). But the events described in that last book of the Bible unfold over many years and the sufferings of Revelation do not reach completion until the mid 25th century. There will be many more Popes between Peter the Roman and the Return of Christ in A.D. 2437.
The seven-hilled city is the city of Rome, which not only has seven hills, but also is divided into seven Roman Catholic dioceses. St. Malachy is predicting that the city of Rome will be destroyed during the Pontificate of the Pope called Peter the Roman. My own interpretation of the Bible places the destruction of Rome and Vatican City in July of A.D. 2013.
The prediction of Saint Malachy that Rome will be destroyed has a dual meaning. It refers to the destruction of Rome and Vatican City during World War III, at the beginning of the lesser tribulation, and it refers to the destruction of Rome and the seat of authority in the Church at the beginning of the greater tribulation (about the year A.D. 2430, just prior to the start of the Antichrist's reign). That is why his prophecy says that God will judge the people, because both times that Rome is destroyed occur prior to the tribulation (which is divided into two parts), in which God judges and punishes the world.
Peter the Roman is also mentioned in Sacred Scripture. He will die a martyr, blind, in a prison in Iraq.
? 'And the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder in the dark, and shall go forth; he shall dig through the wall and go out through it.... And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare; and I will bring him to Babylon in the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it; and he shall die there.' ? (Ezekiel 12:12.13).
?So the city was besieged.... Then a breach was made in the city; the king with all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king's garden, though the Chaldeans were around the city.... But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and overtook him.... Then they captured the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, who passed sentence upon him. They slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in fetters, and took him to Babylon.? (2 Kings 25:2.4-7).
During the war of the Arabs against Europe (World War III), the Arab forces will attack Italy and Rome. At that time, in the year 2012, the Pope will be forced to flee the Vatican. He will have waited to long to flee successfully. He will carry his own baggage on his shoulder. He will flee ?by the way of the gate between the two walls? of the Vatican by night accompanied by members of the clergy (?the sons of Zedekiah?) and guarded by soldiers. They are able to get away from Vatican City, but they will not reach safety. They will be pursued by Arab forces.
The Pope and the clergy with him will be taken captive by the Arab forces. They will be taken to Syria (Riblah is an ancient city in Syria) and put on trial. The leader of Iraq (?king of Babylon?) will pass judgment against the Pope and the clergy who were captured with him and also some members of the clergy of Syria. They will slaughter these members of the clergy as the Pope watches. Next, they will put out the eyes of the Pope, so that the last thing he sees is the death of his fellow clergy. Then they will bind the Pope in fetters and take him to Iraq, where he will be imprisoned. The phrase ?yet he shall not see it? means that he will be held prisoner without being able to see the country in which he is held captive because he has been blinded. The Pope will die in a prison in Iraq with no one to rescue him. This Pope, Peter the Roman, will die a martyr for the Faith.
Ronald L. Conte Jr.
November 14, 2004
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