Tomorrow’s World is out with a commentary, hot on the heels of the white smoke:
With the election of Francis I of Argentina as leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, questions abound. Will he liberalize his church, perhaps relaxing the celibacy requirement for priests and seeking a greater Vatican role in the political life of Europe and beyond? Will he be the final pontiff before Christ’s return? Was his election in fact predicted by a medieval monk?
Click here to read the rest: “Francis I, Malachy and Malachi”
It is worth noting that Francis of Assisi claimed to see a vision while praying at the San Damiano cross in which (as it is supposed) Jesus told him, “Go, Francis, and repair my house, which as you can see, is falling into ruin.” Or, as others have stated it more concisely, “Francis, rebuild my church,” or even, “Francis, clean my church.”
Supposedly Francis of Assisi took that to mean he was to repair their church building there at San Damiano but then came to believe that he was, instead, to reform the church on the whole, as an institution.
[BTW: Hat tip to Mr. Rand Millich on that observation!]
Did Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio choose the name “Francis I”–a completely new papal name–because he sees his purpose as rebuilding (or cleaning) the Catholic Church in the face of its recent scandals of sexual misbehavior and back-stabbing politics? It all bears watching, to be sure. At 76 years of age, it is hard to know if this will be the last pope and, thus, the False Prophet of Scripture. I’ve heard that as a cardinal, Begoglio was a very humble man. It bears watching what he will do in the weeks and months ahead. (And, of note, he is not an antipope, having being chosen canonically. Those who say the last pope must be an antipope have no sure statement of Scripture to firmly back them up whatsoever.)
Meanwhile, I am sure heathen Malachy-addicts are busy heathenly scouring the heathen so-called “Prophecy of St Malachy”–likely a late 16th century forgery–to see if they can shoehorn poor Francis I in like they have so many others, desperate to make it work, or, else, making academic-sounding excuses why he doesn’t have to fit. Let them do so all they like. Heathen is as heathen does.
Again, check out the commentary: “Francis I, Malachy and Malachi”. I will take Malachi over Malachy, any day! And kudos to the Tomorrow’s World team for so fast on the draw!
Thoughts En Route 