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May 02, 2012 - 02:00 PM Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope Is Here (Book) - Pope Benedict has turned 85 and is increasingly showing signs of frailty and fatigue. These observations have prompted speculation over whether he will be the first pontiff in seven centuries to resign. He is the only pope in living memory to discuss publicly the possibility of resignation and has recently said he recognizes he is now in 'last stretch' of his life'. Benedict is now the oldest reigning pope since Leo XIII, who died aged 93 in 1903. For more than 800 hundred years scholars have pointed to the dark augury having to do with "the last Pope." The prophecy, taken from St. Malachy's "Prophecy of the Popes," is among a list of verses predicting each of the Roman Catholic popes from Pope Celestine II to the final pope, "Peter the Roman," whose reign would end in the destruction of Rome. Tradition holds that Malachy had been called to Rome by Pope Innocent II, and while there, he experienced the vision of the future popes, including the last one, which he wrote down in a series of cryptic phrases. According to the prophecy, the next pope (following Benedict XVI) is the final pontiff, Petrus Romanus or Peter the Roman. The idea by some Catholics that the next pope on St. Malachy's list heralds the beginning of "great apostasy" followed by "great tribulation" sets the stage for the imminent unfolding of apocalyptic events, something many non-Catholics agree with. This will give rise to the false prophet, who according to the book of Revelation leads the world's religious communities into embracing a political leader known as Antichrist...................................... Love, Red from NM |