Chris Pinto, February 12, 2013

POPE BENEDICT RESIGNS Chris discusses the shocking news from Rome that the current Pope -- Benedict XVI -- has announced his resignation by the end of this month. This is the first pope in nearly 600 years to make such a decision, but what will it mean? While speculations abound as to who will be the next pope, it is important to consider that many Catholics and Vatican leaders have followed the so-called prophecies of a Catholic "saint" named Malachy for hundreds of years. Malachy is said to have foretold the number of popes from his time in the twelfth century up until the end of the world. According to his list, Benedict XVI is the second to last pope -- while the next pope after him is supposed to be named Petrus Romanus (Peter the Roman). The reign of this final pope is to see the destruction of the Catholic Church, along with Armageddon and the end of the world. Could any of this be true? How should Christians view this so-called prophecy? Is it merely fictional Catholic mysticism? Or is it possible that the Vatican could be manipulating world events to make it appear that such prophecies were being fulfilled in order to lend credibility to their own teachings?