41 Comments

• LacarourSeanB | Jan 27, 2012, 10:38 AM EST

  Don't you mean Paul VI?

• seanomelbourne | Jan 23, 2012, 04:47 PM EST

  Have not popes or Holy roman emperors and other dictators "forcibly consigned religious beleifs to the margins" why give them a leave pass??

• IrelandNorth | Jan 23, 2012, 08:42 AM EST

  Wonder where Malachy stood on the clerical child sex abuse issue? Any paedophhilius sexualis back then in the middle ages, or was everything ship shape and above board. What can one say after 2,000 of spiritual diversion only: "Slan abhaile na papai. Go n'eiri an bothar libh. Agas dun an doras agas chur amach an solas tar eis sibhsie!"

• roryobrien | Jan 23, 2012, 03:46 AM EST

  Hi Gearoid 4, I'm curious as to how the Body of Christ is purging itself. I often fee like purging myself, especially after a night of heavy drinking. Should I take Espsom Salts or flagellate myself on a regular basis? Thanks for your advice.

• jonjoe22 | Jan 23, 2012, 01:48 AM EST

  think there is a good chance that it is true. This is what is bing told to Maria Divine Mercy at the moment, in her Divine messages . Check it out ;thewarningsecondcoming.com

• Gearoid4 | Jan 22, 2012, 07:41 PM EST

  The point made concerning certain murderous regimes, was to illustrate that societies which attempt to outlaw or forcibly consign religious belief to the margins usually end up as squalid, oppressive dictatorships. There was no intention to associate anyone of goodwill who does not have a belief in God or any deity with those particular horrible autocracies.

• seanomelbourne | Jan 22, 2012, 06:03 PM EST

  I find most atheist are humanist who respect life family and neighbours. To equate atheist(huhmanist) with Hitler,POL POT Stalin is scurrillous. what about the 100"s of murderous dictators like Franco,some popes,Salazar and so on, who slaughtered in the name of god.

• Gearoid4 | Jan 22, 2012, 10:22 AM EST

  What can you say about the perfect atheistic solution that Stephen153 has found for all of the World's problems which of course are caused by Religion? Yeah, let's get rid of all religion and setup an earthly paradise where everything will be hunky dory. People have tried to setup their versions of earthly utopias with no reference to a Creator God and they soon descended into dystopias e.g Nazi Germany, Stalin's Russia or Pol Pot's Cambodia. The French Revolution arrived at a constitutional system of government via indiscriminate executions and massacres of many thousands of innocent men and women. Is this what you call the triumph of Reason? It is a well known fact that Catholic organizations under the umbrella of Caritas International provides at least a quarter or more of all social/health care services around the globe. This is nothing more than the Church acting on the biblical imperative to care for the most vulnerable and downtrodden citizens in society. It is nonsense to state that religion is reserved for the those who cannot think. In fact, it is those who ponder deeply on the questions of the origins of the universe and the human species who cannot but come to the conclusion it is all the product of a superior, Supernatural,Intelligence. Scientists like Newton, Descartes or Pascal certainly thought so when they applied the plausible mixture of Faith and Reason. Those who betrayed the trust invested in them by the Church to carry on the work of Christ, have no further place in the priesthood and deserve the full rigor of the law. The legacy of the terrible scandal of child abuse will never leave the Church but It is globally at the forefront of implementing policies to prevent a recurrence. The majority of these crimes take place within the confines of the family or places like national school systems and have to be tacked as part of a broad-based approach.

• stephen1553 | Jan 22, 2012, 04:32 AM EST

  some of this BS about he end is near etc thrills me and most of my catholic friends. the end not of time but the end of the vatican. ................imnmoralized in the words of Diderot during the french revolution to break free of the cabal of king and priest...............Manking will be free when the last priest is strangeled with the (innards) of the last priest...............And Hitchens statement - religion poisons everythign..............Why - IMHO - it stops people from thinking, and gets them to believe silly things from an age of ignorance and superstition and powermongering Good night to all, a blessed day for all tomorrow that you will see how God and relgion are almost opposites

• stephen1553 | Jan 22, 2012, 04:24 AM EST

  Gearoid4 tells us how the catholic church gives us all kinds of social services etc............But all should remember that when something goes against their beliefs, it gives variants of the holy inquisition>.................What else would you expect of an absolutist religion, hardly different then Islam with its own absolute truths..................Oh that we could only lock up the vatican leaders and the Muslims in the same prison................It would make a xxxxx rated bloody mess but free humanity from both of these monsters...........BTW what gives with religon anyway - how many realize that Islam is also the church of the endless hidden molestation of children.................Kids are so often raped by isalmics that its like its a rite of passage.

• stephen1553 | Jan 22, 2012, 04:19 AM EST

  I think his prophecy is coming true, thanks be to God. ............God has sent us a Pope who UNexcommunicates Bishop williamson, a holocaust denier..................God has sent us bishops all over the world who renamed the vatican the "church of the endless HIDDEN Molestation of children" I note that a commentator said JP in 2000 appologized for the excesses (the mass murder of tens of millions of Muslims during the crusades).......................Much to little and much to late...................Any wonder why some muslims hate us - the crusades help to create the nuts who gave us 9-11 etc,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,As someone imoratlized re this kind of horrilbe scene............Societies have long memories..............The catholic church is perhaps the starkest example of how God and religion are `often 180 degrees apart.

• jamthecat | Jan 22, 2012, 12:04 AM EST

  Um, IowaMike, if you're going to claim to be a Christian, then you have to follow ALL the teachings of Christ. Like, y'know -- don't judge others. Like mind your own business. Or do you just pick and choose the parts of the Bible you like to work with? Like not having bacon with your eggs or ham at Easter? Like executing adulterers? Like not wearing a suit made from a wool cotton blend? Like forgetting Matthew 7: 15-24?

• Gearoid4 | Jan 21, 2012, 09:47 PM EST

  @DickMacken, First off, you seem to be regurgitating the same old, distorted, stereotypical stuff about the Crusades which some modern authors write about to disparage Catholicism and to sell books. Reputable historians of the period have given us a more nuanced and complicated picture than the simplistic one that you have. The vast majority of knights and foot-solders who left home and hearth to fight for the recovery of the holy places in the Holy Land, were inspired by a burning faith. Bloody atrocities were committed on both sides but such things happen unfortunately during conflicts. In 2000 the Late Blessed Pope John Paul 11 issued a formal historic apology for the past wrongs committed by members of the Church during such periods as the Crusades. The tired old canard that you give, which describes the Church as a profit-making, worldly body, does not stand up to scrutiny. The Catholic Church is the largest provider of health/social care across the World to the most impoverished and vulnerable communities, outside UN NGOs. Committed religious and laypeople continue to selflessly educate, provide medical aid and advocate on behalf of the oppressed They do it without fanfare or publicity. The Pope is the spiritual head of the Church that Christ founded and thus Rome is the spiritual centre. The Church is a supra-national body which transcends petty nationalisms. The Church recognizes the faults that stain the Body of Christ but will continue to reform and purge those wrongs from Her midst, as She is doing now under the present pope.

• Paullus | Jan 21, 2012, 08:29 PM EST

  I don't think we should be too concerned about the 'END!"There have been a number of prophecies concerning the end of time, and, so far, we are still here!I would not go to the mountain top, just yet for didn't Christ tell us no one will know when the end is coming? However, He did say that there will be signs and tribulations and when they come to pass, you better get your house in order~ However if 2012 or thereafter, has these signs, oh, well --start walking!

• dickmacken | Jan 21, 2012, 07:45 PM EST

  What a pity Irish Catholicism was not left in isolation!! We could hardly have done worse on our own! The church is now a corporate and worldly business venture- to equal the most irreligious corporation. It has chosen to worst part - and is paying the price. Why are so many commentators so much in dread of the Muslims / Islam? They can hardly do worse to us than we did to them in the Crusades! Rome has been a disastrous influence on world catholicism for many centuries. The Keys to the Kingdom as 'given to Peter' were not meant to be a carte blanche for Italians to treat the Catholic Church as a prestigious nationalist treasure and money-making tool. A sort of half-assed world domination in a limited spiritual sphere; a fifth column secreted in all catholic states, demanding loyalty to a foreign sovereign dictatorship. And a local church and clergy with an insatiable quest for money and material goods. Hardly the way of Jesus!! Hardly the way of the children of the Light! We need a reformation, again!

• Gearoid4 | Jan 21, 2012, 06:26 PM EST

  @Faberm1, The early Irish Catholic Church was not 'hijacked' by Rome but rather it was realigned to the continental Church in terms of structures and practices as in the great Synod of Whitby in 664 A.D. This was important as it stopped Irish Christianity from being isolated from the rest of Latin Christianity, which it was an integral part of. Christ Himself, gave the keys of authority to Simon Peter, His beloved apostle, to lead the Church on Earth during his absence.

• FrRichard | Jan 21, 2012, 06:03 PM EST

  The real reason he stopped is that he ran out of paper, which was a very precious commodity at the time. Talk about hocus-pocus!

• merefalow | Jan 21, 2012, 05:47 PM EST

  good

• faberm1 | Jan 21, 2012, 05:22 PM EST

  The Irish people long ago accepted Jesus and His gospel making us part of the catholic (universal) Church, Body of Christ. Our earliest leaders were the Culdee saints of old. In time, we were hijacked by a Roman institution in its greed for our money, our hearts, our children and our devotion. Rome has ruled us and abused us instead of giving us a peaceful home in which to exercise our simple Christian faith. Perhaps this prophecy will be true in that Benedict may be the next to last representative of Rome to rule over Christ's body in Ireland. Then perhaps we will be free to exercise our faith freely in the Savior Himself and not a man-made institution.

• seanomelbourne | Jan 21, 2012, 04:56 PM EST

  Malachi's prophecies are as relevant as Nostradamus. A whole lot of crap about nothing.BTW did Malachi foresee the popes sitting in Avignon.

• mamaginnty | Jan 21, 2012, 04:47 PM EST

  Irishphotograph, I agree with what you have said , and I also do not call myself RC, but catholic.

• mamaginnty | Jan 21, 2012, 04:36 PM EST

  Rome had the statement in front of them since 1590 and maybe before that, a along time ago. Do you not think that they would have kept the statement running true, picking a pope to go along with it. A great way of getting people to believe in it, from what I have learned about the vatican I would not put it passed them to do this. Funny how no one predicted the sort of men And women who would be running this church on the hill, full of child molesters ,physical and mental abuse, stealing and selling of babies, God did not tell them to do this. This is/was a cult calling themselves the servants of God. Any truth for 2012 may be the end of these servants of God more like. Brain washed we were, and some still are.

• Collette2 | Jan 21, 2012, 01:47 PM EST

  Phlutie, the prophecy of Garandabal is that many bishops are heading for hell, and taking many with them. I can already see that coming to fruiion.

• peterson | Jan 21, 2012, 12:45 PM EST

  Go to the Bible and read the scripture of Daniel and Revelation !!

• jjkleprechaun | Jan 21, 2012, 12:20 PM EST

  Dear Irish Photograph...it was not the Lord who took you away from the Roman Catholic Church...it was you who chose to leave because a number of situations did not meet your approval. The Lord would not lead you away from His Presence in Holy Eucharist or the Sacraments. Don't believe for a moment that the Holy Spirit has abandoned His Church...that would be calling God a liar. Fess up, IP, the RCC didn't play by your rules so you picked up your marbles and walked out. God did not lead you out...put the blame where it belongs. Blessings!

• tonhan4 | Jan 21, 2012, 11:41 AM EST

  Pope Pius VI (Giovanni Angelo Braschi) was in office between 1775 and 1799

• SeamusMor | Jan 21, 2012, 11:07 AM EST

  The Roman Catholic Church is 2000 years old, and it will still be around in 2000 more years. The process of attempting to prove prophecies is a bit like firing an arrow, then painting a bulls eye around the spot where it lands.

• kilgara | Jan 21, 2012, 10:56 AM EST

  One of the strongest arguements for the conventional church is the totally moronic postings by the hate-all-things -Catholic simpletons on this website.That these jerks manage to use a computer is a miracle.Crawl back under your rocks,

• Irishphotograph | Jan 21, 2012, 10:54 AM EST

  the comment below is why the LORD took me out of the Roman Catholic Church. The RCC fails at leading Catholics to Jesus as it promotes dead religion for 30 or so mins every Sunday. The same beating of the drum week in week out. Where Catholics learn nothing of the Christian Faith. The RCC built a man made religious system around the Good News. The Holy Spirit has long since flown away from the RCC due to Idolatry and false unscriptural teachings. Thank GOD I am no longer a Roman Catholic but a Catholic who shares the same faith as Saint Peter and NOT teach Muslims CAN attain Salvation in death. As the RCC teaches today.

• mrkennedy | Jan 21, 2012, 10:40 AM EST

  All you so called ex-Catholics, read what St.Padre Pio, who bleed in his hands each time while offering up the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and died in 1968 predicted. I expect most if not all of you will not take the time to read his statements because you already have a CLOSED MIND and don't want to consider you could be wrong!!!!!!!

• pounder | Jan 21, 2012, 10:26 AM EST

  Hogwash.

• IowaMike | Jan 21, 2012, 10:20 AM EST

  Mhichil, you said, "Considering the score card for the wholly roman church, it may be prosecution, not persecution-------- was Benedict predicted pedophillious interruptus?" To help you out what His Holiness Pope Benedict and the Church is now doing is "purgans pendophile clericis". What you need to do is "factis aliquid loqui tibi"

• IowaMike | Jan 21, 2012, 10:08 AM EST

  jimmybb, You may have been born into a Cathoic family but you were not raised Catholic! Challenge all repressive rules like, abortion is evil? Like, homosexual relationships are disordered? Like, the 10 commandments? Like, the Sacraments - you know confession, marriage vows, baptism, etc. So for you there are no moral absolutes, each person can do what-ever-they-want? That's called moral relativism........ I'm guessing you don't attend any Church because you don't want to obey those fussy teachings of Christ. Sorry for that.

• CitizenWhy | Jan 21, 2012, 10:06 AM EST

  "Peter Romanus" as the last pope (of any name) could simply mean the last Pope to live in Rome. Perhaps Rome will be destroyed and the Pope will have to decamp to London or Liverpool or Amsterdam.

• donal1951 | Jan 21, 2012, 10:02 AM EST

  I'd take St. Malachy's predictions with a grain of salt, although I found the article very interesting. Wasn't it Jesus Christ himself who said only the Father knows the time and the hour of the end of the World? Again, kudos to the writer. I did enjoy the story.

• SingleDonald | Jan 21, 2012, 09:55 AM EST

  jimmybb, Interesting perspective! At age 10, I had my first reservstions about Catholicism too! Up until that time, the only realistic "mortal sins" a child could commit were to miss mass on Sunday/Holy Day, or to eat meat on Friday. Then, the sisters and priests taught us that "impure thoughts" could also send us to hell!! Looking back, as an adult, I realize that this was one way people in "authority" can exert stranglehold control over their underlings: Say that a minor, or non transgression is a "serious offense"! My response is that people in authority should not be naive!! To many followers, that statement shows "my own naivete", as I risk the consequences of those "authority figures". I steadfastly say "no"! We must OPENLY challenge all repressive rules, and then contest any "discipline" which may follow! The powers that be should then realize that their stranglehold control won't work, and they will likely back off from their ego-maniacal ways.

• PhlutiePhan | Jan 21, 2012, 09:52 AM EST

  I zero in on the statement about the "seven hilled city" being destroyed. Our Lady of Fatima evidently said the same. There will be a great chastisement on mankind before the end which includes three days of darkness. It doth appear that radical Islam will be the "arm of perdition".

• mcdolan | Jan 21, 2012, 09:35 AM EST

  Well, it is predicted that the world will end 21st/12/2012. Could there be one more Pope between now and then? Not impossible. Sure hope that doesn't happen as want to see my grandkids before I go!

• antoman | Jan 21, 2012, 09:01 AM EST

  We'll all die roaring!!

• jimmybb | Jan 21, 2012, 08:25 AM EST

  born nraised catholic in eire but at 10 yrs old realised this religion was for lack of better words fake ridicolous bogus silly if i could figure it out at 10 yrs old why are people in denial if i was in my 60s or 70s during the churchs recent troubles id understand u were brought up with irisn catholic churchs dictatorship but u see it wasnt a n irish catholic church it was vatican an govt control really hope people of all ages have seen the light by the way am now 50 yrs old so i saw in early 70s that catcholism wasnt 4 me [no marriage no women ] stoneage phisophies

• mhichil | Jan 21, 2012, 07:45 AM EST

  Considering the score card for the wholly roman church, it may be prosecution, not persecution-------- was Benedict predicted pedophillious interruptus?