1. The current Pope, as I write this in April of 2006, is Pope Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Ratzinger. In the prophetic list of Popes given by St. Malachy, Pope Benedict XVI is called “de gloria olivae” (from the glory of the olive). His reign as Pope will end with his death in either 2009 or 2010.
2. The next Pope is called Peter the Roman by St. Malachy. The prophetic name “Peter the Roman” does not mean that this Pope will be Italian, nor does it mean that he will have been born or raised in Rome. The name means that this Pope will emphasize the authority of the Roman Pontiff and the primacy of the Roman Catholic Faith. I think that Cardinal Francis Arinze will be Pope Peter the Roman and that he will take the name Pope Pius XIII.
Pope Peter the Roman will correct many errors that have entered into the liturgy and the Church, including giving inappropriate roles to women. He will expel homosexuals from the priesthood and the religious life. He will require that those who receive holy Communion believe and practice the Catholic faith. As a result of these corrections and requirements, many will leave the Church. Thus the great apostasy begins during his reign, when the vast majority of Catholic laypersons, and very many religious, and many priests, and a number of Bishops, and not a few Cardinals, will leave the Catholic faith. Some Cardinals, Bishops, priests, religious, and laypersons will try to set up their own version of the Catholic faith, in opposition to the corrections of Peter the Roman.
3. World War 3 will begin in the year 2010 with the explosion of a nuclear bomb in New York City by the Arab/Muslim nations of the Middle East and northern Africa; this group of nations will be led by the leader of Iran and the leader of Iraq. This war rages during the reign of Peter the Roman. There will also be severe civil unrest and civil violence.
During World War 3, as the Arab forces fight their way toward Rome, the Pope will flee from Vatican City. He will flee at night, carrying his own bag on his shoulder, under the walls of the Vatican, with other members of the clergy, and with soldiers to guard him. But they will be pursued and captured by Arab forces. He will be taken to Syria, put on trial, and an unjust sentence will be handed down against him. Then they will kill the members of the clergy who were captured, and some members of the clergy from Syria and the Middle East, while the Pope watches. Then they will blind him by putting out his eyes, so that their deaths will be the last thing that he sees. Then they will take the Pope (Peter the Roman) to Iraq, where he will be imprisoned, blind, until his death. No one will be able to rescue him.
4. The next Pope after Peter the Roman will be elected under controversy; there will also be elected an antipope.
The controversy occurs because most Catholics will have left the Catholic faith under Pope Peter the Roman, along with some Cardinals, many Bishops and priests, as well as very many religious, and the vast majority of laypersons. These heretics and apostates want to influence or control who the next Pope will be, so that they can have a Church which permits various errors, or which (they falsely hope) would approve of and teach such errors. On the other hand, the Cardinals and Bishops who remained faithful to the Pope also wish to elect his successor.
The controversy about the validity of the election also occurs because of the current rules for electing the Pope. These are found in the Apostolic Constitution “Universi Dominici Gregis” (UDG), which was written by Pope John Paul II and promulgated on February 22 of 1996. The rules require the election to take place in Vatican City. But because of the war, this will not be possible.
The result is two elections, neither in Vatican City, both under dispute as to their validity. I do not know which election occurs first, Election A or Election B. I think that the first election might very well be 'Election B' because the heretics and schismatics who support this election will want to fortify their claim to a valid election by being first. However, in the validity of papal elections, merely being first does not make the election valid.
Election A
The Cardinals and Bishops who generally remained faithful to the Pope will attempt to elect his successor, but not in Vatican City. Several of the requirements given in UDG for electing the Pope are not followed, including that the election does not take place in Vatican City, and that it begins more than 20 days after the death of Pope Peter the Roman, and that Bishops are permitted to participate in the election. Bishops are permitted to participate in this election due to the shortage of Cardinals present for the election, and due to the desire to emphasize that the election is an election of the true Pope by the true leaders of the Church.
One argument against the validity of this election is that it does not meet the criteria given in UDG for electing the Pope.
Another argument against the validity of this election is that a majority of the Cardinals did not participate; this lack of participation is only partly due to the fact that some Cardinals left the true Faith under Pope Peter the Roman; it is also due to the war, and the civil unrest, and the uncertainty in some Cardinals' minds about whether the election would be valid. Neither do a majority of the Bishops participate, for much the same reasons.
One argument in favor of the validity of this election is that it was held by those who remained faithful to Pope Peter the Roman. Another argument in favor is that the rules in UDG are not infallible teachings of the Magisterium, but non-infallible decisions of the temporal authority of the Church, which can be abrogated in grave circumstances by the Bishops and Cardinals of the Church.
Election B
This election is also not held in Vatican City, and it does not begin within the 15 to 20 days required by UDG. This election is influenced by many non-Cardinals, including many women, who will want the successor to Pope Peter the Roman to undo his changes and to even institutionalize their own liberal and heretical ideas. This election has a formal vote taken only by these Cardinals, most of whom had been unfaithful to Pope Peter the Roman; but in truth many persons who are not Cardinals, or who are not Bishops, or who are not ordained will have great influence over the elected successor.
These heretics even talk about electing a woman Pope, but they know that if they do so, their election will be seen as invalid. In truth, no woman can ever be validly elected to the office of Pope under any circumstances. So, in order to bolster their claim that their candidate is validly elected, they must choose a man. Also, once elected, this man will want to bolster his claim to be pope by the name that he chooses.
One argument against the validity of this election is that it does not meet the criteria given in UDG for electing the Pope.
Another argument against the validity of this election is that these Cardinals are in schism from the true Church because they parted from the authority of Pope Peter the Roman.
One argument in favor of the validity of this election is that the election more closely follows UDG than the other election. Another argument in favor is that this election, and those who hold it, and their views, are supported by (various estimates of) the majority of laypersons, religious, and/or clergy. They also will argue that these Cardinals are not really heretics or schismatics, since they were faithful to previous Popes.
Proposed Election C
Some persons will claim that both elections are invalid, because neither one follows the criteria set by UDG. The adherents of this point of view advise waiting until an election can be held in Vatican City and also advise that the Cardinal resolve their differences and come together to elect a Pope. This proposed election, in place of Elections A and B, does not occur.
One argument in favor of this proposal is that it would most closely follow the requirements of UDG, which they will argue still retains its force. Another argument is that it would unite the Cardinals and avoid division, repairing the schism before electing a new Pope.
One argument against this proposal is that a schism cannot be healed without the Pope, who is the Shepherd of the Church on earth. Another argument against is that it would allow the Church, perhaps for many years, to be without a Pope, due to the time it would take to be able to hold an election in Vatican City and to be able to unite the Cardinals.
The One True Pope
Of the two men elected to the office of Pope, one is the true Pope chosen by God, and the other is an antipope.
This antipope is not evil; he is not under the influence of the devil; he is not associated with, nor is he himself, the Antichrist. (The Antichrist does not arrive until the distant future). This antipope is a well-meaning man who sincerely, but in a somewhat misguided way, wants to shepherd the Church.
The true and valid election is Election A.
It is true that the rules in UDG are not infallible teachings of the Magisterium, but are merely non-infallible decisions of the temporal authority of the Church. Such decisions and rules of the temporal authority of the Church, even though instituted by Pope John Paul II and reinforced with the strongest wording, can be abrogated, validly and licitly, in grave circumstances. The war and civil unrest are the grave circumstance permitting the rules of UDG, concerning the time and place of the election, to be validly and licitly abrogated. The schism in the Church among the Bishops and Cardinals is the grave circumstance which permits validly ordained Bishops, who were not in schism from Pope Peter the Roman, nor in heresy from Magisterial teachings, to join those Cardinals, who are likewise faithful to the Pope and the Magisterium, in electing the successor to Pope Peter the Roman.
It is not necessary to the validity of this election for a majority of the Cardinals worldwide, nor for a majority of the Bishops worldwide, to participate by casting a vote. Decisions in the Church do not depend upon this type of majority or quorum, and valid elections of the Pope historically have not always had such a quorum.
Election A is valid because it was held by the non-schismatic Cardinals and Bishops, who (after the death of any Pope) are the de facto leaders of the Church on earth. Absent a Pope, the temporal and spiritual authority of the Church rests in those Cardinal and Bishops who are not in schism or heresy or apostasy.
Election B is not valid because it was held by schismatic Cardinals, and influenced substantially by heretics and apostates. The fact that this election more closely resembles the rules given in UDG is irrelevant because schism, heresy, and apostasy are much weightier considerations than any rules of the temporal authority of the Church.
The idea that neither A nor B is valid is an incorrect conclusion based on an overly-narrow and inflexible view of the rules given by the temporal authority of the Church. It is also based on an incorrect understanding of the role of the Bishops of the Church in exercising its authority, and their ability to make temporal decisions when the Seat of Peter is vacant and when grave circumstances require it. Also, some persons will prefer this point of view because they look at each elected claimed pope (A and B), and, having evaluated these two according to their own limited understanding of the Faith, they do not like either choice. Such a personal evaluation of the elected Pope is not the correct way to determine whether an election was valid. A validly-elected Pope might be sinful, or he might have views that some Catholics do not like, but such considerations do not affect the validity of the election.
5. God's Providence ends the controversy
During World War 3, after capturing Pope Peter the Roman, the Arab forces will capture Rome and Vatican City. But after this, the Allies will rally and retake the city of Rome. People will incorrectly think that this is a great victory and a turning point in favor of the Allies. Not so. It is preparation for a great defeat.
Each of the elected claimants to the papacy, A and B, that is to say, the true Pope (from Election A) and the antipope (from Election B) both travel to Rome and Vatican City to try to buttress each one's own claim to be the true Pope, who is the Bishop of Rome. They travel to Rome, after the Allies retake the city of Rome, despite the fact that World War 3 continues to rage on.
Then, because the Arab forces could not hold or recapture the city of Rome, they strike Rome, and what is left of Vatican City, with a nuclear missile in July of 2013. This attack is a great defeat for the Allies during World War 3. This nuclear attack kills both the true Pope and the antipope. End of controversy.
The election of the next Pope, after the nuclear missile attack on Rome kills the true Pope and the antipope, will not be so disputed.
by Ronald L. Conte Jr.
April 29, 2006
