Might Vatican Sex Scandals Fulfill Catholic Prophecy?

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TANZANIA: But Bishop Methodius Kilaini of the Bukoba Roman Catholic church, says although it is not the first time the sex scandal have rocked the church, Tanzanians are “not in any good mood about it and we are also feeling the pain.”

“It does not matter that this has happened so far away from Tanzania, the effects of such a big scandal are felt even here,” says the clergyman.  (Mchome E. Priests’ sex shame: What Tanzanian Catholics think about the unfolding scandal.  The Citizen, May 2, 2010.  http://thecitizen.co.tz/sunday-citizen/38-sunday-magazine/1641-priests-sex-shame-what-tanzanian-catholics-think-about-the-unfolding-scandal.html)

GERMANY: Nearly a quarter of Germany’s 25 million Catholics are considering turning their backs on their Church in the wake of the child abuse scandals, a survey published Friday found. The poll of more than 1,000 Catholics by the Forsa Institute published by daily Bild, found 23 percent of Church members said they were thinking of leaving.

Even among those who described themselves as devout, 19 percent were considering walking away, the poll found.

The findings come as the Church faces its gravest crisis of modern times, with decades-old claims of child sexual abuse by priests surfacing in Germany and around the world. (Catholics ready for Church exodus, poll finds. The Local, Berlin – April 23, 2010. http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100423-26739.html)

AUSTRIA: More Austrians than ever in history are expected to leave the Catholic Church this year.

Official figures from today (Thurs) show that 30,004 people left the Church in the first three months of this year, up by 42 per cent compared to the same time span of 2009 when more people than ever cancelled their membership.

These developments mean that between 70,000 and 80,000 Austrians are expected to leave the Church throughout this year after last year’s record of 53,216 people leaving the Church.

The image of the Austrian Catholic Church has suffered as hundreds of people come forward revealing how they were beaten or verbally or sexually abused by clergy and staff at Catholic boarding schools and other clerical institutions. Research by public opinion agency Integral showed earlier this year that 69 per cent of Austrians thought the Church was lacking in credibility in its dealing with the revelations.

A recent Karmasin poll showed that 57 per cent of Austrians are of the opinion Pope Benedict XVI should resign amid the sex abuse incidents across Europe were there a rule that enabled him to do so.  (Record 2010 Church exodus expected after whopping first-quarter figures. Austrian Independent, 22. 04. 10. http://austrianindependent.com/news/General_News/2010-04-22/2247/Record_2010_Church_exodus_expected_after_whopping_first-quarter_figures)

LOS ANGELES - The head of a Roman Catholic order that specialized in the treatment of pedophile priests visited with the then-pope nearly 50 years ago and followed up with a letter recommending the removal of pedophile priests from ministry, according to a copy of the letter released Wednesday.

In the Aug. 27, 1963 letter, the head of the New Mexico-based Servants of the Holy Paraclete tells the pope he recommends removing pedophile priests from active ministry and strongly urges defrocking repeat offenders. The letter shows that the Vatican knew, or should have known, about clergy abuse in the U.S. decades ago, said Anthony DeMarco, a plaintiff attorney in Los Angeles who provided the letter. (1963 letter indicates former pope knew of abuse.  Associated Press, March 31, 2010. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36123847/ns/world_news-europe/)

While nearly everyone is aware of the scandals, few people do seem to be aware that these scandals may actually help fulfill an old Catholic prophecy.

Notice the following written several centuries ago:

Venerable Bartholomew Holzhauser (Born in the 17th century, in Germany). The fifth period of the Church, which began circa 1520, will end with the arrival of the Holy Pope and of the powerful Monarch…The Great Monarch will come when the Latin Church is desolated, humiliated, and afflicted with many heresies (Dupont, Yves. Catholic Prophecy: The Coming Chastisement. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 1973, pp. 38, 114).

The recent sex scandels have humiliated the Church of Rome, which is referred to the as “the Latin Church” above (to distinguish it from the Eastern/Greek church). People leaving it may contribute to it being “desolated”.

The Great Monarch that the prophecy speaks about shares many similarities with the one that the Bible warns will rise up as the final Beast of Revelation and the the final King of the North in Daniel 11:21-44. If the above prediction by Holzhauser is correct, then it is possible that these sex scandals will be a factor involved in the humiliation of the Church of Rome for this time.  There are many other Catholic private prophecies that suggest a time when Catholics will not have much respect for their church, but after a time of trouble, this is supposed to change and an ecumenical version of that church is expected to rise up.

Perhaps it should be mentioned that some others have noted similarities between the Great Monarch and the coming Beast-Antichrist power. Notice the following:

The tradition of the Great King and the Holy Pope…first emerged from the Tiburtine Sibyl, a work that may date back to AD 380-400…Catholic writer Paul Thigpen warns, “Looking for the Great Monarch, then, who does not appear in Scripture, might lead to overlooking the Antichrist who does…It might even lead to…mistaking the Antichrist for the Great Monarch…” (Penn L. False dawn: the United Religions Initiative, globalism, and the quest for a one-world religion. Sophia Perennis, 2005, p. 420).

The Bible warns about a time when the Beast and False Prophet rise up.  These individuals share characteristics to the “Great Monarch” and an “antipope” foretold in various Catholic prophecies.

Whether or not there is any accuracy to these “private revelation”, according to biblical prophecy, we are very near the time when the “Beast” leader and “false prophet/Antichrist” will rise up.

The sex scandals may be a piece of the puzzle for certain end time prophetic events to line up.  The Vatican and its followers truly have found them to be “humiliating”, which is what Holzhauser seems to have wrote.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States?
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe?
Catholic Prophecies: Do They Mirror, Highlight, or Contradict Biblical Prophecies? People of all faiths may be surprised to see what various Roman and Orthodox Catholic prophets have been predicting as many of their predictions will be looked to in the 21st century.
Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? When does the six thousand years of human rule end?
The Antichrist Quiz Do you really know much about the Antichrist?

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