Papal Speculation

One of the blogs I frequent, Abbey Roads, recently had a post on locutions about a coming Marian Pope. If I may be so bold, I wager that if these locutions are authentic, then the Marian-Pope-to-be is none other than Francesco Moraglia.

 

Francesco Moraglia, Patriarch of Venice

I first came upon his name in Sandro Magister's article "Who Will Take Up the Keys of Peter". Take note: Magister is a highly respected Vaticanista (Vatican analyst), "well-regarded for both his acuity and his prolificacy." About him, Magister writes,

Not to mention the current patriarch of Venice, Francesco Moraglia, 60, a rising star of the Italian episcopate, a pastor of strong spiritual life and very much beloved by the faithful. His limitation is that he is not a cardinal. Nothing prohibits the election of someone who is not part of the sacred college, but even the highly credentialed Giovanni Battista Montini, although projected as pope in1958 after the death of Pius XII, had to wait until he received the scarlet before he was elected in 1963 with the name of Paul VI. 

 Unlike Magister, I would not easily dismiss Moraglia on the fact that he is not a cardinal. After all, if Pope Benedict XVI's resignation is the first in about 600 years, then the first election of a non-cardinal since Urban VI (over 600 years ago) can also happen.

In fact, from the perspective of the alleged locution, this works in his favor because it speaks of him being hidden:

I will not let him stay in the shadows (even though at present he is covered with the greatest of shadows and is hidden in my heart).

He will not come forward at first, even though he knows that he is chosen by God. He will wait until the discussion is concluded and the Cardinals are settled.

Other Characteristcs

He is distinctly Marian. In the Wikipedia entry, we read: "In 2008 he inaugurated the practice of diocesan Marian pilgrimage on the first Saturday of the month." Emphasis on the First Saturday of the month because the locution mentions a strong like between the Papacy predicted and Fatima:

He will have a Marian papacy, rooted totally in my promises, especially in the words that I spoke at Fatima.

He will be the pope of Fatima and bring to fruition all of the gifts of Fatima, just in time to prepare the Church and the world for the Satanic onslaught.

 Discussion on the locution aside, I find this to be such a breath of fresh air. Many give credence to the message of Fatima but not much weight, unlike Popes John Paul and Benedict.

The most telling, however, is his coat-of-arms.

 

See? Cum Maria Matre Iesu. With Mary Mother of Jesus.

Beautiful. Now I want him to be Pope.

PS. This is not an endorsment of locutions.org. The author of this blog faithfully submits to the Church, on whom rests the final decision on the authenticity on any revelation.

Meme

Don Bosco and the Dogma

Readers of reported revelations are familiar with Don Bosco's vision of the Two Columns. It is my firm belief that the chaining of the Barc of St. Peter to the column of the Blessed Virgin Mary pertains to none other than the solemn definition of the 5th Marian Dogma. There are several reasons for this. For one, on this column read the inscription "Help of Christians." This beloved title of Don Bosco refers to Mary as Spiritual Mother, which is exactly what the 5th Dogma seeks to proclaim. Whereas the first four dogmas refer to Mary's relationship to God and/or her earthly prerogatives, the 5th Dogma refers to Mary's spiritual maternity, or her relationship with us. Mary is the Help of Christians because she is the Mediatress of all graces as well as our Advocate, who pleads our case before her Son. She mediates all the graces of Jesus Christ because she participated, though in a subordinate way with Him, in the acquiring of these graces on Calvary. She is Mediatrix because she is the Co-redemptrix. 

What Bl. Pope John Paul II did in his Papacy was to steer the Barc in the direction of the Two Columns. He did this, for example, when he issued the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae in 2002, announcing a "Year of the Rosary", followed by a "Year of the Eucharist", announced in 2004. Pope Benedict XVI continued to steer the Church in this direction with Summorum Pontificum and the New Translation of the Holy Mass.

Yet the actual anchoring of the Church to these columns has yet to be fulfilled. It is one thing to steer the Barc in the direction of the columns (as the last two Popes have done) and another to anchor and chain them. Afterall, there is still chaos in the Church and the prospect of peace returning seems dim.

To chain something is to make it secure, and this is precisely what a dogma does. In the words of Fr. Peter Fehlner, of the Franciscans of the Immaculate,

"What is a dogma? A dogma is simply a teaching of the Church; in the narrower sense, it is a definitive, precise, unambiguous proclamation of the teaching of Christ by the Church.... It is so important in the life of the Church because without a clear understanding of the teaching of Christ, we are in the dark about God and his counsels of salvation. It is as simple as that. We have no other assurance except the teaching of Christ. And [if] we cannot be sure if we are arguing over what he said, what he meant, then the Church is paralyzed."