resign

Pope Benedict’s resignation: the fallout continues & Vatican is furious

Posted on February 23, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

It has been interesting to see the number of potential reasons surface for Pope Benedict ‘s resignation.

Did the pope resign due to a Vatican gay sex scandal? USA Today reports, “The Italian media is reporting that Pope Benedict XVI resigned after receiving the results of an internal investigation, delivered in a 300-page, two-volume dossier, that laid bare a sordid tale of blackmail, corruption and gay sex at the Vatican. The respected Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported Friday that the report stamped “Pontifical Secret,” contained “an exact map of the mischief and the bad fish” inside the Holy See. The newspaper said the findings of the nine-month investigation, headed by Spanish cardinal, Julian Herranz, with the assistance of Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi, former archbishop of Palermo, and Slovak cardinal Jozef Tomko, was delivered to the pope on Dec. 17, 2012. “It was on that day, with those papers on his desk, that Benedict XVI took the decision he had mulled over for so long,” the newspaper said.”

No, no, of course there is not a gay lobby inside the Vatican, the Vatican asserts, denies, and in all ways refuses to discuss, said The Guardian

Was it because of illness? The Pope may be much sicker than we thought. Pope Benedict had a pacemaker. The news of its existence shocked the world. In another shocker, the Pope apparently hit his head hard enough to break the skin, and has had a few resulting issues since then. But the Vatican predictably denies that it led to his retirement.

Or how about a good old money laundering scandal? The Times Union reports, “the Vatican has been accused for decades of secrecy in its financial dealings. The most famous was the Banco Ambrosiano scandal in the 1980s, in which the Vatican’s private bank — formally known as the “Institute for Works of Religion” — was implicated in money-laundering for the Sicilian Mafia. Since 2010, the Vatican bank has once again been caught up in a series of financial scandals, including $29 million being seized by Italian authorities and being placed on the U.S. State Department’s list of countries that are home to money laundering. Even J.P. Morgan closed one of the bank’s accounts this past year when the Vatican could not provide information about the large sums of money moving in and out of its account. In an attempt to clean up its finances in order to bring them in line with European standards and to get ahead of any future scandals, the Vatican has hired outside advisers to address their adherence to financial regulations. However, in a series of released documents now known as “VatiLeaks,” it was exposed that elements within the Vatican have continued to try to sidestep financial money laundering regulations that might threaten its banking operations.”

The Vatican is situated in Vatican City, a sovereign nation located in Rome, Italy. It is “a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome. It has an area of approximately 110 acres, and a population of just over 800. This makes Vatican City the smallest independent state in the world by both area and population.”

You must understand that the pope is an absolute monarch. He is elected by the Cardinals, but once elected, he assumes absolute power for life. The only other absolute monarchies in the world today are Swaziland, Brunei, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates which is a federation of absolute monarchies.

The Pope is the only absolute monarch in Europe.

The Vatican is increasingly furious that the world’s attention is turning from the papal resignation to what caused the resignation- in other words, digging up the scandal.

Vatican denies swirling rumors as pope prepares to step down
“The Vatican sought Saturday to tamp down rumors involving sex, money and gay priests that have been swirling in the Italian media and have been linked by some to Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to resign. The strongly-worded denial came on the eve of the pope’s last Angelus blessing, expected to draw huge crowds of the faithful, before he stands down on Thursday. Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone said it was “deplorable” that as the time for the Roman Catholic cardinals to elect a new pope approaches, a rash of “often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories” has appeared.”

“Last May Pope Benedict’s butler, Paolo Gabriele, was arrested and charged with stealing leaked papal correspondence that depicted the Vatican as a seething hotbed of intrigue and infighting.”

St. Peter’s Basilica

I want us all to understand something. The rumors of infighting, backbiting, betrayals and political jockeying are not unexpected. The cardinals who live in the micro-nation of Vatican city are living in a heated pot of intrigue, personal selfishness and depraved sin all within 110 little acres. How do I know this? They are not saved.

Picture “Survivor” on steroids, because the prize is an absolute monarchy in the wealthiest place on the planet. It is the world’s top prize. And competing for it are men who are whitewashed tombs, having an appearance of godliness but denying its power. (Matthew 23:28). If one is not under the grace of Jesus, one is under the control of satan, and these men are under satan’s influence. Of course there is a scandal, and of course men are willing to go to any length to obtain the prize. To think otherwise is to fail to understand sin.

The only higher prize than to be pope (in terms of unaccountability in power and living in immeasurable wealth) is the coming antichrist. The antichrist will have control of the entire planet, not just 1/7th of it.

One extreme of current speculation is that the pope would be a likely candidate for false prophet to the antichrist. (The Pope already IS a false prophet, but may morph into THE false prophet). The other extreme is that perhaps Catholicism all but disappears as the elements of Islam and Gnosticism and paganism dilute it so much into the one world religion (Revelation 17) that it is essentially gone. Who knows?

Pope Pius XII, in the papal mantum and wearing
the 1877 Papal Tiara, is carried through St. Peter’s Basilica
on a sedia gestatoria.

Whatever happens in the next three weeks will be interesting. Will the new pope be installed by Easter? He would have to be elected by March 17 and installed that day at latest, because installations only can occur on Sundays, and Holy week begins March 24 and concludes on Easter, March 31. On the other hand, the Lord may have in mind that there be no new pope, or something equally amazing. His works are mysterious and wondrous. I do not know what He will do in this situation but I know that it will be amazing, and perfect.

Keep watching this most interesting development.

forgiveness, resign, sexting, sin, weiner

Weiner to resign, but go easy on the chortles

Posted on June 16, 2011 by elizabethprata

NY Congressman Anthony Weiner is resigning today. I am glad for this.

Weiner has spent the last three weeks battling for his job, which is representing the people of his constituency. It might be said that he definitely failed the moral standard of proper representation. On May 27th, he posted a prurient photo of himself on his Twitter timeline, apparently making the mistake of publishing it to all 47,000 of his followers instead of to the young woman to whom it was intended privately. Oops.

Weiner’s first response was that his account had been hacked. Then attempts were made to shift the blame to “conservative bloggers.” Two days later, when reporters were pressing Weiner on the point, he refused to answer, even calling one reporter a ‘jackass.’ On June 1, Weiner went on national television and said that the photo was not of him. The boom was lowered on June 6th when Breitbart published more photos of Weiner sent to different women. He finally admitted that he did the deeds being reported. It turns out that he had contacted an underage girl, many times, and police investigated. A photo of his naked genitalia surfaced he’d sent to someone and was published on the web. He had sexted a porn star and then asked her to lie. Other women were coming forward to say that he sexted them also, one from the local area.

He said he had an “addiction.” His colleagues said he needed “help.”

The country was transfixed, giggling like junior high school boys and pointing fingers. An ethics investigation was ordered by the Speaker of the House. Allegations were made amid growing calls for a resignation.

Finally, three weeks after it began, it was over. Weiner quit today. Now he will return to the home that he shares with his pregnant wife, and try to pick up the pieces. All he ever knew was politics. No one knows what fallback plan Weiner has. I dare say, no one cares.

Let’s list the sins: adultery, lying, lewdness, profanity, abuse of power, child endangerment, dereliction of duty. Wow. That’s, that’s…just like a sinner. The default condition of all unsaved people is a sinful heart, mind, and soul. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. “[T]he mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God” (Romans 8:6) and ““But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Corinthians 2:14).”

What are we to expect from one who is dead in his sins? It is struggle enough when we have the aid of the indwelling Holy Spirit to avoid sin, as Paul well knew. (Romans 7:14-25). Without the Holy Spirit there is no hope to avoid the ever deepening descent into the pit of sin.

One wonders about the coming tortured silences inside the Weiner home tonight, as his embarrassed wife, pregnant and bulging with their child, considers her options. Without Christ, there will be almost 100% certainty of a divorce, adding another sin to the pile. With Christ, it will be hard enough for that couple…and their child.

We know the famous line in the bible, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7). Even those of us who have the Spirit in us because we repented and were forgiven, are sinners. I don’t like what he did, not one bit. I was disgusted personally and embarrassed nationally. But there is a cure for the sin nature, we can be cleansed and made a new creature in His likeness. Having so recently been on the side of the reprobate mind, at open hostilities with the Lord, I remember well the perplexing and unwanted draw of sin for a season, so sweet at first then so bitter. Yes, Weiner needs help. Yes, he has an addiction. His addiction is to sin and satan, and the help he needs is Jesus. I pray that many will pray for him and not mock him. Let he and his wife be bathed in prayer and let those Gospel seeds take root in them for a magnificent regeneration.

As John Bradford sat in his Tower of London jail cell in 1553, a reformer against the Pope, he looked down at the courtyard and saw a prisoner going to his execution. He famously uttered, “There, but for the grace of God, goeth John Bradford.” That phrase is an idiom now, shortened to “There but for the grace of God, go I.” At one time we Christians were all in chains, all being led to the execution and death of our spirit. But for the Grace of God we all go. But it is His grace that saves us. I pray that the grace of God shines on Anthony Weiner, a flawed, sinning, reprobate person in need of Jesus’ intervention as much as we all do, and did. So go easy on the chortles, and pray for the man instead.

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ahmadinejad, end of days. prophecy, gog magog, iran, resign

Are Ahmadinejad’s days numbered? Reportedly asked to resign

Posted on May 6, 2011 by elizabethprata

An Examiner article states that Arab TV has reported that the Iran’s Supreme Leader Khameini has asked President Ahmadinejad of Iran to step down. If true, it indicates a tightening of the strife that has burst onto the surface between the two over the last two weeks. I’d reported that Ahmadinejad was sulking for 8 days, after he had asked his chief to resign and that request was immediately vetoed by the Supreme Leader. Ahmadinejad did not like being vetoed and immediately went underground, dispensing with his public duties, canceling a trip to Qom, declining to make any speeches, and being absent from the Parliament.

Ahmadinejad’s absence from parliament was promptly decried by the Ministers, and 219 of the 290 wrote a letter to Ahmadinejad asking him to return to duties and cease his work-boycott and his unwillingness to submit to the Supreme Leader. No go.

Now there are rumors that Arab TV has reported last night that the President has been asked to step aside. Normally I wait to publish something like this on my blog, except that the rumor was picked up and reported by BNO Twitter News, the most reliable and fastest news outlet on the web.

In addition, in a strange piece yesterday I’d read in The Guardian (UK), Ahmadinejad’s closest allies were accused of practicing sorcery and communicating with unknown worlds, and arrested. It was reported:
“Ahmadinejad allies charged with sorcery”
Iranian power struggle between president and supreme leader sees arrests and claims of undue influence of chief of staff
Photo: “Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, who is described as ‘the actual president of Iran’ by allies of the country’s supreme leader.”
“Close allies of Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have been accused of using supernatural powers to further his policies amid an increasingly bitter power struggle between him and the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Several people said to be close to the president and his chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, have been arrested in recent days and charged with being “magicians” and invoking djinns (spirits).”

If Ahmadinejad resigns, you can bet that he will be replaced with someone even more fanatical. Iran (Persia in he bible) is prophesied to be an aggressor in the very last of the last days, sparking a war that trips the world over to the Tribulation. (Ezekiel 38-39). Stay tuned. If this much is made public coming from the tightly controlled and secretive Iranian nation, then more will surface and soon either Ahmadinejad’s resignation or the refutation of his resignation will be reported also. I am staking my opinion toward the resignation. I think Ahmadinejad’s days are numbered.
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