I do not think he's a saint, Padraig, but for the most part the media gushed over Pope Francis even more: the Freemasons praised him, while Francis himself raised concern in a number of doctrinal issues. You may want Pope Leo XIV to come out on Day 1 with guns blazing, but I would say that his true dynamic will be revealed before summer's end. Pope Leo XIV will be forced to push back hard if he has fortitude! This is my hope. Don't give up on him only a week into his Pontificate.
For your consideration… I saw a throwaway comment on a very different forum that Pope Leo was a “fast-tracked diversity hire”- which is about as rubbish as the place I found it, but it still made my gears turn a bit. He did come out of nowhere just a bit. A little further thought had me remembering this article: https://www.usccb.org/news/2025/pope-francis-said-mary-picked-his-burial-place-cardinal-says So, sometime in 2022 Pope Francis told the Cardinal coadjutor of Santa Maria Maggiorie he had no intention of being buried there, only to change his mind a week later because the Blessed Virgin had told him so. Then, in January of 2023, he yoinked Bishop Prevost from his previously sedate career path bouncing back and forth between Peru and the Augustinians (against the man’s own stated preference, mind you), made him an Archbishop and thrust him into the hierarchy as Prefect for the Dicastery of Bishops. I don’t think Bishop Prevost was on anybody’s radar in 2022, from what I can research, and then suddenly he was moved to a position where he couldn’t avoid being on everybody’s radar if the poor man tried. And scarcely 8 months later, the pope is creating him a Cardinal! If those aren’t the actions of a man driven by a tight deadline, I’ll eat my hat. I’m not one to draw conclusions from insufficient information, but it is certainly an interesting series of events to consider in light of how everything is playing out. A-
Steve Bannon has an interesting take on what went on. I DO NOT necessarily agree with what he says but here it is for our discernment. Only 2 minutes long.
It’s rather strange. Bannon actually predicted that Prevost would be elected ten days before the conclave. And he calls Prevost one of the most progressive cardinals and closest to the pope recently deceased. Again, his words not mine. Only 30 seconds long.
This might be hearsay. Keep watch and pray. I’m not sure I trust many sources. It’s too easy to say anything undocumented in a video, or even in print. And the comments section? Oy vey.
Here is something we can trust: what Bannon knows and what we know, the devil also knows. What we don’t know, the devil may also be uncertain of. But I do know Who does know
It could be interesting to know if any or all of the Cardinals packed their bags and had their domestic affairs sorted with a view to not returning home, before heading to the conclave.
Saint Paul told us that the man of sin will sit in the holy place, presenting himself as God; hence the concern of Padraig and other members about the possibility of a false pope fulfilling the abomination of desolation. After the Jewish sacrifices lost their effect and the Jewish temple was destroyed in the year 70, the holy temple became figuratively Christ Himself, who prophesied His own Resurrection by relating it to the rebuilding of the temple. The devil certainly cannot do anything against God in His power and splendor, but he can attempt to profane the Eucharist—the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ—the altars of the Church, and try to take the place of God in the human heart, which, in the faithful remnant, is a kind of unshakable sanctuary in the face of apostasy and the persecutions promoted by the world. I do not believe that the Antichrist will be an antipope, but rather someone with a genealogy linking him to the house of David or to the lineage of Muhammad, as this connects him to the prophecies regarding the Jewish Messiah and the Muslim Mahdi, respectively. However, the role of the false prophet could very well be fulfilled by an antipope. I do not believe that Leo XIV is this person, because he professed the Resurrection of Christ in his very first appearance to the public and affirmed both the divinity and the messianic office of Christ in his first homily.
Great clip in post 95, especially considering the fact that requested synodal reports by Pope Francis are due next month. How Pope Leo XIV responds to them will be key. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will guide our new Pope.
Our neighborhood in Shenandoah county didn’t have any flooding but areas in Warren county near us did, with some evacuations.
