So... let's fasten our seat belts & begin this journey together -- if you will! In this first post I'll explain briefly how I got hooked on the so called magna quaestio. By this wording some people here in Italy describe the matter pertaining Pope Benedict's peculiar resignation and its (very relevant) consequences. Right after Confirmation, in my early teens, I decided to 'quit' the Roman Catholic Church and explore other religions, traditions, spiritual paths, and the 'ways of the world', as well. So, for almost 30 years, I didn't care much of what was going on in the Church -- in spite of having good memories of the 'old times', when I was a devout altar boy serving the Holy Mass celebrations & feeling fully part of the Christian community. During the 'covid saga' I began an in-depth study of the Bible. There were several passages (especially in the Book of Revelations, in the Gospels, in Daniel, and in the Epistles of the Apostles) that seemed to describe today's world with an amazing accuracy... behind a veil of symbolism. After further contemplation many dots started to get connected; so, while looking for further confirmations & trustworthy news, I began to follow Life Site News, as well. There I found this interview that gave me an introduction to the prophecy “The pope will go to Moscow. As soon as he returns to the Vatican, hostilities will break out in different parts of Europe.” From there I began to study the Garabandal prophecies; I soon realized they completed and fit in perfectly with my previous Bible study, while providing a much clearer picture of what was (is, and will be...) going on in the world. So giving the correct answer to the question 'Who's the real Pope?' suddenly became a very relevant matter. Having fought hard on the 'no vax' side -- as the establishment likes to call anti-[poisonous]-vax people here in Italy -- during the covid saga, the totally 'pro-vax' Bergoglio quickly turned into one of my sworn enemies. Then I really began to wonder & inquire what the hell was going on inside the Catholic Church. It really amazed me how much care & love Our Lady and Our Lord manifested for the Roman Catholic Church, in spite of the all the great mess going on within and without. By studying both the Garabandal and the Avola apparitions, along with many insights, I kind of re-discovered how sacred the Holy Church really is... to Them, at least! Coming back on earth, and soon realizing how 'sucked in' the hierarchy the Catholic ministries are, I was naturally drawn to look for real answers outside the 'politically correct' -- but actually strongly biased insiders, that cannot even question the legitimacy the 'Pope' without facing an ordeal. So I began to follow Andrea Cionci's YouTube webpage; he's an Italian journalist who inquired the magna quaestio as a layman for several years. We exchanged many private messages, as well. His understanding, in short, is that Pope Benedict XVI remained the legitimate Pope of the Roman Catholic Church until his death, since the declaratio itself cannot be considered a valid renunciatio. For several months I gave full credit to this thesis, also considering Pope Benedict's somewhat 'inappropriate' behavior as an ex-pontiff -- plus the fact that he never denied Cionci's viewpoint, even when he had a chance to do so. Actually there were several things that didn't quite add up in this 'new perspective', but there was certainly some truth in it, as well. After Pope Benedict's death some people previously cooperating with Cionci had strong disagreements with him and took their own, separate paths... One of them was brother Alexis Bugnolo. He figured that, after the canonical 20 days from Pope Benedict's funeral, the time had come to hold an election based on Apostolic Tradition. He justified the bypassing of Universi Dominici Gregis by the inaction and infidelity of the Cardinals. I somewhat liked his zeal, but since the chosen one was... once again Bergoglio (a heretic, schismatic usurper that neither repented nor recognized this 'second election') I could not accept the legitimization of Bergoglio through this initiative. Another one was Don Minutella and his followers. They disapproved the solution proposed by Cionci (to hold a new Conclave with the pre-2013 Cardinals only -- solution which I also found canonically unacceptable), but I found some of their claims (summarizing: 'We are the one and only Catholic Church left, the Vatican is utterly corrupted, avoid the masses celebrated by any priest who recognizes this corrupt hierarchy') divisive, offensive, and simply untrue. Archbishop Viganò also cooperated with Cionci, but much earlier and for a very short time only. I also (unsuccessfully) tried to get in touch with Viganò several times in the last few years. I really appreciated his 'activism' during the covid saga, but later I began to question his real motives, methods, and coherence. In spite of openly questioning the legitimacy of Bergoglio several times, he never seemed genuinely interested in solving the problem... but rather in exploiting the situation for his own 'political agenda'. So I found myself alone, having lost all my former 'allies', and with a heavy heart because -- without a real Pope on the horizon -- how could that Garabandal prophecy ever get fulfilled, so that humanity can move on? Felt like being stuck in a bad dream, with no way out... So I prayed, and asked God for guidance. I also wrote and shared a public prayer, inviting many religious people from several dioceses to join in. Nobody openly accepted my invitation (but perhaps someone joined in... silently). The prayer is basically a request to God to 'name' the legitimate Pope. In case the name is revealed, all those who get the answer are obliged to give a true testimony to this revelation, whatever the name is. And God replied... through a simple intuition later supported by many confirmations, sound rational reasoning, and indirect (yet solid) evidence. More on the next 'chapter'...
