Tea at Trianon: Will a Future Pope Flee Rome?

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, February 13, 2015

Will a Future Pope Flee Rome?

From Catholic World Report:

Where will the Pope live when Rome falls to Islam?

It’s not an idle question. For one thing, there is historical precedent. Popes have been forced from Rome in the past. For another thing, numerous Islamic authorities have explicitly targeted Rome for conquest.

Rome may be the Eternal City, but it has seen rough times. In 846, for instance, Pope Leo IV had to briefly flee Rome when it was attacked by an Arab fleet. The following year, he ordered the construction of a great wall around the Vatican to protect it from marauding Muslims. Even as recently as the 1940s, Rome was occupied by a foreign army. Although the Nazis left the pope alone, there is no guarantee that that situation would have continued had the Germans been able to keep the Allied forces at bay.

If Rome ever falls to Islam, the pope—whoever he may be at that time—may choose to remain in Rome and suffer the almost certain martyrdom that would follow. That is up to him and the Holy Spirit. However, in light of the escalating Islamization of Europe, it would seem prudent for Vatican officials to draw up some contingency plans. If the pope chooses exile, it would probably have to be in North or South American since it’s unlikely there will be any safe havens in Europe. In fact, Italy is currently a safer place than many other European nations. Although many Muslim immigrants pass through Italy, it is not their first choice of residence. Other European countries offer much more generous welfare incentives than does Italy. Countries such as England, Belgium, France, Sweden, and Germany are likely to fall first.

By “fall,” I don’t mean that these countries will fall to Muslim armies. That probably won’t be necessary. What we will see—what we are already witnessing—is a slow, steady process of submission. Well, slow and steady up to a point—and then, a rapid acceleration.

Some places in Europe seem already to be in the rapid acceleration phase. Birmingham, England now has more Muslim than Christian children. “That means,” as Mark Steyn observes, “that absent any countervailing dynamic, its future is Muslim.” What will that future look like? Steyn comments:

If you’re a Muslim girl, the authorities will systematically turn a blind eye to forced marriages and honor violence and, if you’re a lower-class infidel girl, to “grooming.” If you’re boorish enough to draw attention to such unpleasantness, you’ll be committing a hate crime…

It’s not necessary to consult a crystal ball to see the future of Birmingham (England’s second largest city). The forced marriages of Muslim girls and the grooming of lower-class girls is already a reality in England. And so is the blind eye response. Most Americans don’t know about it, but it was recently revealed that over a sixteen-year period, 1400 girls in the city of Rotherham had been groomed, gang-raped, and traded by Muslim gangs—and all with the full knowledge of police, city officials, and child protection agencies. No one in authority did anything about it because no one wanted to be charged with “committing a hate crime” by singling out Muslims. (Read more.)

It is interesting speculation because there have been prophecies about the Pope fleeing Rome. According to Unveiling the Apocalypse:

Pope St. Pius X (1903-14): “Will I be the one, or will it be a successor? What is certain is that the Pope will leave Rome and, in leaving the Vatican, he will have to pass over the dead bodies of his priests!”(Before his death) “I have seen one of my successors, of the same name, who was fleeing over the bodies of his brethren. He will take refuge in some hiding place; but after a brief respite, he will die a cruel death. Respect for God has disappeared from human hearts. They wish to efface even God’s memory. This perversity is nothing less than the beginning of the last days of the world.” (Read more.)