Rome Watch Summer 2005

The bells rang out in Rome, the "holy smoke" ascended from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and the Roman Catholic system has a new Supreme Pontiff in Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, known in liberal Roman Catholic circles as "The Enforcer" and "Gods Rotweiler". He is the first German Pope in a thousand years and not just a German but a Bavarian. Bavaria is the most devout and reactionary Roman Catholic province in Germany both religiously and politically. Bavaria's Wittelsbach monarchs suppressed the Reformation in the 16th and17th centuries and Bavaria is infamous as being the territory which produced Adam Weishaupt, the Jew-turned Jesuit theologian, who founded the Illuminati. It also was the birthplace of Nazism and the scene of Hitler's failed Munich revolt of 1923. In the book entitled Cardinal Ratzinger by John L Allen Jnr., we are told that the new Pope is:-

"Naturally and spiritually a Bavarian and is most comfortable in an All Catholic setting"

... Ratzinger was a member of the Hitler Youth Movement which we are told was compulsory.

... Deserted to the Americans in last days of World War II and was released by them in June 1945.

... His family are said to have been "anti Nazi" but his father continued to be a police officer until 1937 retiring on full pension, four years into the Nazi regime.

... Ratzinger rose rapidly through the priesthood and by Vatican Council II was seen as a liberal.

... He rose rapidly to become Bishop, Archbishop and Cardinal; travelling with Pope John Paul II to Poland in support of Solidarity.

... He became head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a modern name for the Holy Office or Inquisition, his task to suppress heresy and liberalism in the Roman Catholic church.

... He has opposed Turkish membership in the European Union in case it should dilute its "Christian" (Roman Catholic) character.

... His choice of the name Benedict supposedly goes back to Saint Benedict of Nursia who spread Roman Catholic monasticism in Europe and who was proclaimed by Pope Paul VI in 1964, to be the "Principal Heavenly Patron of Europe".

... BENEDICT XVI is a man to be observed in the coming days as we see Bible Prophecy fulfilled.

... BENEDICT V - 964 - who having dishonoured a young girl fled to Constantinople with the contents of the Papal Treasury. The pious church historian Gerbert called him:- "the most iniquitous of all the monsters of ungodliness." He was eventually slain by a jealous husband.

... BENEDICT VI 973 - 34 - the illegitimate son of a monk. Because of his depravity he was dragged to the Castle of Saint Angelo in Rome and strangled.

... BENEDICT VII - Another Pope who died in the very act of adultery at the hands of an enraged husband.

... BENEDICT IX 1032 - 44, 1045, 1047 - 48. He was unique in that he occupied the Papal Throne, three times and also that he became Pope whilst still a teenager. To quote one church historian he:-

"grew up in unrestrained licence, and shocked the dull sensibilities of a gross and barbarous age by the scandals of his daily life."

The "Child Pope" who was bi-sexual and dabbled in witchcraft was said by St Peter Damian to have been:-

"a wretch from the beginning of his Pontificate to the end of his life who feasted on immorality."

It is said that the young Pope lived in the Vatican Palace like a Turkish Sultan and that during his reign the Papacy reached the utmost depth of moral degradation, even hosting lavish orgies. At one point he even sold the Papacy for 1,500 pounds so that he could marry, but when his prospective bride turned him down he resumed office.

... BENEDICT XIII 1724 - 1732 scandalised the church by leaving everything to his corrupt "favourite" Cardinal Coscia. When he died the Roman populace rose up to the cry of "burn Coscia" and the Cardinal was imprisoned and fined.

... BENEDICT XVI is famous for deciding that a child baptized as a Roman Catholic against his parents wishes was a Christian and if he relapsed was to be labelled a heretic with all the penalties this entailed. In a letter to the Polish Hierarchy in 1748 he called a marriage between a Protestant and a Roman Catholic "a sacrilegious union."

SOME CHARACTERS THESE BENEDICTS!! AND RETURNING TO THE PRESENT POPE OF THAT NAME LET'S NOT FORGET THAT HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE VATICAN DOCUMENT "DOMINUS JESUS" WHICH BRANDED All OTHER CHURCHES AS DEFECTIVE - NOT CHURCHES IN THE TRUE OR PROPER SENSE.

You need to read "The Horrible Lives of the Popes" by Alexander Ratcliffe - Price £ 1.00/$2.00US (plus Postage) from Open-Bible Ministries

In a new book dissident Roman Catholic priest Pat Buckley lifts the lid on the passionate affairs and the scandals that flourish in the cloistered world of the Roman Catholic Church. In the book which will send shockwaves to the very heart of the Vatican, Pat Buckley claims from his own personal experience as a Roman Catholic priest that:-

In his ministry he has dealt with many women who were in relationships with priests. Six have had the priests' children and four had abortions and in two of these cases the priests paid for the abortion and travelled with the women to London for the termination.

Buckley claims to have encountered a number of what he calls "priest-nun" couples.

He says he has come across gay priests living together on the same presbytery (priest's house) and lesbian nuns having relationships in the same convent.

He claims that at least two other Roman Catholic priests one of them a Canon made advances to him.

That sexual relationships took place between young men training for the priesthood in Roman Catholic seminaries.

THESE ARE NOT THE CLAIMS OF BIGOTED PROTESTANTS. THIS IS THE TESTIMONY OF AN INSIDER

THE PROPHECIES OF THE BIBLE DECLARE THAT THIS SYSTEM - "MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT" IS "THE HABITATION OF DEVILS AND THE HOLD OF EVERY FOUL SPIRIT AND A CAGE OF EVERY UNCLEAN AND HATEFUL BIRD" - REVELATION 18:2

With not infrequent overflow into the Church of St. Peter, a historian records this fact with the comment that the Pope had "an unlawful herd" of more than twenty five young women who were in the Vatican each night dancing and otherwise "entertaining" the sovereign pontiff and the members of his staff. In addition to these festivities, "gambling and excesses of every kind prevailed". The Pope was unfortunate in having for his Master of Ceremonies and self selected biographer Burchard - "The man with a camera eye" who set down in his diary with unfailing accuracy, all details of events around the Vatican and in the chambers of the Pope. Few historians have had the courage to translate the ponderous volumes written in Latin by Burchard. Now however, the outstanding facts are available in PLAIN ENGLISH in book form.

Contains much hitherto unpublished information about this Borgia Pope who according to history WAS THE FATHER OF HIS OWN GRANDCHILD! Tells of his many romances, his seduction of innocent womanhood, and the murders he committed to gain his own selfish ends. Produces evidence to show that many, of the famous paintings and statues of the Madonna were posed for by the favourite mistresses of this Pope while illegitimate children of which he was the father took part of the Christ Child. John Bond, European Correspondent of The Fellowship Forum and recognised Authority on the Papacy, has spent years gathering material for this astonishing Volume. If you are interested in knowing THE FACTS order a copy of this book at once.

"In the Pillory" is beautifully printed in easily read text on fine quality book paper and is profusely illustrated with actual photographs taken in and around the Vatican by John Bond.

The following interesting letters appeared recently in the columns of our two daily morning newspapers. We felt they were important enough to reproduce for our readers.

Is Newbuildings the most sectarian village in Northern Ireland? This question was recently asked by the Irish News. Coalisland, Co Tyrone, I believe would beat Newbuildings in this dubious category. Coalisland is 95 percent Roman Catholic and a tiny minority of the population is Protestant. The town's tiny Methodist church, which has a congregation of about 12 parishioners, mostly elderly, must hold some sort of record for the number of attacks on it, from the subtle, broken window here and there, to the total destruction, requiring a rebuild on several occasions. Needless to say, these numerous attacks go unnoticed and unmentioned by the media. The Church of Ireland has also suffered, the church hall being destroyed in one attack. Protestant-owned businesses were targeted throughout the Troubles, being attacked and destroyed several times. Sadly, the bigotry doesn't end there. Older residents from the Protestant community who pass on or go into nursing care have their former homes burned to the ground, thus reducing their market value; ethnic cleansing is down to a fine art around Coalisland. If Newbuildings 'wins' the most sectarian village in Northern Ireland title, Coalisland will have been robbed.

MARTIN MANSERGH tries to justify his Irishness by spinning on the position of his Protestant friends in the Republic (Irish News, February 11). Mr Mansergh is wide of the mark in his view of the position of southern Protestants. Most of those, in border areas at least, feel brow beaten and cowed in the land of their birth. As a former resident, I visit Co Monaghan regularly and it hurts me to hear of "sectarian head counts" taking place at many gatherings. As guests at a mixed marriage recently we were shocked at a suggestion that many Catholics regard Protestants as morally "loose".

My sister who attended a convent school became romantically involved with a nice Catholic boy, whom she eventually married. During her courtship she was frequently pressurised by Catholic boys to convert to their faith and not listen to her parents if they objected. An older sister, who depended on me to escort her home from dances, often reminds me of an experience after a dance in Clones when I was beaten up by nationalists because I dared to escort my sister. Mr Mansergh suggests that Protestants in the Republic made little or no worthwhile contribution to the state. Patrick Kavanagh, a famous Monaghan man is, quite rightly, exemplified as a famous talent but there is little recognition that Henry Francis Lyte, wrote "Abide with Me" in Tyholland, Co Monaghan where he lived. My letters to Monaghan County Council requesting recognition of Lyte's contribution were completely ignored. Recently a Fine Gael TD has managed to gain recognition for Oscar Wilde's two half sisters, buried at Drumsnat Parish Church.

Like many Monaghan Protestants I considered a career in the RUC in the 1950s but after I received a brochure my mother was physically assaulted and told what should be done to her son. Obviously Protestant mail was subversive and my mail was censored. I have not been embittered by my experiences but I do not see how a person in Mr Mansergh's position can be so badly misinformed about how things really are. My claim to be Irish is equal to his but I do not pretend that everything in the garden is rosy. The Protestant population of the border counties still feels neglected and intimidated but now usually in more subtle and cowardly ways. What I have written refers to Co Monaghan but Protestants suffered in Cavan, Leitrim, Louth, Meath and many other counties.

An army Kitchen worker who murdered a Belfast priest has been jailed for life in Texas. The same jury in Wichita Falls convicted Ifren Ecobedo of murder after hearing that he strangled Fr Gerald Curley and dumped his body on a motorway in 1991.

Fr Curley (37), who was open about his homosexuality, met Mr Ecobedo in a bar earlier that night and had followed him home. The case took more than 13 years to come to trial. Police finally solved the case after matching Mr Ecobedo's fingerprints to the body. They followed him for several weeks and obtained a matching DNA sample from a cigarette butt he discarded. Ecobedo's lawyers had argued for a manslaughter verdict. However, District Attorney Ed lane said during closing arguments that it would have taken three to five minutes for Fr Curley to die and Mr Ecobedo had a clear choice to stop the strangulation if he wanted.

He said that Fr Curley had been dead for many years and his family in Ireland was left with the pain of not knowing the circumstances of his death. Fr Curley was a chaplain at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls. During his testimony, Ecobedo (45) said he met Fr Curley in a park earlier that night and the priest had followed him home. He said he still couldn't explain why he had strangled Fr Curley with the cord from a hair dryer. He put the body in Fr Curley's car and drove it to a motorway underpass, where he parked it and fled.

THE only car Pope John Paul II was believed to have owned is up for auction, and the seller expects it to attract bids of up to £2.5 million (€3.66 million) The light blue 1975 Ford Escort was originally bought at auction in 1996 for £54,000 (€79,000) by Illinois businessman Jim Rich, who is now sell ing it.

Dean Kruse, president and owner of auction firm Kruse International in Auburn, Indiana, said the car could bring a much higher price when auctioned next month. Rich said he remembers the day in 1998 when he took possession of the car. In the company of a translator, Rich handed Pope John Paul II a cheque, and the Pope handed Rich the car keys. Not much was said between the two, and Rich admits he was nervous.

"I handed him a cheque, and he handed me his keys, and I said,' Can I take a picture of you with the keys?' and he laughed."

The pope used the money he got for the car to fund the expansion of the Polish Pilgrim Home in Rome and for scholarships and expanding the Catholic University in Lublin, Poland.

Rich said the car comes with its original 60,000 or so papal miles, plus a couple of miles he put on it. He's debating whether to include the rosary beads that came with the car.

The car isn't much to look at, Kruse said, _and without papal provenance it would be worth £635 (€930) at best. But he said the pontiff did use it before and after he became Pope. Present Pope Benedict XVI's Volkswagen Golf was also sold recently.

Annie Maguire, one of the Maguire Seven wrongly imprisoned for nine years for running an IRA bomb making factory, has been awarded a papal honour. Mrs Maguire (68) who lives in Willesden, north London, was jailed in 1976 along with five members of her family, the youngest of whom was their 13 year old child Patrick, and a friend, solely on the basis of a forensic test. Sentenced to 14 years, she was released from prison in 1985 and in 1991 the Court of Appeal overturned their convictions. last February, Prime Minister Tony Blair issued a public apology to the Maguires and the Conlons, who are related, for the miscarriage of justice. They had always protested their innocence.

At the Sacred Heart parish in north London, Mrs Maguire, a great grandmother, was awarded the Bene Merenti medal by Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor. The prestigious accolade was bestowed on Mrs Maguire by Pope John Paul II three days before he died. Cardinal Murphy O'Connor said the Pope believed Mrs Maguire was "an example to others". "Her work for others, her strength as a woman and a human being, her constant faith, her remarkable ability to forgive these are the reasons why the Pope wanted to single her out and hold her up as an example," he said.

Parish priest Fr Francis Ryan said Mrs Maguire had retained "her faith and her dignity" through the darkest days of her - imprisonment.

"Annie always kept her dignity and her faith and she came out of prison, not bitter and looking for revenge, but forgiving," he said. "This was one of the greatest acts of injustice in the history of this country but Annie somehow managed to forgive. This is a great honour but knowing Annie, who is a very modest woman, she will be highly embarrassed at all the attention!"

"This is fantastic news for Annie and our family is truly delighted. She really deserves this."

The SDLP's Margaret Walsh, who campaigned for the Prime Minister's public apology, said it was a fitting end to a tragic story:

"Annie Maguire deserves this medal and I wish her all the best for the future."

Annie and her husband Paddy, who died in 2002, were jailed for 14 years, while sentences of between four and 12 years were imposed on their two sons Patrick (13), Vincent (16), Mrs Maguire's brother Sean Smyth, brother in law Giuseppe Conlon and neighbour Patrick O'Neill. It was alleged that they had passed nitroglycerine to the IRA to make bombs. The trial came two years after the Guildford and Woolwich bombings which were among the most high profile atrocities carried out by the IRA.

In spite of the fact that Roman Catholics have an alternative in the more moderate Nationalist Party - S.D.L.P.

In spite of the fact that the I.R.A. and Sinn Fein are inextricably linked together

An increase on their vote in both the European and Northern Ireland Assembly Elections

It is not the aim or intention of Rome Watch to incite hatred of Roman Catholics but rather, by use of International Press reports already carried in newspapers, to show the religious and political advances of the Papacy in the light of Bible Prophecy, which foretells an end-time World Religion, Government and Economy.