‘Peter the Roman’ appointed Vatican Secretary of State?

Long-time Vatican insider for National Catholic Reporter John Allen made some interesting observations regarding the newly appointed Vatican Secretary of State.

Late last week, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Pietro Parolin as the new Secretary of State. He is being applauded as an well-qualified and excellent choice for a number of reasons. Pietro Parolin was born in Schiavon, Province of Vicenza, in Italy. Having spent a number of years within the Holy See’s diplomatic service, he should be a great help to the Argentinian Pope Francis in navigating the affairs of the world as well as the affairs of Rome.

Allen felt the need to point out in his column Aug 31 column that “in effect, the Secretary of State under Francis may profile more as a chief of staff rather than a sort of ‘vice-pope.’”

…And then he brought up the prophesy of the popes:

Though being Secretary of State is a prestigious gig, a mini-boom of speculation on the Internet back in 2006 had Parolin in line for an even higher position. A note about the papal prophecies of the medieval Abbot Malachy posted on the Wikipedia website speculated that Parolin might be the Petrus Romanus, or “Peter the Roman”, whom Abbot Malachy predicts will be the last pope before the end of the world. (“Pietro” means “Peter” in Italian.)

Whether Parolin will ever be elected pope, and whether that triggers the apocalypse, obviously remains to be seen, but already this particular Peter is now a very big deal.

…Which got me thinking that maybe this papal prophesy isn’t dead.

Read more, in the full post at Dateline Zero: “Peter the Roman… ?”