Hello Steve,

[..]

>LL>It has long been a desire of popes for reunification with the
>LL>Orthodox church.

>SA>I haven't specifically followed this issue, as it isn't prominent
>SA>in Oz.

>LL>It has been a dream of Roman Catholic pontiffs for a thousand
>LL>years.

SA>Hmmm... I wonder if the various Orthodox Metropolitans (etc) shared
SA>the same dream. Even in Oz, there is occasionally a small scale feud
SA>if some out-of-favour (arch)bishop arrives without an invitation or
SA>welcome from the heirarchy - they seem to be very territorial, though
SA>even Catholics can be, as I recall. It is apparently a no-no for the
SA>head of one diocese to turn up in another diocese without invitation.

The diocese is the functional unit of the church.  Whether Roman or
Orthodox, a bishop is the head of a diocese.  That is why it is
considered a definite no-no for a bishop of one diocese to show up
in another diocese uninvited.  IOW, an RCC bishop would not show up
in another RCC diocese uninvited, same as an Orthodox bishop would
not show up in another Orthodox diocese uninvited.

Even the pope, who is the bishop of Rome, would not show up in another
diocese uninvited.  Even though most RCC bishops would love for him to
visit.  :)

>LL>As well as better relations with other Christians,

>SA>I have specifically followed this, e.g. ARCIC (Anglicans and Roman
>SA>Catholics in Communion); Lutherans and Catholics in Dialogue;
>SA>rise of Pentecostal / Charismatic movements, etc. It will make
>SA>it easier to promote Europe as a united continent if its various
>SA>Catholic & Protestant churches unite and recognise the Pope as
>SA>head of the "Universal Church"; Presidents and leaders are
>SA>fawning all over JP 2 (and now B 16) as great moral authorities.

>LL>JPII was a theological conservative.  Benedict XVI appears to also
>LL>be a theological conservative, following in the footsteps of the
>LL>late JPII. But JPII was definitely NOT a political conservative.

SA>JPII was very much his own man, much to GWB's discomfort over Iraq etc.

I would expect B 16 to be much the same.

>LL>And I would tend to doubt that B XVI is a political conservative,
>LL>although I could be wrong on that matter.

SA>I would expect him to be very Euro-centric, and active in shaping the
SA>EU's religious "destiny", constitution, etc. Whether he will have the
SA>energy to devote to the rest of the world, Islam, Israel etc, I don't
SA>know. He may delegate to a number of subordinates.

I'd say that is an accurate assessment.  Obviously, no pope can
do everything, and must delegate some authority to his bishops,
diplomats, etc.  However, do not expect this pope (or any pope)
to allow subordinates complete control.  Especially on doctrinal
matters.

>LL>along with Muslims and Jews.

>SA>Finding a political / spiritual leader which appeared to be
"Christ",
>SA>"Messiah", "Mahdi" (etc) might be a means of
unifying humanity, and
>SA>deceiving them into accepting an imposter, whose number is 666.

>LL>That is why Antichrist is more likely to come as "spiritual"
>LL>leader, rather than a "political" leader.

SA>Who ever he proves to be, I think any Pope can be ruled out, unless
SA>the Jews suddenly accept him as Messiah. Hasn't happened over the
SA>last 2000 years, and does not appear likely in the near future;

Antichrist will appear suddenly, out of nowhere.  It won't be the pope,
but it could be an anti-pope.

SA>with all the books / literature portrating or identifying the Pope
SA>as the Antichrist / "vicarius filii dei" etc etc, I suspect he
SA>will just be a handy scapegoat, possibly at the hands of the real
SA>antichrist.

The Antichrist will use deception in order to get folks to believe a
lie.  He will use the powers of darkness to his advantage, but most will
not recognize such darkness until it is too late.  It is even possible
that Antichrist might get the pope to believe the lie, thus leading
many Catholics to believe the lie.

>LL>Of course, there is always the False Prophet, kind of like a
>LL>modern-day John the Baptist.  ;)

SA>As I understand things, when the Jews check out the "credentials"
SA>of the one they accept as Messiah, it will be with the help of
SA>that very "prophet", acting as a pointer to the [false] messiah.

There is a mini-series on television, "Revelations", that I am taping.
The first two parts have been aired, with four more parts remaining.
It's an interesting take, about the end of days.  I'll post a few
messages on the subject, but it won't be complete until I have watched
the entire series.

--Lee


 * SLMR 2.1a * Nothing is so smiple that it can't get screwed up.
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5