I first thought this story about the statue in the Pope’s motherland, Argentina – losing both its halo and keys with a lightning bolt strike on December 17, 2023 – was fake, something perpetrated by a pope-hater, of which the world has a goodly number these days, many of whom now believe Pope Francis to be the Antichrist.

 

 

I mean, how exactly does lightning ‘melt’ keys held in the right hand of a statue, and completely remove the halo, but leave everything else exactly intact?

 

The lightning strike reportedly happened on Dec. 17, 2023, which was Francis’ 87th birthday, also the day before he was to release Fiducia Supplicans, his pronouncement allowing for the blessing of homosexual couples.

 

It all seemed just a little too tidy and convenient to me, suspect enough for me to do nothing further but ignore it as a likely hoax.

 

Then, more recently, I came across a video by Jonathan Kahn on this issue which stopped me, because he does his homework.

 

I watched his video, then did some further research on my own. Amazingly, every detail in this post and the attached clip from Kahn is verified true and 100% accurate. View Clip HERE

 

As Kahn points out, it is the right-hand that blesses, according to Scripture, as Jesus sits at the “right-hand” of God, and we bless in His name…..that right-hand was pulverized by the lighting bolt, completely melting and removing the keys!

The damage from the lightning strike was:

 

(1) the complete removal of the halo over the pope’s head, the sign of ‘holiness’, and;

 

 

I put together a ‘before’ and ‘after’ with red arrows to highlight what you are reading and picturing in your mind…these are ACTUAL before and after pictures taken, with cameras, albeit, from different angles slightly, so you need not ‘imagine’ anything.

 

Kahn offers some interesting insights and exegetical observations on this seemingly prophetic sign from God. The guy is well-versed in Scripture, and sees great end-time’s significance in what is happening in Rome.

 

As a non- Catholic Christian, he expresses grave concern about [and great disfavour for] Pope Francis’ leadership. As a Catholic, I share both his concern and disfavour!

 

His video is quite long, and although very interesting, deals with other related issues as well, so I took the essential 7 minutes, about a third of the total, that’s most-related to this particular incident and story.

 

Perhaps the ‘human tradition’ that somehow emerged within the Roman Catholic church of referring to the Pope as “…the holy father…” has run its course!

 

Afterall, Jesus did tell us to call no man on earth “father,” let alone “holy father,” because we all have one Father in heaven, remember?!

 

In fact, that was the opening line in His “magnum opus” prayer that He left us: “Our FATHER, who are in heaven, HOLY is your name..”

 

Jesus also told his disciples on the very eve of his torturous passion and death on a cross that the greatest among his followers would be those who took it upon themselves to be the least, the leaders were not to be like the Pharisees lording it over anyone, but the “greatest” servants among His children (us) as He, Jesus, was and told us to imitate!

 

So, how about we start a petition that brings our priests back down to the ground to be with us [they inherited this, and had it ‘forged’ in them at seminary, they’d probably welcome the change!] where we stop calling them “fathers” and start calling them brothers, or if they prefer “servants”?

 

We can then pray at mass for the Pope every week like usual during the prayers of the faithful, saying “Master or Chief-Servant,” rather than “holy father”…..I don’t know that he’s holy, do you? He may be, but his pronouncements lately haven’t wrought much in the holy department that I can see; rather, they have fostered confusion and division among the faithful within the church unnecessarily, so perhaps we could compromise with, pray for our “on-the-road-to-being-holy-like-the-rest-of-us” Pope Francis eh?

 

I’m friends with a young woman in Pakistan who runs an orphanage with approximately (varies from month to month) 30 little kids, and I don’t know how old she is to be honest but she doesn’t look more than 20 or so herself. I’ve been praying for her, and mentoring her a bit spiritually for a few years. A while back, she asked me if she could call me “father”. I told her to call me “brother,” saying, I’m not your father, but because we have the same Father, I am your brother, and you are my sister, so let’s keep it real and not play games with names and titles that elevate the status of one person in our mutually-supportive spiritual relationship [come to think of it, we’ve never mentioned denomination at all, because we’re always focused on Jesus and God]….she agreed with me and calls me brother, which feels honest and comforting to me.

 

 

But I suspect that if, at the end of a line-up of, say, 10 people all wishing him a happy birthday after Mass, and after a chorus of nine “happy birthday father”‘s I was to say, “happy birthday brother!’ the chatter in the lobby would go from crowd-buzz to dead-cricket in a nanosecond as all present dropped jaws in perfect synchronicity while sharing the same thought:

 

“Is the world about to end?!”

 

I’m not exactly joking here, nor exaggerating that much as any Catholics reading this knows only too well….you shuddered reading those words picturing me saying that in that group didn’t you? You had what I’d describe as a “gasp-gut flight [definitely not ‘fight’] autonomic, programmed response” happen in you, right?

 

Not for yourself, but “empathetically” for me {which I really appreciate by the way} as you were “taken” suddenly into disorienting and terrifying taboo territory, fearing for my very life.

 

That’s what centuries of “happy birthday father” does to your brain!

 

Would the priest be insulted if I was to call him “brother” instead of father? I’d say he’d be more confused and disoriented than insulted and angry.

 

And you know what, THAT REALLY NEEDS TO CHANGE because, like I told my Pakistani Christian friend and sister on the other side of the world who I’ve never met in person, we should not be playing games with titles that create different levels in equal relationships, or have different power balances in how people see each other in those relationships, and I’m referring here to the perceived social or power status within human associations and communities, church communities included.

 

So, I don’t call priests father out of respect for what Jesus commanded…., but it is uncomfortable in those situations where people expect to hear a 10th verse follow a chorus of 9 “happy birthday father”s.

 

There won’t be any talk of denominations in heaven, as Kahn says at one point (he’s not Catholic and seems uncomfortable calling out the Pope).

 

Heaven will be peopled with those who do the will of the Father as Jesus said. They are His true “brothers and sisters and mother and every other relationship possible,” as wills and hearts unite whenever we surrender ours to His, which is submission to the Will of the Father striving to imitate Jesus who always testified to the truth, and was, as a result, persecuted, crucified, and killed, as a result.

 

He did that to remain obedient to our true and only Father in heaven who created us, and who so loved the world that He gave us His only-begotten Son, Jesus, so that all those who believe in Him, Jesus, would not perish but have eternal life.

 

To “not perish” in the end-times, perhaps we need to “not parish” so much in our churches, but rather, FAMILY…. move from a hierarchy to a level playing field with our pastors sort of thing.

 

Will Pope Francis get into heaven “leading these little ones astray,” as he seems to be doing with his confusing pronouncements inclining people to believe things against our own Catholic faith?

 

 

Let’s leave the judging of people to God, and FOCUS on discerning and judging whether the pronouncements are supported by Scripture and Church teaching, and what we find in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, then comment and respond accordingly, as I hope I am doing here.

 

Of late, Pope Francis has been giving us lots to discern with his pronouncements, lots to judge, and lots to comment on, as evil seems to be rising within the church like a volcanic magma threatening to bust through the unity of community creating permanent rifts and schisms, especially regarding the synodal process now underway which is threatening to turn that magma into the fiery lava of apostasy as catastrophic eruption and breach.

 

Let’s all – Catholic or not – pray for the Pope that he be open to the Holy Spirit and truly become a master-servant and not another top-downer!

 

As for our Island Roman Catholic priests, if the traditional response justifying their title of father is on their lips, I.e., that they are “standing in as father” for our true Father in heaven, please explain to me why in 3 years not a single one of you [despite having a congregation you call your children sitting before you week-after-week, as you stand on a podium in front of a microphone and talk to them without interruption for between 20 and 30 minutes], not a single one of as far as I know and (if there’s a Catholic out there who can correct me on this please do, I can’t attend every church every week of course) not a single one have had the courage to tell the truth to protect their flock.

 

I met with the former bishop, he promised stuff that he never delivered on, and he would not meet with me a second time.

When he retired, I met with his interim. Same thing.

 

They were provided, and here I’m talking EACH and every priest, with all the necessary evidence, and that is only strengthened by a hundredfold since, and yet nothing!

 

So, here’s a direct message and challenge to priests I will currently not address as Father”: