Friday, November 04, 2005

Holy Roman resurrection

When Bavarian Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope, a fellow countryman and the leader of Germany’s most Catholic province said, “I am certain that the new pope will be able to win over and rally all the world’s Catholics, not only because he is the most brilliant theologian of all time, but also because of his human and pastoral qualities.”
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Now, Benedict xvi has visited with Edmund Stoiber. On November 3, Stoiber led a 160-member delegation to the Vatican—ostensibly to invite the pontiff to visit Bavaria sometime next year.

During this visit, the pope lauded the religious virtues of Bavaria, saying that this German province “unites a heritage of generosity and a rich religious harmony: elements which hold real promise for the future.” Of course, by "religious harmony" he is referring to Bavaria being the most solid bastion of Roman Catholicism in Germany.
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After the official meeting with Stoiber’s complete entourage, the pope met privately with Stoiber for about 10 minutes. No “official statements,” no political hobnobbing, no cameras—just two Bavarians behind closed doors.

What intriguing timing. Stoiber has just turned down a cabinet post in a messy grand coalition that seems to have been doomed before it even started. He has no portfolio in the new government. Yet he is the only German politican to have an audience with the most powerful man in the world’s largest single religion. Is it not strange?
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The world is staring down the barrel of another resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire. Based on key prophecies scattered throughout the Bible, we at the Trumpet have been looking for a Germanic resurrection of such an empire.
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Read the complete article Benedict and Stoiber—a Relationship to Watch from The Trumpet.

It's kind of a neat idea. I can just imagine Germany from say Bavaria on south down through Switzerland and all of Italy uniting in a resurrected Holy Roman Empire with Stoiber as Chancellor and a Hapsburg pretender on the throne as a figurehead crowned by the Holy Father...

Dan Brown, are you reading this?

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