Tuesday, March 05, 2013

DOW HITS ALLTIME HIGH-EVERYTHINGS UTOPIA

KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.

THE DOW HAS HIT AN ALL TIME HIGH.THE UTOPIA BEGINS.NO COLLAPSE OF THE ECONOMY IN SIGHT.EVERYBODY LOVES EACH OTHER.PEACE,LOVE,JOY-NEW AGE NONESENSE.MEANWHILE-NO JOBS,THE NUKES WILL SOON START FLYIN.THE NEXT POPE WILL BE THE LAST FALSE POPE.JUDGEMENT HITTING THE WORLD AT EVERY SIDE FROM THE SIN OF BREAKING GODS COMMANDMENTS.BUT STILL THE STOCK MARKET IS AT AN ALL TIME HIGH TO DECIEVE THE WORLD INTO THINKING, EVERYTHING IS JUST ROSEY,EXCEPT MY PALE FACE CHEEKS OF COURSE.

ISAIAH 51:3-4
3  For the LORD shall comfort Zion:(JERUSALEM) he will comfort all her waste places;(FROM NUCLEAR WAR) and he will make her wilderness like Eden,(I BELIEVE THE EZEKIEL-4TH TEMPLE WILL BE BUILT 25 MILES FROM THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT AFTER JESUS RULE FOR THE 1,000 YRS FROM JERUSALEM) and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.(PRAISE TO JESUS IN THE DESERT-COULD BE THE NEW JERUSALEM-4TH TEMPLE BUILT 25 MILES INTO THE DESERT FROM THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT.SINCE EZEKIELS TEMPLE IS WAY TO BIG FOR THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT)
4  Hearken unto me, my people;(ISRAEL) and give ear unto me, O my nation:(ISRAEL) for a law shall proceed from me,(JESUS IN JERUSALEM) and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.(ISRAEL AND THE WORLD)

LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.

Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.

12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE

AIPAC-Sponsored Bill could Save Israel Aid

Designation of Israel as a “major strategic ally” would move the aid into the Pentagon budget.
By Gil Ronen First Publish: 3/5/2013, 2:14 PM-Israelnationalnews

Netanyahu at AIPAC conference (file)
Netanyahu at AIPAC conference (file)-Israel news photo: Flash 90
A Republican and a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation that would make Israel a "major strategic ally," a one of a kind designation, JTA has reported.
The bill, introduced Monday by Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), is timed for the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference (AIPAC), and 13,000 activists are expected to lobby for it and for Iran-related bills on Tuesday.The "major strategic ally" bill codifies a number of existing facets of the relationship between the U.S. and Israel, including annual defense assistance and cooperation on missile defense, energy research and cyber security.It also calls for Israel to join the program that waives pre-arranged visas for select nationals entering the United States.The Iran-related bills AIPAC activists will champion would tighten sanctions aimed at forcing Tehran to suspend its nuclear weapons program and would call for the president to support Israel should it feel "compelled" to strike Iran.
Political analyst Robert Naiman told Russian channel RT that the AIPAC annual conference is focused on the congressional designation of Israel as a “major strategic ally” of the U.S.According to lobbyists associated with AIPAC, said Naiman, "it has to do with the coming threat of budget cuts. Under this sequester… there’re supposed to be across-the-board cuts to the US budget. So that should mean that the US aid to Israel, which is substantial, billions of dollars a year, should also be cut – but the Israel lobby doesn’t want the aid to Israel to be cut. So their long game is that with this designation of ‘major strategic ally’ they would move things that are currently paid out of the US aid to Israel into the base Pentagon budget."

Rare Peace Now Approval for ‘Settler’ Rabbi

Peace Now head joins right-wing MKs in eulogizing proud ‘settler’ rabbi as a symbol of peace.
By Maayana Miskin First Publish: 3/5/2013, 3:37 PM-Israelnationalnews

Rabbi Menachem Froman
Rabbi Menachem Froman-Flash 90
The death Monday night of Rabbi Menachem Froman, rabbi of the town of Tekoa in Gush Etzion, has brought together Israelis from the entire political spectrum.Rabbi Froman was mourned even by the far-left group Peace Now, despite being a proud “settler” during his life. “Rabbi Froman was a symbol of peace between Jews and Arabs,” Peace Now head Yair Oppenheimer wrote Tuesday on his Facebook page.
“While most see religion as an excuse for conflict between peoples, Rabbi Froman proved that religion can be a bridge to peace and coexistence,” he continued. Rabbi Froman’s legacy will continue until the Israel-Arab conflict ends, he added.Rabbi Froman believed that people with strong religious beliefs could more easily reach common ground than could politicians, and he met with many Muslim and Arab leaders.
MK Hilik Bar of the Labor party eulogized Rabbi Froman as well, saying he “embodied a different kind of religious leadership. In his unique way, Rabbi Froman managed to bring together different groups within the nation, based on the factors that unite, not divide.”MK Naftali Bennett, head of the Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) party said in a Facebook post Monday morning that Rabbi Froman “loved peace and pursued peace,” a reference to Perkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers), a chapter of the Mishna.“He was a Jew with an enormous heart,” Bennett said. “May his memory be for a blessing.”MK Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan (Bayit Yehudi) said he was pained to hear of Rabbi Froman’s passing. “I still remember his devotion to Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook of blessed memory, and his dedication to learning Torah, which was part of his essence.”

Prosor Warns UN of Potential Escalation in Golan

UN ambassador Ron Prosor in a letter to the UN: Israel will not stand by while its citizens' lives are at risk from Syria's recklessness.
By Elad Benari  First Publish: 3/5/2013, 5:43 AM-Israelnationalnews

View from the Golan
View from the Golan-Flash 90
Israel has remained silent until now in the face of the fighting from Syria spilling into the Golan Heights, but cannot be expected to do so for an extended period of time, its ambassador to the United Nations said on Monday.In an urgent letter he sent to the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary General following the firing of artillery shells on the Golan Heights, ambassador Ron Prosor warned that the situation in the Golan could escalate unless something is done“So far, Israel has shown maximum restraint. You must act as soon as possible before the situation deteriorates,” Prosor wrote.He added, “Firing on Israeli territory is a violation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria. These incidents have the potential to incite an already tense region. Israel will not stand by while its citizens' lives are at risk from reckless behavior in Syria.”
Fighting between the Syrian army and rebels seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad has continuously spilled into Israeli territory, with the latest incident happening on Saturday, when three mortar shells exploded in the southern Golan Heights, near Ramot Magshimim.No one was hurt and no damage was caused.
Several days earlier, a shell fired from Syria hit the Golan Heights. The shell was found after residents of a local town reported hearing the whistle of incoming fire near their community.IDF soldiers searched the area and found the shell that had not detonated. Sappers neutralized the device.Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Sunday that Israel is closely monitoring the battlefronts in Syria, but reiterated that Israel does not wish to be involved in Syria's civil war."We are monitoring the situation closely. As long as it does not threaten us, we will not intervene. At this stage we don't see any threat," he said.

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(THE FALSE POPE WHO DEFECTED FROM THE CHRISTIAN FAITH) causeth all,(IN THE WORLD ) both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(MICROCHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark,(MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the name of the beast,(WORLD DICTATORS NAME INGRAVED ON YOUR SKIN OR TATTOOED ON YOU OR IN THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the number of his name.(THE NUMBERS OF HIS NAME INGRAVED IN THE MICROCHIP IMLPLANT)-(ALL THESE WILL TELL THE WORLD DICTATOR THAT YOUR WITH HIM AND AGAINST KING JESUS-GOD)
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast:(WORLD LEADER) for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM (6006006)OR(60020202006)(SOME KIND OF NUMBER IMPLANTED IN THE MICROCHIP THAT TELLS THE WORLD DICTATOR AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER THAT YOU GIVE YOUR TOTAL ALLIGIENCE TO HIM AND NOT JESUS)(ITS AN ETERNAL DECISION YOU MAKE)(YOU CHOOSE YOUR OWN DESTINY)(YOU TAKE THE DICTATORS NAME OR NUMBER UNDER YOUR SKIN,YOUR DOOMED TO THE LAKE OF FIRE AND TORMENTS FOREVER,NEVER ENDING MEANT ONLY FOR SATAN AND HIS ANGELS,NOT HUMAN BEINGS).OR YOU REFUSE THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT AND GO ON THE SIDE OF KING JESUS AND RULE FOREVER WITH HIM ON EARTH.YOU CHOOSE,ITS YOUR DECISION.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYUgVL9PdxM&list=UU4SH8rh0OjYV3zwqnIfqNbA&index=1&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PX-vW4VccY&feature=player_embedded#!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/markets/indexes/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfPX59y4KxE&feature=related

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS TUE MARCH 05,2013

09:30 AM +2.43
10:00 AM +108.43
10:30 AM +131.61
11:00 AM +156.18
11:30 AM +146.02
12:00 PM +149.34 (14,275.43)
12:30 PM +138.25
01:00 PM +138.10
01:30 PM +138.93
02:00 PM +136.16
02:30 PM +124.16
03:00 PM +128.87
03:30 PM +145.45
04:00 PM +125.95 14,253.77

S&P 500 1539.79 +14.59

NASDAQ 3224.13 +42.10

GOLD 1,575.40 +3.00

OIL 90.83 +0.71

TSE 300 12,736.04 +28.63

CDNX 1112.23 +15.06

S&P/TSX/60 733.36 +1.61

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +64 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow +1 points at low today.
Dow +150 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,580.80.OIL opens at $90.35 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow +1 points at low today so far.
Dow +155 points at high today so far.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow +1 points at low today.
Dow +155 points at high today.

GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,902.60 (NOT AT CLOSE)

Gazprom welcome to co-own Ukraine gas pipes, EU says

Today @ 09:25 MAR 5,13 By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS - The European Commission has said it would welcome joint control of Ukraine's EU-transit gas pipelines by Russian energy giant Gazprom.Energy commissioner Gunther Oettinger told Ukrainian daily Kommersant-Ukraine in an interview out on Monday (4 March) that: "We can offer Ukraine a trilateral consortium which would include a Russian participant, [Ukrainian distributor] Naftogaz Ukrainy and European businesses."He noted: "It's your government's right to decide who should own the gas transportation system and who will run it. If Kiev decides Gazprom should have that right, why not? Gazprom is involved in other pipeline projects, some of them in EU territory."He added that he would like to play a bigger role in Kiev-Moscow talks on Russian gas prices for Ukraine, amid an ongoing dispute which threatens to disrupt EU-bound supplies."We are receiving certain information and giving certain advice, but no more than that. A decision on bringing another participant into the negotiations is possible, but that is [Ukraine's] prerogative," he noted.Brussels hopes that if Gazprom links up with Naftogaz, which transits 20 percent of EU gas consumption, it would end the kind of disputes which saw households in EU countries cut off in the winter of 2009.It also hopes the new consortium would increase transparency and attract investment in Naftogaz' decrepit infrastructure.The Russia-Ukraine gas business is in any case intertwined in an opaque way.One of Ukraine's gas barons, Dmitry Firtash, by his own admission to a US diplomat in 2008, said that a Russian mobster, Semion Mogilevich, organised his first investments in the sector.
But Naftogaz pipes and storage tanks are also a strategic asset, seen by some as the basis of Ukraine's economic and political independence from Russia.One EU diplomat told EUobserver on Tuesday that Gazprom "is an arm of the FSB," Russia's top intelligence service.He noted: "Russia's strategic aim is, step by step, to increase its influence in Ukraine in order to pull it away from EU integration and to make it join the Customs Union [a Russia-dominated trade bloc]. If it becomes a co-owner of Naftogaz, there is a risk that its influence in Kiev will grow."He added that Oettinger's remarks might have been designed to "provoke" Ukraine into revealing its plans on energy reform, after inconclusive EU-Ukraine talks on the subject.
Meanwhile, the commissioner is trying to shepherd construction of a gas pipeline from the Caspian Sea directly to EU countries, bypassing Russia and Ukraine in a bid to reduce dependence.Azerbaijan is to be the main supplier.But Oettinger said on Monday that Turkmenistan, whose gas would increase the project's capacity to a more important level, is unlikely to get on board. "I am sure that Turkmen gas definitely will not come to Europe this decade," he said.For its part, Russia, at an event in December in Anapa on the Black Sea coast, began construction of South Stream, a competing project to the EU's Caspian scheme.
Its CEO, Dutch executive Marcel Kramer, said it will "transport the first gas by late 2015."Oettinger at the time declined Kramer's invitation to Anapa.He noted in his interview on Monday that "We [EU institutions] … are not putting money or other support into the [South Stream] consortium."

CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL 2ND WAVE OF WW3

REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up,(AT THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY) that the way of the kings(CHINA,NORTH-SOUTH KOREA, of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).

DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)

REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(4 WINDS OF THE WORLD-WORLDWIDE WAR)(TURKEY-IRAQ-SYRIA)(EUPHRATES RIVER CONSISTS OF 760 MILES IN TURKEY,440 MILES IN SYRIA AND 660 MILES IN IRAQ)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,(COULD ALSO MEAN THE 4 CORNERS OF THE EARTH OR WORLDWIDE WAR) which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)

NKorea vows to cancel Korean War cease-fire

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea vowed Tuesday to cancel the 1953 cease-fire that ended the Korean War, citing a U.S.-led push for punishing U.N. sanctions over its recent nuclear test and ongoing U.S.-South Korean joint military drills.Without elaborating, the Korean People's Army Supreme Command warned of "surgical strikes" meant to unify the divided Korean Peninsula and of an indigenous, "precision nuclear striking tool." The statement came amid reports that Washington and North Korean ally Beijing have approved a draft of a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for sanctions in response to North Korea's Feb. 12 nuclear test. The draft is expected to be circulated at the U.N. this week.Such heated military rhetoric and threats are common from North Korea as tensions rise on the Korean Peninsula, and Pyongyang's recent nuclear test and rocket launches, and the push for U.N. punishment that have followed, have increased already high animosity between the North and Washington and ally Seoul.The United States and others worry that North Korea's third nuclear test pushes it a step closer toward its goal of having nuclear-armed missiles that can reach America, and condemn its nuclear and missile efforts as threats to regional security and a drain on the resources that could go to North Korea's largely destitute people.
North Korea says its nuclear program is a response to U.S. hostility that dates back to the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the Korean Peninsula still technically in a state of war.North Korea warned it will cancel the armistice agreement on March 11 because of ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills that began March 1 which the statement called a "dangerous nuclear war targeted at us."North Korea said Washington and others are going beyond mere economic sanctions and expanding into blunt aggression and military acts. North Korea also warned that it will block a communications line between it and the United States at the border village separating the two Koreas.
"We aim to launch surgical strikes at any time and any target without being bounded by the armistice accord and advance our long-cherished wish for national unification," the statement said.North Korea lays the blame for its much-condemned nuclear weapons programs on the United States.A rich vein of North Korean propaganda fueled by decades-old American threats holds that the North remains at risk of an unprovoked nuclear attack. Washington and others say brinksmanship is the North's true motive for the nuclear push.
___Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim contributed to this report.

ISAIAH 17:1,12-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
12  Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13  The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14  And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.

JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23  Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24  Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25  How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26  Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27  And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

JEREMIAH 47:1-7
1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines,(PALESTINIAN/ARABS) before that Pharaoh smote Gaza.
2  Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north,(NORTHERN TSUNAMI POSSIBLY) and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl.
3  At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses,(ISRAELS ARMY) at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands;(ISRAEL POSSIBLY NUKES GAZA)
4  Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines,(PALESTINIAN FAKE ARABS) and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the LORD will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor.
5  Baldness is come upon Gaza;(NUKED POSSIBLY) Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?
6  O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.
7  How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? (MEDITTERANEAN SEA) there hath he appointed it.

DANIEL 11:40-43
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south ( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS-MUSLIMS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them,(BEFORE THE NUKE GOES OFF) and behind them a desolate wilderness;(AFTER THE ATOMIC BOMB GOES OFF) yea, and nothing shall escape them.(EVERYTHING NUKED)
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,ARAB,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate,(SIBERIAN DESERT) with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(FOR COMING AGAINST ISRAEL)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

JEREMIAH 8:7
7 Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times;(MIGRATION TIME) and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming;(IN MIGRATION SEASON) but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.(WW3 MIGRATING BIRDS EAT ISRAELS ENEMIES FLESH AND BLOOD)

Big powers want "early" results in Iran diplomacy: draft

VIENNA (Reuters) - Six world powers will call for quick tangible results in nuclear negotiations with Iran that resumed in February after an eight-month break, according to a draft joint statement obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.The draft being considered by the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain described a February 26-27 meeting with Iran in Almaty, Kazakhstan, as "useful". The two sides are due to hold further talks in early April at the same venue."We seek tangible results in this diplomatic process at an early stage," said the statement, expected to be delivered at a board meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Wednesday."We reaffirm our continuing support for a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue," it said.(Reporting by Fredrik Dahl; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Egypt police and protesters clash for third day in Port Said

PORT SAID, Egypt (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces battled stone-throwing youths in the Suez Canal city of Port Said on Tuesday while in Cairo even police staged a protest, reflecting a country beset by discontent over a host of grievances.By far the most serious trouble was in Port Said, at the canal's northern entrance, where police shot into the air and fired teargas during clashes with hundreds of protesters in a third day of unrest.Port Said has seen waves of violent demonstrations since January over the detention of dozens of people in connection with a soccer riot last year in which more than 70 died.At least six people have been killed in the latest protests, including three policemen. Hundreds more have been wounded, scores of them from gunshot wounds and live bullets, according to medical officials.On Tuesday, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of a local government building and hurled stones at police, who reacted by firing tear gas and warning shots in the air, a Reuters witness said.The witness said he had seen at least three people who appeared to be unconscious."The police are thugs," the protesters chanted. "We'll give our blood and souls for you, Port Said."Live footage on Al Jazeera's Egypt channel showed dozens of men running and throwing rocks as black smoke rose in front of a building's charred facade. Tear gas canisters streaked through the air.
Egypt has been in political turmoil since a popular uprising ousted Hosni Mubarak as president in 2011. His Islamist successor, Mohamed Mursi, has struggled to restore security since his election in June.
Joblessness worsened by an economic crisis, anger at police brutality and fuel price rises have helped fuel the unrest.About 60 people died during street protests across Egypt between January 25, the anniversary of the 2011 uprising, to February 4. Many of the demonstrators were calling for Mursi's resignation, accusing him and his Muslim Brotherhood of trying to monopolize power.In a sign of the broader discontent afflicting the country, dozens of police officers blocked a major road in Cairo to protest about the killing of a colleague by an unknown attacker while he was investigating a bank robbery earlier on Tuesday, the state news agency said.(Reporting by Yusri Mohamed; Writing by Asma Alsharif and Alexander Dziadosz; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)

Syrian rebels battle regime holdouts in Raqqa

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian rebels battled pockets of regime loyalists in the northern city of Raqqa on Tuesday after capturing the governor of the northern province in fierce clashes overnight, activists said.Rebel fighters pushed government troops from most of Raqqa, a city of some 500,000 people on the Euphrates River, on Monday. If the opposition manages to wrest all of Raqqa from the government, it would mark the first time an entire city has fallen into opposition hands, dealing both a strategic and a symbolic blow to President Bashar Assad's regime.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said opposition fighters captured the governor of Raqqa province, Hassan Jalili, after clashes overnight near the governor's office in the provincial capital, also named Raqqa. The Observatory said the head of Assad's ruling Baath party in the province was also in rebel custody.Observatory director Rami Abdul-Rahman said Jalili is one of the highest-ranking officials to fall into rebel hands since the Syrian crisis began nearly two years ago.Fighting was still raging on Tuesday near an intelligence building in the city as well as several other places, he said, adding that "some of Raqqa is still under regime control."The Observatory said government warplanes carried out airstrikes on two targets in the city, causing an unspecified number of casualties. It also reported heavy fighting near an ammunition depot on the northern edge of the city.Rebels have been making headway in Raqqa province for weeks, capturing the country's largest dam west of the city. On Sunday, anti-Assad fighters stormed Raqqa city's central prison, and after rebels swept regime forces from much of the provincial capital on Monday, euphoric residents poured into the main square and tore down a bronze statue of Assad's late father, Hafez.The Syrian conflict started two years ago as a popular uprising against Assad's authoritarian rule, then turned into a full-blown civil war after the rebels took up arms to fight a government crackdown on dissent. The United Nations estimates that more than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.The relentless violence also has destroyed many of the country's cities, forced hundreds of thousands of Syrian to seek refuge abroad.The U.N. children's agency said in a statement Tuesday that the fighting threatens the education of hundreds of thousands of Syrian children, and that 20 percent of the country's schools have been damaged in the war or are being used to shelter refugees."The education system in Syria is reeling from the impact of violence," said Youssouf Abdel-Jelil, the UNICEF Syria representative. "Syria once prided itself on the quality of its schools. Now it's seeing the gains it made over the years rapidly reversed."
A UNICEF assessment conducted in December 2012 determined that 2,400 schools have been damaged or destroyed and another 1,500 are being used to house displaced persons, the agency said in a statement.
Schools in Idlib, Aleppo and Daraa, where the fighting has been particularly intense, are among those most affected, the statement said, adding that more than 110 teachers and other school workers have been killed and many others aren't showing up for work anymore.The bloodshed has also has spilled over into neighboring states on several occasions, fanning fears of a regional conflict. On Monday, gunmen killed 48 Syrian soldiers who had crossed into Iraq for refuge, heightening concerns that the country could be drawn into Syria's crisis.In Damascus, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad handed over to the Russian ambassador a man he said was a German journalist, Billy Six, who had been detained after entering the country illegally.Mekdad did not provide any details or say how Six ended up in regime hands.Six appears to have been working for a German conservative weekly publication, Junge Freiheit, which posted numerous articles written by Six in Syria until late November.___Associated Press writer Zeina Karam contributed to this report.

EARTHQUAKES

ISAIAH 42:15
15  I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,(DIFFERNT PLACES AT THE SAME TIME) and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

REVELATION 11:11-14
11 And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12 And they(ELIJSH-MOSES) heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither.(REV 4:1 WE KNOW IS THE RAPTURE FOR SURE) And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.(RAPTURED)
13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

REVELATION 16:18-20
18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19 And the great city (JERUSALEM) was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

Update time = Tue Mar 5 14:24:53 UTC 2013

MAG UTC DATE-TIME
y/m/d h:m:s
LAT
deg
LON
deg
DEPTH
km
 Region
MAP 3.0  2013/03/05 12:24:54   63.569  -148.006 5.1  CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.3  2013/03/05 11:57:47   36.154   70.526 106.0  HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
MAP 4.9  2013/03/05 11:40:19  -19.360   167.780 15.2  VANUATU REGION
MAP 4.4  2013/03/05 10:52:45   4.963   127.615 74.1  KEPULAUAN TALAUD, INDONESIA
MAP 2.9  2013/03/05 10:49:13   59.069  -151.936 87.1  KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 4.2  2013/03/05 10:22:16   -9.183   116.187 61.8  LOMBOK REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 5.2  2013/03/05 08:33:54   67.665   142.470 13.6  NORTHEASTERN SAKHA, RUSSIA
MAP 4.9  2013/03/05 07:31:06   -5.197   152.591 50.9  NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 5.2  2013/03/05 06:21:08   -5.212   152.623 11.7  NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 5.4  2013/03/05 06:06:35   -5.255   152.555 28.2  NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 4.9  2013/03/05 06:01:33  -10.664   164.898 18.1  SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5  2013/03/05 05:33:30   61.951  -148.406 16.3  SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.0  2013/03/05 03:58:35   -5.238   152.553 58.8  NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 4.9  2013/03/05 02:09:00   -5.430   104.755 21.3  SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
MAP 2.7  2013/03/05 01:35:23   60.079  -152.760 100.0  SOUTHERN ALASKA

Monday, March 04, 2013

2,000 LOCUSTS CROSS FROM EGYPT TO ISRAEL

KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.

ALSO IN THE NEWS CURRENTLY-WE HAVE AN AIRPLANE MAKING AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN LAMBERT ST LOUIS.THE PLANE HAS LANDED AND ALL 8 ON BOARD HAVE SURVIVED THE EMERGENCY LANDING.

Israel on Alert as Locusts Cross in From Egypt


A swarm of locusts crossed into Israel from neighboring Egypt Monday, raising fears that Israel could be hit with a biblical plague ahead of the Passover holiday.Israel sent out planes to spray pesticides over agricultural fields to prevent damage by the small swarm, which numbers about 2,000 locusts, said Dafna Yurista, a spokeswoman for the Agriculture Ministry. The ministry also set up an emergency hotline and asked Israelis to be vigilant in reporting locust sightings.The locust alert comes ahead of the weeklong Passover festival, which recounts the biblical story of the Israelite exodus from Egypt. According to the Bible, a huge swarm of locusts was the eighth of 10 plagues God imposed on Egyptians to persuade Pharoah to free the ancient Hebrews from slavery. Pharaoh did not agree to let them go until after the 10th plague, the death of the first born in every Egyptian family.This year Passover begins March 25.Locusts can have a devastating effect on agriculture by quickly stripping crops. Farmers told Israeli media they were worried about a potential onslaught."(The locusts) may not have ruined Pharaoh, but they could ruin us," Tzachi Rimon, a farmer, told Israel's Channel 10 TV.Yurista said the number of locusts was relatively small, but "just because they aren't many doesn't mean we are ignoring them."Locusts are known to move with the wind, and the swarm was swept eastwards from Egypt, said Amir Ayali, who heads Tel Aviv University's zoology department, on Channel 10 TV. The last time Israel experienced a major locust outbreak was in 2004.
Egypt's state news agency MENA said more than 17,000 locusts were exterminated in an area spanning more than 84,000 acres. No significant economic losses were reported, as the locusts were not mature enough to cause damage and did not remain long in the area to feed. Other affected areas were mostly desert.———Associated Press writer Amir Makar contributed from Cairo.

THE IDEAS/TALKS BEGIN TO REFORM VATICAN

KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.

NEXT POPE LEADERS IN THE RUNNING
http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/pope/pope-infographic
http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?binId=1.810401
http://www.religionnews.com/2013/02/25/march-madness-make-your-picks-in-the-vaticans-sweet-sistine-brackets/

THERE ARE 68 ELIGIBLE EUROPEANS IN THIS CONCLAVE THAT CAN BECOME POPE.WATCH FOR THE EUROPEANS FROM ROME-ITALY IS MY GUESS BY THE BIBLE.AND BY THE PROPHECY OF THE POPES.

THE FRONTRUNNERS TO SUCCEED

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, 68, the Canadian head of the Vatican's office for bishops

Archbishop of Quebec between 2003 and 2010. He is known as a strong defender of orthodoxy and is said to come from the same school of theological thought as Benedict.

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, 70, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture

A former academic theologian and Biblical scholar noted for his work encouraging dialogue between believers and non-believers and his 'outreach' to science. He was chosen this year by Benedict to lead the Vatican's Lenten spiritual retreat - a papal favour which could mark him out as a frontrunner.


Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 69, an Argentinian and prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches

A 'consummate' Vatican insider and viewed as a pair of 'safe hands', he announced Pope John Paul II's death to the world in April 2005. His experience is said to have given him a special understanding of the experience of Christians in the Middle East including the plight of the Christian population in Iraq following the war in 2003.

Cardinal Odilo Scherer, 63, Archbishop of Sao Paulo in Brazil

Head of the largest diocese in the world's largest Catholic country. He spent several years working at the congregation for bishops at the Vatican. The German-Brazilian is seen as the strongest Latin American candidate.

Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, 68, Archbishop of Vienna

An intellectual and a scholar who studied under Pope Benedict and is close to the outgoing pope. He is dealing with a rebellion in Austria by Catholics who are calling for reform of the Church in areas such as priestly celibacy and the role of women. The cardinals may not want to elect two German-speaking popes in a row.

Cardinal Angelo Scola, 71, Archbishop of Milan

Cardinal Scola was said to have been 'papabile' - a possible contender for pope - during the conclave to replace Pope John Paul II in 2005, and is an influential philosopher and theologian. He is a member of the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responsible for ensuring Catholic orthodoxy.


Cardinal Luis Tagle, 55, Archbishop of Manila, Philippines

Described by Vatican commentator John Allen as a 'genuine intellectual with a common touch'. He is seen as an outside chance because he is considered too young. If elected he could be pope for more than 30 years.

Cardinal Peter Turkson, 64, from Ghana, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Cardinal Turkson is a popular figure and would be the first pope from Africa since Gelasius I more than 1,500 years ago. But the department he heads is not powerful and he has raised eyebrows by his willingness to discuss his chances of becoming pope. He is also seen by some as being gaffe-prone.

Pope's new clothes? Check. Tailor rolls out robes

ROME (AP) — White cassock? Check. White skullcap? Check. Red shoes? Check.Cardinals haven't even begun meeting in the Sistine Chapel yet to elect the new pope but the family-owned Gammarelli tailor shop that has dressed popes for two centuries is ready.Gammarelli's on Monday displayed three sets of white vestments — small, medium and large — to be shipped to the Vatican for the new pope following Benedict XVI's resignation last week."We need to deliver these three garments before the conclave starts because obviously we cannot enter inside the conclave once it started," tailor Lorenzo Gammarelli said Monday.
A white silk "zucchetto," or skullcap, lay on a bed of red cloth in the window, as did a white sash with golden fringes and a pair of red leather shoes.Tucked behind the Pantheon in downtown Rome, the Gammarelli shop has served scores of cardinals and popes since 1798. Pope Pius XII was an exception: he used his family tailor.The display of the robes was one of the first tangible signs that a new pope will soon be elected, given the unusual circumstances that have surrounded the resignation of Benedict XVI."It's always like the first time for me," said tailor Teresa Palombini. "It's a wonderful feeling and then I wonder who will wear these clothes, who will be the next one?"

03/ 3/2013 VATICAN INSIDER

Conclave to start on 11 March

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St. Peter's
St. Peter's

In eight days cardinals will enter the Sistine Chapel for the start of the Conclave. This is the Church’s first Sunday without a Pope and there is no Angelus prayer today

giacomo galeazzi vatican city The window from which the Pope usually pronounces the Sunday Angelus prayer remained shut today. This is the Catholic Church’s first Sunday without a Pope. St. Peter’s Square is full of pilgrims but no one is looking up at the papal studio window because this Sunday no one will be appearing at it. The curtain has already come down on the great media circus surrounding the Conclave and the rosaries recited by faithful are the only thing that breaks the silence which fell after Benedict XVI’s departure. Now that the papacy is vacant, there is no longer any reference to Benedict XVI either as Pope or Bishop of Rome in the Eucharistic prayer during mass celebrations. Parish priests have prepared a new version of the prayer.As the Church strides towards the Conclave which is due to start on 11 March, the complete picture of Benedict XVI’s resignation is gradually forming. Ratzinger showed no less courage in resigning because “of the limits of old age and (…) the discernment on the exercise of responsibility that God had entrusted to him, than John Paul II who stuck it out until the end, despite his illness. Ratzinger’s decision is above all a reminder of one’s responsibilities, especially for cardinals who have the task of electing the Pope’s successor.On the Church’s second day without a Pope – day two of the sede vacante period – Fr. Federico Lombardi commented on the achievements of the outgoing pope, now Pope Emeritus, and their significance, also for those who will have to work with the choices that will shape the future of global Catholicism. To emphasise the spiritual nature of the papal election, the Vatican spokesman referred back to one of Wojtyla’s core texts with a preface signed by Joseph Ratzinger.“It is in right here, amidst this magnificent Sistine polychromy that cardinals meet – a community responsible for choosing the inheritor of the keys to the Kingdom. It meets in this very place. And Michaelangelo’s gaze still surrounds them.” It was 2003 when John Paul II wrote the “Roman Triptych”, a series of mediations on the Genesis and the threshold of the Sistine Chapel, in Polish. The poem is all the more meaningful now that cardinals are preparing to meet under Michaelangelo’s vault to elect St. Peter’s new successor.  The Sistine Chapel is not just an artistic backdrop but also a kind of “theatre” set that has the power to influence the spirituality and conduct of the cardinal electors. This has been confirmed by those who have actually lived the experience. In his introduction to the apostolic constitution Universi dominici gregis (1996), Wojtyla laid down the rules for the sede vacante period and the election of a Pope, including this important passage: “I decree that the election will continue to take place in the Sistine Chapel, where everything is conducive to an awareness of the presence of God, in whose sight each person will one day be judged.” The general congregations will begin tomorrow morning with two sessions being held each day, in the lead up to the Conclave. Out of the 51 nations that will be represented in the next Conlave, Italy in theory has the most chances of one of its cardinals being elected (it has 29 cardinal Even if an Italian were to obtain all European cardinal electors’ votes (61 in total), he would still not have the necessary 78 votes - equivalent to two thirds of the 116 cardinal electors – to become Pope.The same applies to the Roman Curia which is represented by 38 electors, including current dicastery leaders and emeritus dicastery leaders who are not yet over 80. Re, for example, who will be presiding over the Conclave as he is the eldest of the cardinal bishops. The Curia bloc does therefore have the capacity to ensure cardinals do not elect a Pope it is not keen on but its influence does not extend to imposing one of its own candidates, unless it joins forces with another slightly larger group of cardinals (the Curia group makes up 40 votes). Even if a potential agreement were to be reached between Curia electors and Italian electors, this would not be enough to ensure the victory of one of their own because the advantage in terms of numbers would be negligible: out of the 28 Italian cardinal electors, as many as 20 are Curia members.

Cardinals in Vatican discuss next Pope
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Mon Mar 4, 2013 11:22AM GMT
1

2

1
A report by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica said Benedict XVI had decided to resign after an internal church investigation informed him about a series of blackmails, grafts and underground gay sex in the Vatican.Cardinals from all around the world have gathered in the Vatican to discuss ‘what sort of Pope the Church needs now’, following the resignation of Benedict XVI.More than 100 Catholic cardinals began talks in Vatican City on Monday to help identify candidates for the papal position. French cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois told reporters, “We’re going to take as much time as we need to think about what sort of Pope the Church needs now.” “I’d be keen to have a polyglot, a man of faith, a man of dialogue… The new Pope will certainly have to confront problems within the Curia,” Vingt-Trois said.
On February 11, Benedict XVI announced his decision to step down since he was no longer able to carry out his duties because of his age. He resigned after nearly eight years in office on February 28. However, a recent report by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica said Benedict XVI had decided to resign after an internal church investigation informed him about a series of blackmails, grafts and underground gay sex in the Vatican. The report stated that three cardinals, including the former chief of the Vatican’s secret services, were asked to verify the allegations of financial impropriety, cronyism and corruption brought up by the publication of confidential papal papers in the scandal dubbed “Vatileaks.” The three cardinals reported their findings to the Pope on December 17, 2012, in an almost 300-page document, which revealed the existence of a “network” of gay prelates in the Vatican and contained “an exact map of the mischief and the bad fish” inside the Holy See, the Italian paper said. “It was on that day, with those papers on his desk, that Benedict XVI took the decision he had mulled over for so long,” La Repubblica stated. The Vatican has refused to deny or confirm the report. In January 2012, a series of the Holy See’s internal documents were leaked to Italian media. In May 2012, Vatican authorities arrested Paolo Gabriele, Benedict XVI’s butler, on suspicion of being behind the leaks and charged him with 18 months in jail. Gabriele was later pardoned. YH/HSN

Papal vote preparations begin in earnest at Vatican

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Roman Catholic cardinals filed into the Vatican on Monday for preliminary meetings to sketch an identikit for the next pope and ponder who among them might be best to lead a church beset by crises.They arrived by private car, taxi and minibus at the gates of the Vatican for gatherings known as general congregations, closed-door meetings in which they will get to know each other and decide when to start a conclave to choose a man to lead the 1.2 billion member Church.The Vatican appears to be aiming to have a new pope elected next week and officially installed several days later so he can preside over the Holy Week ceremonies starting with Palm Sunday on March 24 and culminating in Easter the following Sunday.Pope Benedict left the Church in a state of shock when he announced last month that he would be the first pontiff in 600 years to resign instead of ruling for life. He formally stepped down on Thursday, leaving the papacy vacant.High on the agenda at the general congregations will be the daunting challenges that will face the next pontiff, including the sexual abuse crisis that has rocked the Church and last year's "Vatileaks" scandal which exposed corruption and rivalries in the Vatican's bureaucracy."We need a man of governance, by that I mean a man who is able with the people he chooses to help him in an intimate way to govern the Church," Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the former Archbishop of Westminster in London, told BBC radio."Among the things we will be talking about out here are precisely the need in looking for a new pope for these failings that have happened again to be treated, to be faced strongly."The cardinals, numbering about 150, are expected to hold one or two meetings a day. The Vatican seems keen to have only a week of preliminary talks so the 115 "cardinal electors" aged under 80 can enter the Sistine Chapel for the conclave next week. The exact date for its start has not been decided."We have meetings all this week to get to know each other better and consider the situations that we face," said Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois of Paris as he entered. He said he could not say at this stage "who will be the best one to respond to them".
Cardinals expect to be briefed on a secret report to the pope on the problems highlighted by the Vatileaks scandal, when documents which alleged corruption in the Vatican and infighting over the running of its bank were leaked to the media.
SHADOW OF ABUSE CRISIS
The crisis involving sexual abuse of children by priests and inappropriate behavior among adult clerics continues to haunt the Church and has rarely been out of the headlines.One elector - Cardinal Keith O'Brien - quit as Edinburgh archbishop last week and pulled out of attending the conclave because of accusations that he behaved inappropriately with priests and seminarians in the past.O'Brien initially denied the allegations but issued a statement late on Sunday apologizing because "my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal"."The church has a particular responsibility to set a moral standard and that's what it tries to do and if sometimes it doesn't, if it fails with certain individuals occasionally it's going to repent and carry on," said Murphy-O'Connor, who will not take part in the conclave as he is aged over 80He said about O'Brien: "I think that's clearly very sad and the person involved has in fact apologized and is now going to leave, as it were, public life as a priest, as a bishop."The preliminary meetings also give cardinals the chance to size up potential candidates by watching them closely in the debates and checking discreetly with other cardinals about their qualifications or any skeletons in their closets.
Cardinals never reveal publicly who they prefer but drop hints in interviews by discussing the identikit for their ideal candidate. The most frequently mentioned quality here is an ability to communicate the Catholic faith convincingly.Most cardinals say the new pope could come from outside Europe, but it is not clear if the conclave, which has a slight majority of European cardinals, will break the long-standing tradition of choosing men only from the continent.No front-runner stands out but leading candidates include Peter Turkson of Ghana, Leonardo Sandri of Argentina, Austrian Christoph Schoenborn, Brazil's Odilo Scherer, Canadian Marc Ouellet and Angelo Scola, from Italy.In an interview with Reuters, Cardinal Sandri, 69, said the next pope should not be chosen according to a geographic area but must be a "saintly man" who was "best qualified".Sandri said one of the greatest problems facing the Church was "the loss of faith" among many who had "turned their back on God" and need to be brought back into the life of the church.He also said the Church must open itself up to women in the next pontificate, giving them more decision-making positions in the Vatican and beyond.(Additional reporting by Tom Heneghan and Cristiano Corvino in Rome, and Michael Holden in London; Editing by Pravin Char)

03/ 4/2013 VATICAN INSIDER

Cardinal Pell hopes for a Pope with: "The ability to govern"

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The Cardinal Pell
The Cardinal Pell

When Australia’s Cardinal George Pell goes into the conclave to elect the new Pope he will be looking for a candidate that is a strategist, a decision maker, has good and proven pastoral qualities, and the ability to govern

Gerard O'Connell Rome  
Cardinal George Pell, 71, the Archbishop of Sydney, participated in the 2005 conclave which elected Benedict XVI and is now in Rome again to vote in the conclave to elect his successor.In this interview at Domus Australia he reflects on the resignation of Benedict XVI  and speaks about the major challenges facing the Church today and tells me the qualities he is looking for in the candidate to be next pope.
 
Were you surprised, shocked by the resignation of Benedict XVI?
I was certainly surprised by the timing.  I was aware that he was open to the possibility of retirement if he felt he wasn’t up to it. He had said as much in Seewald’s book.  I was aware that he had visited the tomb of Celestine V, and I think he left his pallium there. So all those were signs that resignation  was a live option for him, but I certainly didn’t expect it at that time.
 
When he announced it what was your reaction?
Mixed feelings I think like everybody else. There’s no doubt about it, the whole business is tinged with sadness. I understand that he has done it for the good of the Church.  In some ways it’s a courageous decision, and I think he would be delighted that he would be able to announce it with almost nobody realizing that it was about to come. It was a genuine secret in the Vatican which is quite something. It does put a bit of question mark over the future, of course, but the Eastern Catholic Patriarchs are appointed for life and some of them stand down, as did the Superior General of the Jesuits, so it will depend a lot on the personality and health of the next popes.
 
Do you think he has changed the papacy by his decision?
To some extent, yes!  Some people in Australia have said to me that he was bringing the Church into the 21st century.  In the days when there was no intercontinental travel and no inter-continental media an incapacitated pope could limp along but the 24 hours news-cycle puts all these matters in a different perspective.  And, of course, the Church is facing some very significant challenges and he might have felt that it needed a younger man to face up to these.
 
How much do you think his decision to resign has been influenced by the Vatileaks scandal, the betrayal by the butler, and all the problems linked to governance that have arisen in these years?
He said he has been grieved by those developments, but quite what impact they had on him in coming to this decision I really don’t know.
 
Do you think the age factor will play a significant role in the conclave when it comes to choosing the next pope?
Yes it’s always a significant factor. I think it’s unlikely that we will choose somebody who’s 77 or 78.    I think it’s also unlikely that we will choose somebody who is too young, however you define that, because I think there’s virtue in the papacy changing every 10, 15 or 20 years.
 
So you don’t anticipate a long papacy coming out of this conclave?                                   
                                                                                                                   
Well they said that about Leo XIII and that papacy went on and on, so it’s foolish to anticipate anything.
 
You have been through the conclave process in 2005 – the congregations of cardinals, the ‘murmurings’, the discussions about candidates, and you have a broad understanding of the Church, what qualities will you be looking for in a candidate to be the next pope?
Let me start by telling you what I won’t be looking for. I won’t be looking for a candidate from a particular area.  I think where the next pope comes from is quite secondary to his personal capacity to lead the Church. Some factors are rudimentary: a man of faith and prayer, a good track record, a man with languages.  I don’t think we’re going to get a teacher of the caliber of Benedict or even of John Paul II. We might, but that would be a pleasant surprise.  I think we need somebody who is a strategist, a decision-maker, a planner, somebody who has got strong pastoral capacities already demonstrated so that he can take a grip of the situation and take the Church forward.I mean when you compare the irreligion and the demographic decline in Europe, the violence against Christians in the Middle East, the need to try  to open-up China, the problems of the (Roman) Curia are not in that league.  But it would be very useful for the Church for the new Pope to be able to improve the morale of the Curia, to strengthen their sense of well-being.    
 
So the ability to govern is important
The ability to govern is very important.  It would appear that substantial problems have been identified through Vatileaks and such things, so I think these need to be addressed in a real way, and they need to be addressed in a way, you might even say symbolically, so that the world outside realizes that the new pope has grasped and is well aware of the opportunities that we have, but is also well aware of the particular challenges and is willing to try to do something about them.

Some cardinals tell me that both the progressives and the traditionalists in Rome agree on the need for the reform of the Curia. Is this something you see as an issue?
I think the personnel in the Curia, the leadership in the Curia, is very important. The reform of the Curia is another question and will depend on the will and the capacity of the pope. I think wider consultation is also a factor that needs to be addressed.
 
What do you say to the two schools of thought, one of which says that all that has happened has been an Italian problem and so the cardinals should not elect and Italian pope, while others say we need an Italian pope to sort out this mess because only he will understand it? 
Once again I think that’s a secondary question.  It’s like looking for somebody from South America or somebody from Europe or from Africa. The only thing I would say is the Pope is the Bishop of Rome and I don’t think it would be good for the Church in Italy to have hundreds of years without an Italian pope.  I also feel that “good” Italian candidates all have a bit of a head start in the conclave.

Do you see some “good” Italian candidates this time?
Yes, I think there are a few.  But I certainly wouldn’t exclude somebody coming from somewhere else, and I’d be very surprised if within the next 50 or 100 years we don’t have quite a number of popes from South America.
 
How important do you think it is that the candidate to be next pope should have some pastoral experience, and have worked in a diocese? 
I think it is very important.
 
What are the main challenges that you see now facing the Church, besides the ones you mentioned earlier?
The secularization of Europe remains a challenge, as does the demographic decline in Europe and in the Catholic countries there. You might say very broadly that we have problems of decline in the Church in Europe, whereas in the Church in Africa and in Asia the problems we have are ones of growth. Even in South America, despite the progress of the sects, the secularization there is not nearly as far advanced or as strong.Europe is very important for the Church because most of the new movements and ideas have come from Europe. America is proving to be a great engine for the Church today, especially in the English-speaking world, but I can’t see any alternative to European vitality, so that remains a vital concern.Then again working with the Muslims in Europe to produce a tolerant and peaceful society is a major challenge, and a very difficult one given the violence that’s occurring in the Middle East, Pakistan and places like that.  But it’s a struggle that’s very important. It’s important that we continue to dialogue and cooperate in every way we can.I think more than ever that this century will be an Asian century.  We have got to remain faithful to those who are faithful to the Pope in China, to the Catholics there. But we have also to work constructively to try to open China up.  It’s clear the Catholics there would be no threat at all to government, and I think they’d actually be a useful antidote to the corruption which allegedly is quite widespread there, by giving people meaning in their lives.  That’s another important challenge. 
 
Do you foresee a long conclave?
No, actually I don’t.

03/ 3/2013 VATICAN INSIDER

Diplomacy's revenge?

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Leonardo Sandri
Leonardo Sandri

The Holy See’s nuncios have suffered as a result of some of Benedict XVI’s decisions. Nw Sodano is pushing for Sandri to be made Vatican Secretary of State

Marco Tosatti Rome
Relations between Benedict XVI and diplomats in cassocks have never been good; now, with the Conclave just around the corner, efforts are being focused on trying to give Vatican diplomats their lustre back. Nuncios – at least a good number of them, including their leaders who answer to his eminence Angelo Sodano, the Prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, Sandri and the Patron of the Order of Malta, Cardinal Paolo Sardi – have suffered a number of decisions taken during Benedict XVI’s pontificate.First of all, the now former Pope’s decision to no longer receive nuncios in audience, with some rare exceptions. Instead, Bertone was supposed to receive them, but apparently nuncios did not find this solution satisfactory. The second decision was perhaps key to the fate of Benedict XVI’s papacy. Sodano chose Tarcisio Bertone, who was not a diplomat, as Secretary of State. Many Vatican diplomats saw this choice as a slap in the face.Unfortunately, Cardinal Bertone was not lucky in some of his choices. One could say he had the inverse of King Midas’ charisma. He chose the current Prefect of Propaganda Fide, Nuncio Filoni, as Substitute. Nuncio Filoni proceeded to take actions that were in contrast to what his benefactor had done. A similar phenomenon was seen with the current Substitute (who has his eye on the Secretary of State’s job) Angelo Becciu, a member of the Focolare movement. To add insult to injury, apparently Bertone at one point mistakenly promised the cardinals’ biretta to the then Secretary of the Governorate, Carlo Maria Viganò (who also has a diplomatic background).But when his candidacy was presented to the Pope, Benedict XVI turned it down outright. Vatican Insider believes this was probably after Benedict XVI consulted with the President of the Governorate, Cardinal Lajolo and others. That is when the transparency “case” and the alleged shady dealings in the Governorate exploded. But an internal investigation did not lead to any nothing shocking revelations. Lajolo rightly said that it was not just Viganò who involved in reorganisation work but the whole leadership, including Lajolo.Meanwhile, however, this controversy only worsened relations between Vatican diplomats in general – not all of them of course – and the head of Benedict XVI’s kingdom. Maybe it is just a coincidence, but just a few weeks before Benedict XVI announced his resignation, two of the diplomats who conformed the least to the existing power logic - Nicolas Thevenina and Ettore Balestrero - were promoted (and it was definitely a promotion) but sent away from Rome and the papal apartment –a context they were familiar with. Some information filtered through in December about Benedict XVI’s reasons for moving them away from the Vatican and some snatched the chance to give their interpretations of certain signs and half-phrases.

But the post-Benedict XVI period had already been contemplated. Not surprisingly, about a month ago, a major American Catholic magazine referred to Leonardo Sandri, Angelo Sodano’s loyalist, as a possible papabile. Leonardo Sandri was Substitute of the Secretariat of State when Sodano was Secretariat of State. Both figures raised suspicions over their management of the Maciel case, the biggest scandal the Catholic Church has faced since time immemorial. Rome protected Fr. Maciel Degollado, founder of the Legion of Christ, a bigamist, a paedophile and who knows what else, from accusations being made against him in Mexico. This was until Benedict XVI finally punished him. In May 2005, however, an official statement  - sent from the Secretariat of State led by Sodano and Sandri – claimed the situation was under control and that all rumours that had gone round were just hearsay. “The Holy See has recently informed the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ that there is currently no canonical lawsuit against the founder Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado, and no lawsuit is going to be launched.”The theory of Leonardo Sandri becoming Benedict XVI’s successor seems to fall apart. Meanwhile, the resolute Cardinal Sodano is trying to restore lost lustre to Vatican diplomacy by putting his own candidate forward for the position of Secretary of State, in exchange for his support for a plausible figure as Pope, Odilo Scherer for example. A delayed triumph over Bertone, who could it seems bolster support for Scherer with his packet of Salesian votes, having gained weak consensus over his first favourite, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi. As Secretary of State under the leadership of a new Pope, Sandri would ensure the continuation of the Sodano “spiritual school of thought” in Vatican diplomacy.

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