News and Prophecy Staff

“POPE FRANCIS has inspired a surge in attendances and confessions in the Roman Catholic Church, reversing decades of decline... In the eight months since he was chosen, cathedrals in Britain have seen a rise of about 20% in congregations, drawing in both new and lapsed members… Attendances at the Pope’s weekly address [in Rome] have surged to 85,000 last month against 5,000 for his predecessor, Benedict XVI” (Sunday Times, November 17, 2013).

“Pope Francis on Sunday will preside over a Mass in St. Peter’s Square at which an urn containing the relics [supposedly the bones of Peter] will be shown for public veneration. The urn is usually kept in the Apostolic Palace for private veneration by popes, but it will be publicly displayed for the first time to mark the end of the church’s ‘Year of Faith’” (Associated Press, November 18, 2013).

“A new poll by German public television (ARD) indicates that only 35 percent of Germans still see the United States as a good partner. That figure has fallen 14 points since just this past July when about half of all Germans saw America as a partner they could trust. The new poll… also indicates that 61 percent of Germans now see the United States as an untrustworthy partner” (McClatchyDC, November 8, 2013).

Typhoon Haiyan (Typhoon Yolanda) slammed into the central Philippines last Friday killing more than 2,000 people and inflicting damage on more than 41 provinces (Associated Press, November 11, 2013; November 14, 2013).

A recent Economist article entitled “Little England or Great Britain?”  suggests that Britain faces two choices: to either rebuild its greatness or continue its decline on the world scene (November 9, 2013). Coming events that will impact this future include: the vote on Scottish independence in 2014, a British referendum on EU membership in 2017, along with immigration and other issues (ibid.).