'Last Pope' documentary earns high praise

By Scott Greer

WND Films' new documentary "The Last Pope?" is earning high praise from Prophecy in the News, a ministry that helps Christians understand the current times.

"This is a beautifully produced motion picture," said the group's Gary Stearman. "It's a movie that will take you to places that will amaze you, that will surprise you, that will intrigue you, and I guarantee you that, just like me, will want to turn right around and watch it again."

The group's popular television show recently aired a special on the documentary in which Stearman interviewed Tom Horn, the author of "Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope is Here."

Horn was unable to cover the entire project in one show, so Stearman said more would be coming.

"The Last Pope?" takes viewers to Rome, Geneva, Belfast and the U.S. to discover the story of venerated Irish prophet St. Malachy.

Lost inside the Vatican archives for 400 years, Malachy's "Prophecy of the Popes" emerged in the late 1500s at a time of great upheaval in the Catholic church.

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According to the Prophecy of the Popes, a time of vast biblical significance is now at hand.

"The Last Pope?" cites evidence from medieval historians, Vatican-affiliated experts, authors (including Tom Horn and Chris Putman, co-authors of "Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope is Here") and others. From Ireland to Italy, "The Last Pope?" tells a riveting story of eschatological intrigue.

Joseph Farah, the founder of WND, believes the documentary tells a story that people from all walks all life will want to know more about.

"Strong sales of books on the papal prophecies of St. Malachy suggest a strong fascination with the topic. This documentary is the first to take an objective and balanced view that includes the official Vatican position and opinions and insights from a wide variety of both Catholic and non-Catholic experts," Farah said.

For more than 800 years, scholars have pointed to the dark augury having to do with "the last pope."

The prophecy is among a list of verses predicting each of the Roman Catholic popes from Pope Celestine II to the final pope, "Peter the Roman," whose reign would end in the destruction of Rome.

First published in 1595, the prophecies were attributed to St. Malachy by a Benedictine historian named Arnold de Wyon, who recorded them in his book, "Lignum Vitæ." Tradition holds that Malachy had been called to Rome by Pope Innocent II, and while there, he experienced the vision of the future popes, including the last one, which he wrote down in a series of cryptic phrases.

Some researchers of Malachy's prophecies believe Benedict XVI fits the description of the pope who would precede the final pontiff. The final pope, according to Malachy, heralds the beginning of "great apostasy" followed by "great tribulation" and sets the stage for the unfolding of apocalyptic events that align with the theology of many non-Catholics. The events would give rise to a false prophet, who according to the book of Revelation, leads the world's religious communities into embracing a political leader known as Antichrist.