What does ISIS mean when they issue repeated threats about conquering Rome? This is not, as some have speculated, a metaphorical term for America. It is not directed at some vague notion of Christianity. It is not about a larger invasion of the West.
They mean this:
To those who know, who understand the longstanding conflict that has spanned over a millennium, the reason is clear. What is represented in this image – published several months ago on the cover of the official magazine of the Islamic State – is the only thing that matters: the seat of Christendom itself, the See of Peter, the Vicar of Christ.
We can’t afford to forget this. They won’t.
Steve Skojec is the Founding Publisher of OnePeterFive.com. He received his BA in Communications and Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2001. His commentary has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, Crisis Magazine, EWTN, Huffington Post Live, The Fox News Channel, Foreign Policy, and the BBC. Steve and his wife Jamie have eight children. You can find more of his writing at his Substack, The Skojec File.
Does this remind anyone else of the prophecy of St. Malachy concerning “Peter Roman”?
First thing that came to my mind is the prophecy of ‘The Bishop dressed in white that had to flee the Vatican’. Prophecy is never crystal clear however, until ‘after the fact’.
I, for one, believe this could represent an outstanding opportunity for dialogue……the Pope won’t even have to go to the peripheries – it’s coming to him!
There is only one Church Satan needs to destroy, which he will never succeed in doing, and it is the Catholic Church- this is Satan’s only real threat… and ISIS is his army. He will fail in the end as we know but there will be many martyrs if they get this far. Lord have Mercy!
If Mehmet “The Conqueror” II (1451-1481) had not been delayed by the siege of Otranto – after it was taken, the bishop was sawn in half and 800 others were impaled – Rome might have fallen to him. It was partly sacked in 846 by Saracen pirates, and would be sacked by Christians in 1527. It was sacked in 410 & 455, and occupied in 1798 as well as by the Nazis, to say nothing of the events of 1870; so there’s every reason why it should fall to an enemy again.
So this threat needs to be taken with the utmost seriousness. Why would ISIS not mean Rome ? If the Church had not abandoned evangelism for dialogue, we might now be in this mess. Rome is reaping what it sowed 50 years ago. Christ commanded His Disciples to “preach to all nations” – but no, recent Popes knew better than the Son of God. This is their reward, & the Church’s.