Vatican Report: Vatican Report this week looks at how the Catholic Church views predictions of the "end times".

Check out this website I found at h2onews.org

CG: Interest in the “end times” of humanity seems to be accelerating. One Christian group has predicted the second coming and judgment day this weekend. If that comes and goes, we still have December 21, 2012, as a back-up date for the Apocalypse, this one supposedly set by the Mayan calendar. What does the Catholic Church think of all these predictions? We’ll look at that question today on the Vatican Report. I’m Carol Glatz.JT: And I’m John Thavis. Earlier this month, here in Rome we were pleased that predictions that the city would be leveled by an earthquake failed to come true. Well, we barely had time to catch our breath when the next apocalyptic forecast popped onto the radar. According to this one, Saturday, May 21, will be judgment day, the day Jesus will return and true Christians will be taken up to heaven in the Rapture. The rest will be left behind to suffer through some very bad times until God destroys the earth on October 21. CG: Now, all this is being promoted by a small fringe group. The Christian radio host who is predicting judgment day on May 21 is basing it on his mathematical interpretation of the Bible; he made a similar prediction for 1994, which has not helped his credibility. I think it’s safe to say that most people are skeptical this time around, too. But in the United States, according to a Pew Research poll last year, 41 percent of Americans do believe that Jesus Christ will return to earth sometime in the next 40 years. So the “end times” are on people’s minds. We’ve seen this over the last several years, with best-selling books that popularize the biblical vision of the end of the world.JT: Right, and they list the signs that supposedly make it clear that the end is near. The Catholic Church has always been skeptical of these predictions, especially the idea that a small group would be raised up to heaven by Jesus in the Rapture, a kind of preliminary return before the Apocalypse. The Rapture scenario was elaborated by Protestant writers to include a period of tribulation before the final battle between Christ and the Antichrist. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is much less specific about end times. It says that Christ’s death and resurrection mark the entry of humanity into the “final age of the world,” and that before Christ’s second coming, the church will undergo a period of persecution and trial that will shake the faith of many believers. CG: The catechism reminds Catholics that Jesus was asked by his disciples when the end of the world would come, and he answered that no one knows the day or the hour. The church teaches that it could come at any moment -- and that Christians should live their lives with that in mind. But looking ahead to the next world should not lead Christians to turn their back on this world. And that’s where Catholic theologians see the “judgment day” predictions as potentially harmful: in focusing attention away from the real-world injustices that need to be dealt with.JT: It’s interesting that Pope Benedict was recently asked about the Second Coming and the end of the world in his book-length interview last fall. He said he’s dubious about interpretations that see the “end times” being played out chapter and verse in the contemporary world. And he said the Bible is not a book for calculating when the world will end. At the same time, the pope said people should never forget that one day, they will be judged. I’m John Thavis. CG: And I’m Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service.
Watch video here: http://www.h2onews.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=224449237...

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