Pope Decries ‘Prophets Of Doom’...DOOM In....8....7....6....5....4....3....2.....1.....

Who are these prophets of doom?

Pope decries ‘prophets of doom’ wanting only ‘the usual fare’

ROME - Bringing the Vatican’s holiday season to a close on Thursday with a Mass for the feast of the Epiphany, Pope Francis delivered a strong homily on a “holy longing for God” as the answer to “prophets of doom” who think “nothing can change” and stubbornly cling to “the usual fare.” Epiphany celebrates the New Testament story of the Three Wise Men, or Magi, who went in search of the infant Jesus. The pontiff said they were guided by a positive “inner restlessness,” which left them “open to something new.” “A holy longing for God is the memory of faith, which rebels before all prophets of doom,” the pontiff said. The phrase “prophets of doom” has a long history in papal rhetoric, including a famous address by St. Pope John XXIII at the opening of the Second Vatican Council in October 1962. In the decades since, it’s generally become used in Catholic parlance to characterize resistance to proposals for reform. Francis said Thursday that “holy longing” draws people out of that reaction. Crux