The "end times," according to the Catholic faith, began with the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose Person God fully revealed Himself to humanity. This is not a countdown to the end of the world, but an era in which all of us are called to respond to the Truth revealed in Christ.

In this time, false prophets and spiritual deceptions abound, as Jesus himself warns: "If anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!', do not believe it" (Luke 17:23). To embrace these messages without discernment is to drink poison for the soul; on the contrary, praying, discerning, and remaining faithful to the Magisterium represents the sure path to safeguarding the faith.

The Poison of False Prophecies

In recent years, visions, apparitions, alleged locutions, and divine signs have spread rapidly, especially through social networks and online groups. They attract attention and generate enthusiasm, but they almost never come from God. The Catholic faith warns: not everything that appears luminous truly is. False prophecies, however seductive, can corrode spiritual life and lead to error.

Scripture is clear: "For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect" (Matthew 24:24). The letters to the Thessalonians and the Book of Revelation also confirm that deception can take extraordinary forms. Without sound discernment, the believer—at the mercy of these drifts—risks a progressive weakening of faith and the inability to distinguish truth from falsehood.

The Catholic Magisterium: A Sure Guide

The danger becomes even more severe when an alleged prophecy contradicts the Magisterium. The Code of Canon Law establishes that the Magisterium is the supreme authority in the interpretation of doctrine (can. 751, 752 CIC), while the Catechism (§67) reiterates that private revelations cannot surpass the definitive Revelation in Christ. Consequently, no private revelation can prevail over official doctrine: it can be an aid, but only if read in the light of the Magisterium.

The Silence of the Church and the Interpretative Vacuum

In this context, the prolonged silence of ecclesiastical authorities regarding doubts—raised from multiple fronts and never officially cleared—about the validity of Benedict XVI’s resignation has generated deep bewilderment among the faithful. This uncertainty, inevitably projected onto the legitimacy of the 2013 Conclave and the pontificate of Francis, ends up weighing also on the election of Leo XIV. The latter appears even more controversial due to the participation of 133 cardinal electors: a number that exceeds by 13 units the maximum limit of 120 fixed by the apostolic constitutions Romano Pontifici Eligendo and Universi Dominici Gregis, admitted without any Pontiff ever having formalized a specific derogation.

Within this framework lie the numerous public petitions and the complaint to the Vatican judiciary presented by Dr. Andrea Cionci regarding the thesis of Benedict XVI’s "impeded see" (sede impedita). These initiatives give voice to a need for clarity which, unfortunately remaining unaddressed, has produced an interpretative vacuum in which arbitrary readings and pseudo-prophetic drifts proliferate. Instead of offering valid answers, these end up exacerbating confusion, error, and division.

The Indefectibility of the Church

However, the Church possesses an essential property: indefectibility, which implies her permanence through time in the same identity and historical uniqueness, guaranteed by the continuity of the Petrine succession, as well as the impossibility of erring in transmitting the deposit of faith. This is founded on Christ's promise: "The gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).

It follows that the Church cannot change her identity nor profess errors in matters of faith and morals; any errors must be attributed not to the Church as such, but to the actions of men who, while operating within her, are only apparently endowed with the authority of Christ, not having validly received it through canonical means. Yet, they manage to introduce erroneous content, which is also falsely valid and therefore destined, sooner or later, to be discarded.

The Church remains the guardian of Truth, guided by the Holy Spirit (Lumen Gentium, §25). From this follows a logical consequence: anyone today who, declaring themselves Catholic, claims that the Church has become totally subservient to the evil one and has therefore ceased to be the "Light of Nations," falls into grave contradiction. They deny the very principle—indefectibility—that should have constituted the foundation of their own faith.

The "Little Remnant"

The biblical concept of the "Little Remnant" identifies that core of believers who preserve fidelity to God in times of trial. As prophesied by Isaiah (10:20-22), the day will come when the survivors of Israel "...will no longer rely on him who struck them, but will rely with loyalty on the Lord." This call finds an echo in St. Paul’s words to the Romans (11:5-6): "So too at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace..." True fidelity, therefore, is not measured by numbers or consensus, but by consistency with Tradition and the Depositum Fidei.

From this perspective, the authentic biblical value of the term diverges radically from the interpretations widespread in "post-ecclesial" circles. The latter, having repudiated the Church as irreremediably corrupt, reduce the "Little Remnant" to an entity severed from and placed in open contrast with the institution. On the contrary, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (§670-677, §748) refers this concept to the Church herself: she is the only place where the faithful remnant finds protection and guidance.

Even St. Leo the Great emphasizes how, in times of heresy, a "little remnant" remains faithful to the true Pope and the Magisterium. Therefore, the "Little Remnant" cannot be understood as an opposition to the institutional Church, but as its most faithful part: the praying heart of the one Spouse of Christ.

Pseudo-Popes and Schisms

A blatant example of spiritual drift is represented by those who proclaim themselves, or theorize that they can be acclaimed as Pontiffs, outside the institutional framework and in defiance of the norms on the Conclave (can. 332 §1; can. 333 §1 CIC). Such acts lack any canonical or doctrinal validity. They constitute the crime of schism (can. 1364 §1 CIC) and drag the faithful into a labyrinth of indoctrination that jeopardizes their very spiritual salvation.

Whoever holds the current pontificate to be invalid but—ignoring the indefectibility of the Church—now deems the institution overwhelmed by error to the point of feeling legitimized to violate its norms, incurs a double logical short-circuit. The first is substantial: it is equivalent to claiming that a law loses its force simply because those who promulgated or administer it are deemed unworthy. The second is intrinsic: an unbridgeable dichotomy is placed between denouncing the alleged irregularities of others and arrogating to oneself the right to commit them, moreover in blatant legal arbitrariness.

Conclusion: Surviving the Deception

The snares of self-styled prophecies and false pontificates constantly threaten the life of the spirit: only that which is rooted in revealed Truth and the Magisterium—and sealed by the sacred canons—truly opens the way to salvation. Relying on unverified messages and proclamations lacking canonical legitimacy exposes the soul to the risk of fatal straying.

Anchored in this certainty, we pray that the Spirit of Truth may enlighten His servants, free the Church from all pretense, and preserve us from all evil, keeping our hearts firm in faith under the defense and patronage of St. Michael the Archerangel.

Roberto Loggia