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The Templar Pope?
An interesting bit of information has come out about the new Pope Benedict XVI (aka Ratzinger). It seems that very shortly before being elected pope, he was researching the history of the Knights Templar and the Illuminati. Anything beyond this is pretty much pure speculation (actually, this too may not even be real). And so, let’s put on our speculating hats! Here’s a copy of the news article which this broke in.
First, Ratzinger was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under John Paul II. This office used to be called the Inquisition. The Inquisition was instrumental in rooting our and persecuting the Knights Templars some 700 years ago. Last December, the Knights Templar supposedly petitioned the Vatican for a formal apology in time for the 700th anniversary of all this in 2007. The theory is put forth in this article that Ratzinger was researching this matter, because the CDF/Inquisition office deals also with apologies of this nature. However, at the time of the alleged request, he may not have been a part of this office anymore. I’m not sure when he officially stepped down, but I know that upon JP2’s death, it was definitely formal.
Either way, supposedly the Vatican is “seriously considering” giving this apology. But why would this matter to them? It seems to be at least partially related to a file which came to light recently in the Vatican archives. It seems that Pope Clement V, who reigned during their persecution, conducted some kind of secret trial which exonerated them - and yet their public persecution continued unabated. One other curious but probably meaningless footnote: the Templars were officially disbanded (I think) in 1312. So 700 years after that would be 2012.
That article also mentions another historic thread which deserves to be unraveled. Supposedly, there is a connection between the Knights Templar and the Order of the Benedictine monks. As stated earlier, the Benedictines have allegedly claimed for years that this current pope would come from their order. While Benedict XVI was not a member of their order, the coincidence of his name still seems significant. Anyway, I’m not exactly an expert on Templar history, but the connection to the Benedictines seems to go like this: The order was founded by Benedict, who wrote a code for monastic life called the Rule of Benedict. The Benedictines followed this rule, but supposedly lapsed over the years. At some point, another offshoot order was founder - the Cistercians - who basically were trying to go back and follow this rule in it’s original intent. Seems like the Templars in turn were founded by or at least closely connected to the Cistercians. Here’s an in-depth comparison between the original Rule of Benedict and the Rule of the Templars.
Also, supposedly after the Templars were disbanded, they went underground. Various theories exist about what happened to them, and where their enormous stash of treasure disappeared to. My favorite theory about that says they sailed to the New World, and that the pirate skull & crossbones flag - the Jolly Roger - is actually derived from Templar symbolism. One other theory suggests that they resurfaced in Scotland centuries later, at least in part, as the Freemasons. I’ve not yet found a really solid bit of writing connecting the Templars to the Masons, so if anybody has one, send it here.
If you combine this with some other strains of speculation, you get some interesting results. The original trumped-up charges against the Templars partly stemmed from allegations that they worshipped a demonic figure named Baphomet, and practiced ritual sodomy in their rites. A priest named Malachi Martin seems to have written a good deal during the 90’s about a sect of Satanists who infiltrated the Vatican, and are involved with pedophilia and other dark rites.
Another fun connection for conspiracy-heads is that Ratzinger’s homeland is actually Bavaria - home to the Bavarian Illuminati, which was the other subject of Ratzinger’s supposed research. Who knows where all this really leads, but it’s definitely a fun topic for conjecture, if I do say so myself. Some other leads to follow up:
- Dan Brown, author of the Da Vinci Code, wrote a novel previous to that called Angels and Demons which is about some kind of struggle between the Vatican and the Illuminati. The Code also glorifies the Priory of Sion, which is rumored to have Templar links. Maybe there’s more to this guy’s rising star than meets the eye. Or maybe he’s just very good at reading the zeitgeist.
- Here’s a message board with various things about the connection between the Benedictines and the Templars. Pretty speculative, and rather hard to sort through. And here’s another take on the Ratzinger Templar research
- Originally spotted this story thanks to Jennifer Emick’s excellent Alternative Religions site. She also has a bunch of great resources on the Templars.
May 25th, 2005 at 2:33 am
For some more fun masonic and secret society references in popular culture:
http://www.bessel.org/culture.htm
I’m glad people compile information like this ’cause I would hate doing it!
May 25th, 2005 at 2:37 am
Here is another one, for film references only:
http://www.freemasonry.bcy.ca/fiction/cinema.html
May 25th, 2005 at 9:18 am
“The Temple & The Lodge” Baigent & Leigh
“Talisman” Grahm Hancock & Robert Bouval
or just check the Masonic literature itself. (lol, although the above is probably Masonic literature as well)
um, its pretty solid, Templars > Hermetism > Rosicrucians > Masons (those are arrows, not greater than)
symbolism, ideas…….its all signifies to me a flowing underground stream.
if you want a visual adaptation:
http://www.revelation-movie.com/
its a great watch to visualize this stuff after reading so much… very creepy and adds some stuff i never had read but seems plausible on some other shit.
but yeah, Grahm Hancock also has a book, The Sign & The Seal, that goes into Templar, Order Of Christ, Mason connections in regards to the Ark of the Covenant & Ethiopia, a angle hardly ever mentioned in most conspiricy/history stuff, and IMO one of the most revealing and important angles of the world situation…
hope those help.
one
human?
May 25th, 2005 at 9:31 am
i just read the article that you linked, where they broke the news of Ratzinger’s research.
sounds to me like its dis info.
Ratzinger has access to whatever info he needs about the templars and about the masons.
he would not personaly call a historian, nor have his office call them.
he knows how the Masons work. he knows that the chances of the local historian being a Mason are probably pretty high. if he is really investigating he isnt going to tip them off, unless he was threatening them..
sounds like PR stunt for these “Templars” apology cause.
but it does remind me of the anime “Hellsing”. check how the Vatican rolls in that (i know its a cartoon) but i think things like Vatican research into Freemasonry go down more like that than sloopy like the Cardinal calling them up.
imaginewhat the Vatican research archives regarding Templars & Freemasonry must look like?
they probably have BY FAR the largest collection in that regards on planet earth, including any Masonic collections…..
and then you got all the Vatican intelligence networks etc… and Ratzinger (the HEAD of the inquisition!) is on the phone with some local historian? i dunno, article seems a bit fishy.
but there is, no doubt, something to this story on a level.
one
human?
May 25th, 2005 at 11:59 am
oh i agree. the whole story stinks to high heaven for all the reasons you described. i was thinking about that whole thing with the vatican archives too - they really must be one of the largest sources of info on this shit available. i can only imagine the stuff hidden in their. actually that article is pretty non-specific in claiming that it was actually him who called. its still interesting that this story came out at all though. even more interesting though is that the original newspaper which supposedly broke it, they dont seem to have the article on their site. maybe i wasnt looking properly, but maybe its a straight up fake…
May 25th, 2005 at 5:35 pm
Regarding Baphomet: I’m pretty sure at this point that Baphomet was actually Hermes Trismegistus, but confused with Abraxas and other Templar Talismans. Toward the end, the Templars were certainly mystics of the Hermetic/Gnostic sort.
May 25th, 2005 at 7:36 pm
i tend to go with the ‘baphomet = sophia’ theory.
from jennifer’s site:
http://altreligion.about.com/library/weekly/aa030103a.htm
—————-
The Goddess Sophia
Others have suggested more intriguing possibilities-a respected Dead Sea Scrolls scholar, Dr. Hugh Schonfield, believes that baphomet is a kabalistic cipher for the Gnostic Goddess Sophia. The code, known as the “atbash Cipher,” is a common kabbalistic substitution cipher, where the Hebrew alphabet is laid out twice in opposite directions, each letter from the top row substituting for one on the lower. Using this system, the name Baphomet spelled in Hebrew characters yields the name Sophia. Curiously, a number of Templar artifacts bear an image of an unusual bearded androgyne which resembles alchemical drawings of the Anima Mundi, or soul of the world, who is identical to the Gnostic Sophia (Sophia was often referred to by the Gnostics as a hermaphroditic deity). Even more curiously, Gnostic texts often equate Sophia with Mary Magdalen, who is sometimes implied as the lover or companion of Christ. (They also resemble depictions of Abraxas, a Gnostic solar deity, and some images of Osiris used by Gnostic groups).
May 25th, 2005 at 8:14 pm
yeah i like that atbash cipher theory. ive come across it before. i was casually ignoring it for the moment… i know they werent really worshipping satan.