As my longtime readers know, I’ve been writing eschatology for a long time. However, many of my past predictions did not occur at the proposed times. Other predictions I made years ago have their predicted events still in the future. Note well that my writings about the future are, as always, speculative and fallible.

My thoughts on future possible events in 2024, in no particular order:

1. I think 2024 will be the last year of Pope Francis’ reign, and that he will resign sometime during the year, maybe in summer.

2. I consider that the next Roman Pontiff will be a conservative from Africa.

People say that Pope Francis has chosen so many of the voting Cardinals that his successor will be like him, a “Francis II” — I don’t believe that at all. The Cardinals chose Pope Francis (Cardinal Bergoglio) partly because he was from South America. Some Cardinals see value in ending the unofficial tradition that the Pope be Italian or European. They want Popes from different regions. Three past Popes were from Africa, but we don’t seem to have any records as to whether they were black or not. That is because the Roman empire stretched from Europe through the Middle East and into Africa. So I think the Cardinals would like to have a Pope from Africa. The liberal and moderate Cardinals have this consideration as a factor; then the conservative Cardinals know that Africa is very conservative when it comes to Catholicism. So I am predicting that the next Pope will be a black Cardinal from Africa, a conservative, who will take the name Pope Pius XIII. (Note that during the pontificate of Pope Saint John Paul II, I predicted that the next Pope would take the name Benedict.)

3. I opine that the next Pope might reverse a number of decisions of Pope Francis, including:

* widening the permissions for the traditional Latin Mass — wider than at any time since Vatican II
* removing the permission for blessings for persons in irregular situations
* making the criteria more strict for reception of Communion
* clarifying the conditions for a good Confession
* issuing doctrinal teachings in document after document, reaffirming and clarifying magisterial teaching on LGBT issues, contraception, abortion, euthanasia, marriage, sexual sins, the authority of Popes and Ecumenical Councils, the authority of Bishops, etc.
* clarifying the teaching of the Church regarding infallible teachings, non-infallible teachings, and theological opinion.

* the next Pope might possibly use Papal Infallibility to issues several dogmatic definitions, as a way to fight against the widespread and deeply ingrained errors among the faithful and clergy
* the next Pope might possibly remove some liberal Cardinals and Bishops, for various severe errors on doctrine and discipline; might possibly excommunicate or laicize problematic clergy; might issue notifications, corrections, as well as possible excommunications against lay leaders who lead others in to grave error.
* as a conservative Pope, I think he will emphasize correcting liberal errors.

** Does this sound good to you, conservative opponents of Pope Francis? **

Listen closely. EVERY POPE supports past Popes and Ecumenical Councils. Two of the successors of Pope Alexander VI — who is on every list of supposedly “bad” popes — said he was one of the best Popes in recent Church history. No Pope will ever nullify or condemn Vatican I or Vatican II or any other past Ecumenical Council. No future Pope is going to call Pope Francis a heretic or worse; no future Pope is going to condemn his teachings. However, decisions of discipline are changeable, by their very nature. So we can expect the next conservative Pope to reverse some of the liberal decisions of Pope Francis on discipline.

But if you think than any future Pope is going to condone or support any of the exaggerated negative rhetoric directed at Pope Francis, you must be new here.

One could take the most ardent opponent of Pope Francis, a hypothetical Bishop who has been vehemently opposing him with the most fierce rhetoric since day one, and if he becomes Pope, God will make him do God’s will. Such a hypothetical Pope will not condemn Pope Francis from the See of Peter, will not accuse him of heresy or worse, and will not contradict everything that Pope Francis said and did. This is because God runs the Church. Now the Church is both divine and human, so sometimes the human aspects might seem to obscure the divine aspects of the Church. But the Church is not a political body, whereby one party can get control and change the teachings. It doesn’t work like that. God wanted Pope Francis to be the Roman Pontiff for a time, for whatever divine reason. And God does not change His mind. But perhaps I have perceived a small inkling of God’s will for the next Pope: that after Francis preached against conservative failings and errors, the next Pope will be conservative, and will preach against liberal failings and errors. For Jesus preached against the conservative Pharisees and the liberal Sadducees (and the sinful secular Herodians).

* Therefore, I fully expect the next conservative Pope to sharply rebuke those conservatives who opposed Pope Francis, who accused him of apostasy, heresy, idolatry, etc. I expect documents on this topic, clarifying the obedience owed to every Roman Pontiff. I expect a clarification from the next Pope that the charism of truth and never-failing faith protects every Pope from heresy.

4. The 2024 U.S. Presidential Election: I think that neither Biden nor Trump will be running for President by November of 2024. Big changes are in order. The world of politics will be set in disarray. The next president, in my prediction, will be a woman, probably Nikki Haley. A landslide win for Nikki Haley is my prediction.

5. War. Ugh. Iran is very close to getting nuclear weapons. See my past posts. I think that Iran will announce that they have nuclear weapons in 2024. They might already have one or two. Iran may have a secret uranium enrichment facility, in addition to the two known facilities at Natanz and Fordo. If so, they may be well on their way to making enough Weapon-Grade Uranium for several nukes.

A quick nuke primer. The Hiroshima bomb was the relatively simple-to-build bullet type. The Nagasaki bomb was the much trickier implosion type. If you’re Iran and you want nukes, here’s what you do. You enrich some uranium to 90+ percent, and make a couple of bullet-type nukes, as these are easier to make. Those go in storage, just in case. Technically, you can make a bullet-type nuke with 60% U-235, but Iran has the centrifuge tech to quickly make 90% U-235. Typical modest yield nuke is considered to be 25 kg or so of U-235. With your bullet-type nukes in storage, then you start making implosion type weapons. Iran would need at least 5 or 6 nukes to be able to use 1 or 2, with the others held in abeyance to keep the target of their nuclear attack from trying to destroy their nation in reply.

6. Will Iran use nuclear weapons in 2024. Hard to say, but it is always a risk. Consider how Israel was caught off-guard by the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas. I don’t want the U.S. to be caught off-guard by a nuclear attack from Iran. Most likely target: New York City.

7. The secrets of Medjugorje and Garabandal. 2024 is a year when these events could begin. The dates for Good Friday and Easter as the same as in my eschatology, years later, for the end of the lesser tribulation. If Good Friday in 2024 is the day of the Warning of Garabandal, the whole world will cry Woe!

8. Added on 3 January 2024: Pope Francis may authorize ordaining women deacons in 2024.

Ronald L Conte Jr