Vatican astronomer rejects Mayan prophecy of world's end
December 12, 2012
An ancient Mayan prediction that the world will end on December 21 is “not even worth discussing,” according to the head of the Vatican Observatory.
Father José Funes wrote in L’Osservatore Romano that the steady expansion of the universe might eventually lead to an explosive cosmological event, but that possibility is many millions of years in the future. More importantly, he added, for Christians “death can never have the last word.”
Reacting to the Mayan prophecy with a humorous touch, a Chilean bishop said that the Church would happily accept donations for anyone convinced that the world is ending. Bishop Bernardo Bastres Florence of Punta Arenas said: “If there are many who believe the world will end on December 21, as the Church, we have no problem with them naming us as the beneficiaries of their possessions in their wills.”
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Further information:
- Vatican: World not ending, despite Maya prediction (AP)
- Bishop says Mayan prophecy believers should donate to Church before world's end (CNA)
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