A New Move Toward a European Army

Also, the Catholic child abuse scandal hits Germany.
 

European Commission President Jean Claude Junker gave his annual State of the Union address on Wednesday. “If Europe were to unite all the political, economic and military might of its nations, its role in the world could be strengthened,” he said.

“Whenever Europe speaks as one we can impose our positions on others,” he continued.

The European Commission announced practical moves to do this. The European Union already has plans to create a border force that is 10,000 strong. Already its border force can be deployed in almost any European country, even without the host nation’s permission.

Currently, the guards are loaned by different nations. The new force will belong solely to the EU. It was set to come into force in 2027. But according to the EU’s new plans, it will come into force in 2020. It will also be allowed to deploy outside Europe’s borders.

And it will be armed.

This is a major step for Europe. It’s still short of an EU army, but the EU is steadily moving toward that with small steps.

You can read more about this EU push in our article “Why the Trumpet Watches Europe’s Push Toward a Unified Military.” Revelation 17 forecast 10 nations that share their strength and power with a bigger, overall empire. That passage also talks about its economic power. Which is why Herbert W. Armstrong, as early as 1945, said that European nations would work together economically first and then move toward a military alliance. We’ve seen the economic aspect already, and now the military is moving forward.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Church abuse scandal hit Germany this week. Der Spiegel published results from a report leaked from the German Catholic Bishops’ Conference. It found that around 3,700 children had been abused by 1,700 priests. More than half of the children abused were under 13. Once again, if priests were caught, they were just moved around.

The report once again proves this is not just a problem in the United States. Reports of massive abuse have come from all over the world, including Spain, Ireland and Australia, just to name a few. This week, the pope called for a meeting of the heads of all the bishops’ conferences all around the world, to take place in February. Cardinal Wuerl, one of the top cardinals in the U.S., released a letter strongly indicating that he’s about to travel to Rome and resign.

This is an important story to watch. A major scandal within this church is being exposed. The same prophecies that forecast a military power in Europe also say that that power will be led by the Catholic Church. That will require a big change from Pope Francis, in many ways. This scandal could help bring that change about. For more on this power in Europe and its relations with the Catholic Church, read our free book The Holy Roman Empire in Prophecy.