Pope Francis II Is Dead, Another Big Event in Rome, Klaus Schwab Resigns
Pope Francis II died this morning after appearing at Easter Sunday celebrations yesterday, Mihailo Zekic reports. Francis’s 12-year papacy was a stark departure from that of his predecessor, the conservative Pope Benedict XVI. Francis focused on progressive causes like social justice, climate change, outreach to LGBTQ+, and fostering dialogue with other religions, notably Islam. He was very critical of the U.S. and criticized President Trump for working to seal the border.
We live in a different world than when Jorge Bergoglio was elected 12 years ago. Europe is increasingly waking up to the threats posed by progressivism. They reject unbridled immigration and are incensed by Islamist infiltration. Support for right-wing politics is growing. The world is militarizing and bracing for conflict.
It will be fascinating to see whom the papal conclave selects to lead in this uncertain new era. The cardinals should meet in early May, and a new pope is likely to be elected within three to four weeks. We believe it likely they will choose a man who leads the church back to more conservative, even militant, positions.
This morning’s feature story, “A New Era Requires a New Pope,” was written by Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry for our May-June issue, which went to press on April 3. This article explains what this transition portends for the Catholic Church and the world. We also have an article by Josué Michels about two men being considered as the next pope.
The other big event in Rome: Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Rome on Saturday to continue nuclear negotiations. A State Department spokesperson said the talks lasted “over four hours” and that “very good progress was made.”
The negotiations will reportedly continue in Oman. The Omani Foreign Ministry said the U.S. and Iran “have agreed to enter into the next phase of their discussions that aim to seal a fair, enduring and binding deal which will ensure Iran completely free of nuclear weapons and sanctions, and maintaining its ability to develop peaceful energy.”
For Iran to be “completely free of sanctions” while continuing to maintain a nuclear program sounds very similar to the deal Barack Obama made with Iran. That deal ended up helping Iran progress to a nuclear bomb. Trump pulled out of that deal in 2018. But now, it looks like he’s about to bring America back into it.
Klaus Schwab resigns: The founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum stepped down from his organization’s board of directors today after more than 50 years at its helm. He will be succeeded by Austrian businessman Peter Brabeck-Letmath until the WEF board of trustees can pick his official replacement.
Decades ago, Schwab introduced a concept he would later call “stakeholder capitalism.” This term sounds innocuous, but some analysts say it would be more accurate to call it “corporate socialism” or “Communist capitalism.” This is because it resembles the “corporate socialism” system used by Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, Vichy France, Peronist Argentina and many other nations. The late Pope Francis was a big advocate of stakeholder capitalism.
Schwab’s father, Eugen Schwab, moved from Switzerland to Germany during the Third Reich and became a director at Escher Wyss AG, which, among other high-tech, low-principles projects, used slaves to manufacture atomic bomb technologies for Adolf Hitler. Klaus’s “stakeholder capitalism” closely resembles the economic system his father fought for. You could almost say the WEF is succeeding where Hitler’s generals failed. Europe has been conquered, not by guns but by technocrats and businessmen. And these technocrats and businessmen now want to spread their corporate socialist economic model worldwide. So keep an eye on Professor Schwab’s replacement. Learn more in Andrew Miiller’s article “World Economic Forum: Fascism Revives.”
The Ukraine war truce that never happened: On Saturday, Vladimir Putin announced a temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, set to last from 6 p.m. Moscow time on Saturday to midnight Sunday. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claims Russia violated this ceasefire over 2,000 times, with increased shelling and 67 assaults on Ukrainian positions by Sunday evening. He said the truce was just a PR stunt so Putin could continue his attacks. Russia says it was Ukraine that violated the truce by launching hundreds of drone attacks.
President Trump wants a peace deal badly. He had a nearly two-hour call with Putin earlier in the week. He has been pushing for a resolution and claimed that negotiations were “coming to a head.” So much for that.
Trump is ready to drop peace efforts between Russia and Ukraine absent any clear signs of progress, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday: “We need to determine very quickly now—and I’m talking about a matter of days—whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks.” The failed ceasefire over the weekend certainly adds evidence that these efforts are doomed.
The question is, will President Trump accept that? How far is his administration willing to go to keep these moribund efforts on life support?
Speaking of failed peace proposals:
Hamas rejected Israel’s latest ceasefire deal yesterday. Israel had offered a 45-day pause in the Gaza conflict in exchange for the release of 10 hostages. Hamas’s chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said the deal failed to guarantee a permanent end to the war or a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, conditions Hamas says are nonnegotiable. Mediation efforts by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have stalled.
Israel fires deputy commander for strike that killed Gaza paramedics: Last month, Israeli forces killed 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers in Rafah during a rescue mission. An Israeli military investigation cited “professional failures” and “operational misunderstandings,” and the deputy commander was fired. Quite a contrast between the two sides in this conflict. Hamas targets civilians and parades their corpses through the streets. Israel works hard to avoid killing civilians and fires those who kill them by accident.
U.S. State Department says China is supplying the Houthis: It accused Chang Guang Satellite Technology, a Chinese firm linked to the People’s Liberation Army, of providing satellite imagery to Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, enabling attacks on U.S. warships and international vessels in the Red Sea. They say this support has continued despite U.S. diplomatic efforts to address the issue and argue that this undermines China’s claim that it is a “global peacemaker.” The Chinese Embassy denied awareness, and the firm rejected the allegations as “fabricated.”
Also, China is supplying Russia with military equipment and building arms in Russian territory, according to the South China Morning Post. Our In Brief has more.
It’s official—COVID started in a lab: The White House website covid.gov has a new page asserting that the virus likely originated from a lab leak in Wuhan, China, specifically at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The site criticizes the Biden administration and Dr. Anthony Fauci for suppressing this theory and faults several people for the pandemic response. Will any of these people actually face a reckoning?
