MICHAEL WALSH: Was St. Malachy Right? “While the canonicity of Malachy’s famous prophecies of the popes is roundly disputed (and I generally discount ‘prophecy’ across the board), perhaps we should heed his words. The loss of faith at the top levels of the Church, the diminution of its adherents in the West — not to mention the weird rush to canonize the line of largely failed popes from John XXIII to John Paul II (strong on politics, weak on dogma), including the cipher, Paul VI — indicates an institution in serious trouble.”

That institutions will over time become corrupt and ineffectual is a safe prophecy to make.