What is a modern day prophet?

M. Weber (Sociology of Religion) defines a prophet as an individual bearer of charisma, who by virtue of his mission proclaims a religious doctrine or divine commandment. Weber sees two types of prophet: the first is the exemplary man who sets a personal example, represented by Buddha, and the second is one who claims to be the instrument for the proclamation of a god and his will, as represented by Muhammad and the Hebrew prophets.

Pope Benedict may not appreciate the comparison, but he fulfils Weber's definition as the second type of prophet.

If we look on prophets as someone able to predict the future with some degree of certainty, then we have weather forecasters, economists and statisticians, among others.