SiSiNoNo (1996): Who Remembers Fatima?

[Stone]

SiSiNoNo - June 1996 No. 16

Who Remembers Fatima?

This past May 13th was the seventy-ninth anniversary of the first apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima, Portugal. This great event has fallen into complete oblivion due to the inaction of the Catholic hierarchy. A shroud of complete silence covers the only survivor of the three seers of that event, Sr. Maria Lucia of the Immaculate Heart, known as Sr. Lucy. Though cloistered in the Carmel of Coimbra since 1948, she used to receive authorized visits from Church personalities, from cardinals and researchers of the apparitions, as well as letters from all over the world. Since 1954, these visits were limited by Church authorities, to the point of being abolished altogether in 1960. In that year the public revelation of the famous "Third Secret" of Fatima by the Pope was to take place, which never happened. Since 1960 Sr. Lucy has been forbidden to talk about the apparitions, not even by letter, except to cardinals (since they have free access to the cloister) and close relatives and acquaintances if approved by the authorities. No one can approach her in the visiting parlor of the convent. The permits for the visits are issued by Joseph Card. Ratzinger, prefect of the  congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, but he has not granted any for many years. The very one who has seen and spoken to Mary and Our Lord is "cut off" beyond the already rigid rules of the cloister.

That the Vatican wants to forget Fatima is shown by the fact that the fundamental scientific and official studies done on the apparitions have yet to be authorized by the authorities in charge. We refer to Fr. Alonso's 14-volume publication (1976) which gathered, classified, and commented on 5,396 Fatima documents, including interviews with Sr. Lucy.1

Does the hierarchy understand the importance of the "Message of Fatima"? We refer especially to the requests for the Communion of Reparation of the five First Saturdays, and to the Consecration of Russia to Her by a public act, made simultaneously by all the bishops of the world.

THE REAL CONSECRATION OF RUSSIA, IGNORED BY PIUS XI AND PIUS XII

None of these requests has ever been fulfilled. The first one has received little notoriety. For the second, if some consecrations did take place, none were valid because none were carried out as specified. The two requests are interconnected. Our Lady of Fatima said on July 13, 1917:

...I come to ask for the Consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the first Saturdays of the month. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. Otherwise she will spread her errors throughout the world provoking wars and persecutions against the Church. The good will suffer martyrdom, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated. In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, it will convert and a period of peace will be given to the world.

This consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was asked for the first time in an apparition in the Convent of Tuy, Spain, on June 13, 1929. Pope Pius XI was made aware of it before August, 1931:

[T]he time has come where God asks the Holy Father to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart, in union with all the Bishops of the world, promising by this act to save her.

The result of this solemn consecration would be the conversion of Russia to the Catholic Faith. Russia will not convert to the Faith without Divine intervention, in which, however, churchmen have been called to co-operate.

But fear of Russia's reaction and that of the world's other superpowers has been stronger than the desire to fulfill the Divine request! Subsequent to Pius XI, who did nothing regarding it in order to safeguard his (failed) attempt to establish an opening with the Soviet Union, there took place consecrations concerning Russia in many forms but not as prescribed by the Blessed Mother. In his radio message of October 31, 1942, to Portugal, Pius XII consecrated the Church and the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, containing a special mention, however very discreet, of Russia. This act, however, was ineffective towards the conversion of Russia because it lacked the necessary prerequisites. The Blessed Mother asked specifically for Russia alone to be consecrated. Besides, it must take place with the all bishops of the world. Neither of these two necessary conditions was met on the occasion of this papal address.

Following this, on July 7, 1952, Pius XII in his Apostolic letter, Sacro Vergente Anno, addressed to the people of Russia, made a consecration of "all the people of Russia" to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, so that there would come about "a true peace, brotherly harmony and the freedom due to everyone." Note that this was a consecration made in general terms, with no mention of reparation nor of conversion and lacking any solemnity. There was no order given to the bishops of all the world to join explicitly with the Pope in this consecration.

Pope John XXIII, with his policy emphasis on Ostpolitik, did nothing. In the closing session of the Second Vatican Council (Nov. 26, 1964), Pope Paul VI limited himself to the consecration to Mary Immaculate of "all the human family." The attitude of Pope Paul VI to the Fatima message was skeptical aloofness. He went to Portugal on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Apparitions (May 13, 1967) but limited his visit to one day. He never went to the apparition site and did not give Sr. Lucy the private audience she desired.


THE NEGLECT CONTINUES WITH JOHN PAUL II

The present pontiff showed interest in Fatima after having suffered the well-known attempt on his life on May 13, 1981. In a month's time he entrusted the entire "human family" to the protection of the Virgin. Sr. Lucy insisted in interviews with Church officials that the consecrations of Pius XII were not valid. Pope John Paul II proceeded then to make new consecrations in the form of an "Act of Dedication" of the world to God through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This was done in union - purely spiritually - with "all of the pastors of the Church," none of whom, on their part, consecrated anything. This was repeated on October 16, 1983, and on March 25, 1984, in Rome. But these "acts" are to be considered totally void because they defied the conditions. Russia was not even mentioned and the world's bishops were not physically assembled.

Since then, attempts have been made to obtain a consecration as prescribed. The Pope and Church leaders have reacted with annoyance, stating that everything required had been accomplished. The question was closed. In 1989, typewritten statements appeared, attributed to Sr. Lucy, which affirmed that the Act of Dedication of 1984 met the requests of the Madonna. But an error consistently appears in these letters saying that the papal Act of Dedication [by Pope John Paul II] fulfilled Our Lady's request to consecrate "the world." However, Sr. Lucy has always said the Blessed Mother said that "Russia" was to be consecrated exclusively and never "the world." Hence, the authenticity of these statements is dubious. To save credibility, an attempt has been made to establish that the recent upheaval in Eastern Europe and the "Communist crisis" demonstrated that the Act of Dedication of Pope John Paul II was bearing results. Russia was seen as starting to convert. Our Lady, however, did not say she wanted Russia to convert to freedom of conscience or to democracy, but to the Catholic Faith. Instead of expanding, Catholicism in Russia suffers yet another persecution. The facts show that the Pope has not carried out the wishes of the Blessed Mother.


A TERRIBLE WARNING

When heaven commands, man cannot do as he pleases. He must follow the example of Naaman the Syrian, who obeyed to the letter what Eliseus the Prophet had commanded him to do despite what he thought of such a command - to be cured of leprosy by washing seven times in the Jordan River, indeed (IV Kings 5:1-14)!? Nevertheless that is exactly what happened. The above-mentioned popes have not possessed the faith of Naaman. They have not believed that by a mere act of consecration (as Our Lady has requested) there could take place such a great event as the conversion of Russia.

Will the popes continue to ignore Heaven's requests? No. The consecration will be made, but it will be made late. This is what was foretold by Our Lord to the seer, emphasising what the Blessed Mother had said at Fatima, in a vision going back to 1931, at Rianjo, Spain, in the face of the passive attitude of Pius XI:

[T]ell my ministers, who behave like the king of France by procrastinating in carrying out my wishes, that they will follow him into suffering the same misfortune. It is never too late to have recourse to Jesus and Mary....Like the king of France, they will regret it and will do it, even though late...

What is the significance of this reference to the king of France? To what event does Our Lord refer? It is the request made in a vision to St. Margaret Mary Alacocque and brought to the attention of Louis XIV in 1689, to consecrate explicitly France to the Sacred Heart of Jesus; but which the "Sun King" did not fulfill. Louis XVI did make an act of consecration, but it was already "too late." He was overthrown and was executed. According to this prophecy, then, the popes could suffer a similar fate, due to their obstinacy. A Pope will, finally, make the consecration forced by a situation of extreme danger for the Church. There hovers over the papacy the prophecy of a terrible punishment because of continual disobedience and lack of faith. But it is a prophecy  which can be thwarted by a change of heart on the part of those for whom the message was intended. It is an awesome prophecy because it does not say that it will be "too late," but "late," leaving one to understand that after the consecration, however late it will be, the Church will undergo a rebirth.


THE QUESTION OF THE THIRD SECRET

Continual refusal has persisted to a greater degree in the matter of the revelation of the so-called Third Secret of Fatima. By this is meant the third part of the secret given the three little seers on Friday, July 13, 1917 and made public gradually by Sr. Lucy (with the exception precisely of the Third Secret). The secret forms part of a single unit. It contains "three things": (1) the vision of hell; (2) the proclamation to establish the devotion of the five First Saturdays, and the Consecration of Russia to avoid the chastisement of World War II (prophesied with extreme exactness). In the second part of the Secret, then, Our Lady, after having announced that the First World War was about to end, seemed to connect the beginning of the Second World War to the lack of the consecration of Russia; (3) the third part or "Third Secret," put into writing by Sr. Lucy in January, 1944, and given to the Bishop of Leiria (who did not want to read it) on May 17, 1944 and transmitted to Rome on April 16, 1957. Even Pius XII did not want to read it. By the instructions given by Sr. Lucy, it was to be made public by 1960. The seer has always said that, because of its contents, this part of the secret of Fatima could not be revealed in the same way as the other two. As for its being made public, she has deferred to the judgement of the higher ecclesiastic authorities.

The Third Secret begins almost certainly after the last sentence of the text of the other two messages Sr. Lucy has made known. This sentence is:

In Portugal the dogma of Faith will always be kept, etc.

The presence of that "etc.," shows that Sr. Lucy has given to understand the sentence in question is not a prophecy which is aimed at Portugal exclusively (as some have attempted to claim) but is the beginning of an announcement concerning the keeping of the dogma of Faith in the Christian nations. In all likelihood, the Third Secret is concerned with the preservation of the deposit of Faith, that is to say, its specific object is Holy Mother the Church. It is very likely that in it are prophesied the grave upheavals the Catholic Church was to be subjected to due to the actions of its hierarchy. The betrayal of the Faith through the fault of its shepherds is surely foreseen in the Third Secret. This is why the present Official Church, of which these shepherds hold the controls of power, have not the least reason to make it known and do everything in their power to make sure that it would fall into oblivion.

It does not deal with the end of the world, as some have tried to insinuate, even though one cannot rule out that it also mentions material punishments. The Third Secret concerns the Church, the painful obfuscation of the Faith in which we find ourselves. This can be deduced also from what Pope John Paul II said to Sr. Lucy in the brief meeting (May 13, 1985) which she confided to Card. Oddi in 1985: That it is not convenient to make the secret known because the world "would not have understood it." What could there possibly be in the secret that would be difficult for the faithful to understand, if not the revelation that the Third Secret prophesies that the present Official Church is a Church apostate from the Catholic truth?

But haven't the faithful sensed this by now? What can they think of a Church that instead of worshipping God practices the worship of man and woman?...that has removed the Most Holy Trinity from Holy Mass?...that proclaims belief in a "One God" valid for all religions, even the most contrary to Christianity?...which no longer mentions original sin, immortality of the soul, particular nor final judgement, nor Paradise?...which allows the belief that hell is empty?...that when it is compelled to talk about traditional truths in the New Catechism, she explains them as being opinions (subjective) of Church Traditions instead of being truths, (objective) which by and for themselves are dogmas which the Church makes her own?...that has established a Novus Ordo Mass of which the Protestants approve?...that often maintains silence about the Divine nature of Christ, because if it proclaimed it, its so-called "dialogue" would end abruptly?...which affirms that by His death on the Cross, Jesus has already saved everybody, even those who do not believe in Him as being the Son of God?...that no longer takes into consideration that the conversion of the world to Christ is a fundamental duty, because to attempt to convert would be a violation of "freedom of conscience" of the followers of other religions?...that has embraced in everything the errors of Protestant theology?…which honors the "martyrs" of the heretics and erases its own from the calendar?...that works tirelessly for the unification of Catholicism with all of the other religions and sects, dissolving itself thereby in the embrace of false ecumenism?...that speaks obsessively about the world's problems, especially political, and never about Eternal Life, and which replaces Catholicism by a deistic humanism, such as that of the Masons?

In what is purported to be the last interview allowed to her (Dec. 26, 1957), Sr. Lucy complained to Fr. Fuentes about the ever-advancing spiritual deafness and loss of faith:

Father, the Holy Virgin is very sad because no one pays any attention to her message, neither the good nor the bad. The good keep up on their own way, but without concerning themselves about the message. The bad, seeing that God's chastisement has not touched them yet, continue on with their sinful living and do not care about the message. Father, God is about to punish the world and He will do it in a terrible way. The Heavenly chastisement is imminent. [This was on the eve of the Second Vatican Council, which has represented for the Church - the late Father Congar stated - what the states General were for the French Revolution - Ed.] Tell them [the Bishop of Leiria and Pius XII, who refused to read the Third Secret - Ed.] that the Holy Virgin said to my cousins Francisco and Jacinta and to me repeatedly that many nations will disappear from the face of the earth, that Russia will be the means used to accomplish the punishment from Heaven, if we do not succeed in the conversion of this poor Nation, first....Father, the devil is about to begin a decisive battle against the Virgin, and because he is capable of offending principally God and perverting in a short time the greater  number of souls, he is doing everything in his power to gain the souls of the persons consecrated to God Father, let us not expect to receive calls to penance from the Holy Father, addressed to the entire world; and don't let us even expect them to come from our Bishops, each in his own diocese, nor from the Religious congregations (or orders). No, Our Lord has already used these means, but the world has ignored them. This is why it is now necessary for each one of us to begin, on his own, the spiritual reform of self. Each one must save not only his own, but all the souls that God has placed in his path.

And the means to bring about the "spiritual reform" of ourselves and of others are the true Catholic means for the salvation of souls, that is, "prayer and sacrifice," "the Holy Rosary," and the "devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary "

- Aemillianus



1. All dates and facts quoted in this article are taken from the fundamental works on Fatima. The three volumes by Br. Michel de la Sainte Trinite, Toute la verite sur Fatima, editions de la Contre Reforme Catholique, Sait Parres-les-Vaudes, 1985, ss., and from the abridged version by Br. François de Marie des Anges, Fatima, joie intime, evenement mondial, by the same publisher, 1991. The text of the secret, which we partially quote, is found on pp.59-63 of the latter book and the interview granted to Fr. Fuentes, quoted pp.283-286.