On the 26th June 2000, by the document “The Message of Fatima”, Vatican officials finally revealed, at the request of the Holy Father, the Third Secret of Fatima.  Now you see it!  At the same time, however, they misinterpreted its meaning, in the very Roman document that purported to reveal it.  Now you don’t!  Fortunately, these poor magicians left just enough evidence for us to discover their false interpretation and the reason for it.  Let us take a brief look at this Roman document and then at the text of the secret itself.

The Document

The Document was prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and carries the signatures of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., respectively prefect and secretary of the congregation, but not of the Holy Father.  Over 40 pages long, it is made up of an introduction by Archbishop Bertone; the first and second parts of the "secret" of Fatima; the photostatic reproduction of the original manuscript of the third part of the "secret" and a translation; John Paul II's letter to Sr. Lucia dated April 19, 2000; a summary of Sr. Lucia's conversation with Archbishop Bertone and Bishop Serafim de Sousa Ferreira e Silva of Leiria-Fatima which took place on April 27, 2000, in the Carmel Monastery of St. Teresa of Coimbra, Portugal; the words of Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano at the end of the beatification of Jacinta and Francisco on May 13, 2000; a theological commentary by Cardinal Ratzinger.

The Roman document begins by a declaration of Archbishop Bertone, giving the gist of the false interpretation of the secret : “The twentieth century was one of the most crucial in human history, with its tragic and cruel events culminating in the assassination attempt on the sweet ‘Christ on earth’. For the modernists the message of Fatima is a thing of the past.  Bertone affirms quite blatantly :  “The decision of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to make public the third part of the ‘secret’ of Fatima brings to an end a period of history marked by tragic human lust for power and evil….”  Later, quoted in the same document, Cardinal Sodano subscribes more prudently to the same error.  After speaking of the so-called “fall” of communism in 1989, he states: “Even if the events to which the third part of the ‘secret’ of Fatima refers now seem part of the past, Our Lady's call to conversion and penance, issued at the start of the twentieth century, remains timely and urgent today.” Cardinal Ratzinger quotes Cardinal Sodano in his Theological Commentary and subscribes to this same opinion.

These distorters thought it well to protect themselves in their false interpretation.  Thus, they contrived to use the authority of an interview with Sister Lucia, the last living seer of Fatima in their favour.  Especially here they bungle in revealing just enough of the interview with her to discredit their interpretation, while saying that she approves of it.  What did Sister Lucia say in her interview with Archbishop Bertone on Thursday 27, April 2000?  We can only guess as the document gives us few direct quotations, but mostly phrases like : “Sister Lucia repeated her conviction that…”;  “Sister Lucia agreed with the interpretation that ….”  For the most part, what Sister Lucia actually said is kept back.  Why? 

One innocent quote, however, reveals much.  When asked why she wrote on the envelope of the secret that it could be opened only after 1960, Sister Lucia responds :  “I fixed the date because I had the intuition that before 1960 it would not be understood, but that only later would it be understood.  Now it can be better understood.  I wrote down what I saw; however it was not for me to interpret it, but for the Pope.”  Here Sister Lucia with her 93 years of wisdom outwits the Vatican diplomats who want her to approve their interpretation of the secret.  She says that it is not for her nor for Archbishop Bertone, nor even for Cardinal Sodano nor for Cardinal Ratzinger but for the Pope himself to interpret the secret.  In reality, the secret is quite straightforward and for any one aware of the present crisis in the Church and the world, it is easily interpreted.  That is the whole reason for the cover-up.  Sister Lucia realised this and found a prudent way of telling us and the villains that their interpretation, though containing some truth, was not the obvious one.

The Secret itself, not a thing of the Past, but also of the Present and Future

Let us now consider the secret itself.  At first it seems disconcerting because of preconceived ideas one might have and because it is a prophetic and symbolic vision.  It seems much less so after a second reading.  We follow the order of the text of Sister Lucia written at Tuy on January 3, 1944 for the Bishop of Leiria, Portugal.  She begins to explain the secret :

“After the two parts [the vision of hell, and the prophecy concerning Russia, etc.] which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendour that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: ‘Penance, Penance, Penance!'”

Cardinal Ratzinger states in his Commentary:  “Today the prospect that the world might be reduced to ashes by a sea of fire no longer seems pure fantasy: man himself, with his inventions, has forged the flaming sword.”  This statement manifests a lack of Faith on his part.  He speaks as if God could not reduce the world to ashes without the atomic bomb! Certainly! However, it is true that, by 1960, this secret could be well understood because Penance was absolutely necessary and the danger of atomic war was a reality.  For some time already before 1960, man had been softening up his lifestyle and trying to make this earth his paradise, idolatrously worshipping creatures and comfort instead of his Creator, drawing upon himself the chastisements of God.  Our Lady’s intercession for the world certainly averted certain chastisements.  We see that historical period of the third secret seems to begin around 1960.  John XXIII was mistaken when he said that the secret did not concern his pontificate.  For we shall see that it surely does.

“And we saw in an immense light that is God: ‘something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it' a Bishop dressed in White ‘we had the impression that it was the Holy Father'.”

The Church enters into a distorted world with Vatican II.  In a mirror, images are the reverse of reality.  The Holy Father himself is not clearly discernible as he opens the windows of the Church to the polluted air of the world.  We have the impression (presentimento) that it is the Holy Father, but the line of Popes beginning with John XXIII clearly separate themselves from the Popes of the past.  No doubt this secret is centred upon these Popes and their vacillation in the Faith.  This explains why Sister Lucia had such great difficulty to put it on paper, and the modern Popes to reveal it.

“Other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark;”

Is it by accident that because of the strange punctuation of the text the “Other Bishops, Priests, etc.”, seem at first (contrary to the affirmation of Cardinal Ratzinger) to precede the Pope up this steep mountain?  On the top of the mountain is a Cross.  Is this a symbol of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?  It could well be, but it is certainly not a symbol of the Novus Ordo Missae.  The mountain bearing this Cross is without doubt a symbol of great tribulation, the true Christian life and teaching.  The children of Fatima recognise the bishops, the priests and religious as such.  Therefore they are in a recognisable religious habit.  This excludes many modern post Vatican II priests and religious from the procession up the mountain.

“before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way;”

photocopy of the "manuscript" of Sister Lucia

“having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him,”

The interpretation of Roman document fails to see that this is a far cry from a mere assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II.  Notice especially that it is when the Pope comes to his knees before the Cross that he will be persecuted and killed either physically (bullets - a physical weapon of modern man) or by a public outcry against his teaching (arrows - ideas, a symbol of former weapons).  Whenever the Papacy in these modern times tries to do anything truly Catholic it will be shot down and killed.  This may mean physical murder, as perhaps was the case for John Paul I, or condemnation by the world.  The group of soldiers and the rugged material with which the Cross is made are not without meaning.  Soldiers (especially as group) are agents of some organised authority, and mean an organised persecution.  The Pope is before this rugged cross and not before a crucifix in some nice Church.  Does this mean that Catholics including the Pope will be thrown out of their churches and have to flee to the wilderness to survive?  It seems that this part of the secret concerns more the future than the past or present.

“and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions.  Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God. ”

It is then the blood of Martyrs (spiritual and physical) that will please God and bring about finally the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  Many have already given their blood in the twentieth century.  Many more will give theirs in the twenty-first.

“In the end,” Our Lady promises us, “My Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to Me and she will be converted and a period of peace will be granted to the world.”

The Vatican document affirms that this consecration was accomplished on March 25, 1984.  The consecration on that day however made no mention, by name, of Russia which as a country is far from being converted.  Russia is, in fact, being rendered more and more materialistic by a new form of western Communism.  Therefore, on the face value of the words of Our Lady, the consecration has not been performed, despite any claims to the contrary.  If we have come to a period of peace, it is the peace of the devil.  This false peace is to be the stage for an age of Martyrs, prophesied in the Third Secret.

Let us close in gratitude to Our Lady and to Pope John Paul II for having revealed this luminous Third Secret.  Let us pray now that the Pope himself will receive the grace to interpret it.