Posted on 10/28/2001 1:27:22 PM PST by father_elijah
Fatima Secret Still Not Fully Revealed?
Despite repeated official Vatican denials, the rumor that some aspect of the "Third Secret" of Fatima has still not been revealed continues to spread. Is it groundless, or could there be something to it?
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ROME-MOSCOW WATCH
The Secret of Fatima: More to Come?
ROME -- News has just emerged that Sister Lucia dos Santos, the last surviving Fatima visionary, several weeks ago sent Pope John Paul II a letter reportedly warning him that his life is in danger.
According to Vatican sources, the letter, claiming that events spoken of in the "Third Secret" of Fatima had not yet occurred, was delivered sometime after September 11 to John Paul by the bishop emeritus of Fatima, Alberto Cosme do Amaral.
The Vatican has not confirmed publicly receipt of the letter.
One source for the story, which was reported on in the Italian press yesterday and today, is Italian priest Father Luigi Bianchi.
Bianchi claims to have met Sr. Lucia dos Santos last week at her cloistered Carmelite convent in Coimbra, Portugal. (She is not allowed to speak with anyone who has not received prior permission from the Vatican, so it is not immediately clear whether Bianchi received that approval, circumvented the need for it, or did not actually meet Sister Lucia as he maintains.)
"She told me she is very worried about the international situation," Don Bianchi told Italian journalist David Murgia. "She said we have entered a crucial time for the Church and for the world -- and that the only salvation is prayer."
The letter is said to contain this warning: "Soon there will be great upheaval and punishment." And it reportedly asks the Holy Father to pray because "your life is in danger."
The current bishop of Fatima, Serafim Ferreira de Sousa, when questioned by journalists, did not deny that Sr. Lucia had sent a letter to the Pope, but said "there are no letters from the seer that express fear for the life of the Pope."
Sources have also suggested that Sr. Lucia's letter encourages the Pope to fully reveal the Third Secret. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who presented the interpretation of the Third Secret on June 26, 2000, said yesterday that the recent rumours of a letter are only the continuation of, "an old polemic fed by certain people of dubious credibility," with the objective of "destabilizing the internal equilibrium of the Roman Curia and of troubling the people of God."
One of the people who seems to fit Cardinal Ratzinger's description, arguably, is a Canadian priest, Fr. Nicholas Gruner, head of the Fatima Center, who has been suspended “a divinis” by the Vatican. Fr. Gruner has long maintained that the "third secret" was not fully revealed by the Vatican and has publicly pressured Rome to release the full text.
Gruner claims that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is conducting a "campaign of mystification," revealing only parts of the secret. This "does not conform to the truth," Gruner says.
Regarding the life of the Pope, Don Bianchi is worried. "Lucia said that he is the target of the enemy, that his life is in danger and we need to pray for him," Bianchi said.
Sr. Lucia is reported to have also said to the Italian priest that the third secret has not yet been revealed in full.
In an interview with Murgia, Fr. Bianchi speculated on the possibility that the Vatican did not reveal the full secret "to avoid creating panic and anxiety in the population; to not scare them."
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and indeed John Paul II himself, have interpreted the assassination attempt on the Pope in 1981 as the realization of the warnings of the third secret.
But Don Bianchi says otherwise. "The message doesn't speak only about an attempt on the pontiff, but speaks of 'a white bishop who walks amongst the ruins and bodies of murdered men and women,'" Bianchi said. "This means that the Pope will have to suffer greatly, that some nations will disappear, that many people will die, that we must defend the West from becoming Islamicized. That is what is happening in these days."
Sr. Lucia, when asked by Fr. Bianchi what could be done to stop the terror that is increasing in the world, is said to have taken the rosary in her hand and said: "This is the only 'weapon' we have."
Amen.
Interestingly, everything I've read over the years about this Pope would indicate he has an apocalyptic mindset. He doesn't expect to die naturally.
It wouldn't be surprising, or wrong, if the Pope kept part of the third secret to himself for prudential reasons; but Cardinal Ratzinger is very unlikely to have told an outright lie about it.
Aside from all that, the Pope is a prime target for terrorists. There's nothing wrong with a request to pray for him and for the world.
See the Ten Commandments as revealed to Moses by God Exodus 20:3-17 in a non-Catholic (such as KJV) Bible. Take special note of the first and second commandments. Also Revelation 22:18-19 "For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book: and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."
Read Revelation 17. The woman is the one-world religion consisting of apostate churches, headed up by the False Prophet.
Please read the following WHAT ATTITUDE ARE GENUINE CHRISTIANS TO HAVE DURING THESE LAST DAYS? WHAT DOES JESUS EXPECT?
If you make it all the way to the end of the article without having a stroke, and want to know more, please see the two links at the bottom of the article.
For your own salvation, if you subscribe to the beliefs in the article you posted, please dispense with false worship, and strive to be like the two churches in Revelation 3 (Smyrna 8:11, and Philadelphia 7-13). I only tell you this out of love, for I would hate to see anyone who hopefully loves Jesus Christ foremost, be lost for bowing down to false idols, and who risks being deceived by the antichrist. If I am wrong, I hope someone will correct me. I have to go now, but you can flame away at my private e-mail!
God Bless all who read this, and may we all receive true discernment, courage, and strength for these times. I sincerely mean that.
patent
A Muslim assassin shot the pope once, and nothing happened. Why do you think it will be different this time?
"I write in obedience to you, my God, who command me to do so through his Excellency the Bishop of Leiria and through your Most Holy Mother and mine.
"After the two parts 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 splendor 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!'. 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'. 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; 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; 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, 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."
There might be a Roman Catholic war against Islam, but that would not be a Christian war, at least according to the Bible.
2 Cor. 10:3&4 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal...
Unless you mean by "war" that you are going to do more to try to convert them.
Hank
"Give an idiot a Bible..."
Send me your address and I'll be glad to.
See the Ten Commandments as revealed to Moses by God Exodus 20:3-17 in a non-Catholic (such as KJV) Bible.Out of curiosity, why have you indicated that we are to look at a non-Catholic version? What is the difference between Catholic and Protestant versions relative to the 10 Commandments?
Take special note of the first and second commandments.Done. No Catholic worships Mary, so can you explain the point of this? Also Revelation 22:18-19 "For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book: and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."Have we added to the book of Revelation? Read Revelation 17. The woman is the one-world religion consisting of apostate churches, headed up by the False Prophet.Are you suggesting Mary is the woman of the one-world religion? Either way, reread Revelation 12:1-13. Especially verse 13. Who is the woman, and who here is persecuting her? I only tell you this out of love, for I would hate to see anyone who hopefully loves Jesus Christ foremost, be lost for bowing down to false idols, and who risks being deceived by the antichrist.Who is this antichrist? God bless, patent +AMDG |
It is worth noting, however (and this just popped into my mind right now), that a period of 40 years has some significance in Scripture. The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years before they were allowed to enter the Promised Land, and after the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ the Jews were given 40 years to repent before the Romans sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Great Temple in about 70 A.D.
Just something to think about. I have a hard time taking any of this seriously in light of the failures on the part of the Catholic hierarchy to be straight with people when they discuess these things.
I know Sr. Luzia loves the Holy Father truly and perfectly. I know that she, her convent, and many other Carmels pray daily and repeatedly for the Holy Father's safety since the attempt on his life. I know dear Bishop Alberto Cosme do Amaral to be the perfect person to carry a letter from Sister to the Pope. I have confidence in Cardinal Ratzinger to safeguard the Church from excesses.
As far as the Third Secret is concerned I think Mother Angelica said it well when she observed that the Third Secret was being revealed appropriately. From the way she said it one could take her to mean that the Third Secret had been faithfully revealed -- and yet there could be more to it.
Apart from the Fatima Secrets and other possible correspondence from Sister Lucia, we know that a host of people have wanted to harm our Pope. We all know well Ali Agca's attempt on his life. We also know that plots to kill the Holy Father and blow up St. Peter's have been foiled several times.
All signs point to Libyan elements of Al-Qaeda or related terrorist cells having been given the green light to begin bringing terror to Italy, destruction to the Vatican, and death to Pope John Paul II. (Libyan aircraft have been violating Italian air space time and again in what appears to be a test of radar and defense preparedness.) Against this Evil I pray with everything within me.
Clearly since 9/11 we should pray for many, many things not least of which is praying for the Pope's health, safety, and life. I also pray for a breakthrough so he may travel very soon to Moscow.
Let's not forget that the Catholic Church continues to exist in north Africa though besieged and oppressed. Among the faithful from Egypt through Libya and into Algeria are some of the bravest Christians you could ever meet. Not one of them will let anything happen to our Pope if they can do something to stop it.
The third secret is the world is about to end and Jesus is about to come back. They don't want to tell us, because average person will not be able to handle turmoil.
I'll try. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church at 67, the role of private revelation is not "to improve or complete Christ's definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history." Therefore it might be helpful to know 'the rest of the story', but it appears it's not necessary.
We have to bear in mind that there are also other seers and other prophecies and messages that may guide and direct what is done or not done.
I think there are three mistakes here, and they may or may not be serious, but are worth considering.
The first is the supposition that "holiness" is something manifest, in the sense it is obvious, or can be seen. Acutally, holiness, in people, is a matter of the heart and is quite invisible, and many Scriptures indicate that what appears to be holy, can be very deceptive.
The second is the interpretation of the unpardonable sin in the passage where Jesus says, (Mat. 12:31) "Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men," follows the casting a devil out of a blind dumb man who immediately was able to see and speak. This was an obvious demonstration of Divine power (the power of the Holy Spirit) which the Pharisees attributed to the devil. This was the unpardonable sin, attibuting the power of God to Satan.
Finally, even if all the example you gave as obvious demonstrations of holiness are true, it is not individuals that those who believe the Catholic Church is the church of the Anti-christ refer to, but the religious structure or organization. Oviously, that means some individuals in that organization must also be "evil" (and certainly there have been some who were in evil in the church in the past).
Whatever one's view, if they really believe their version of Christianity, (or any other religion) is correct, they must, if logically clear in their thinking, believe other religions and denominations are partly or completely heretical.
Only some religions believe this is license to kill the heretics, and no variety of Christianity beleives that. Nevertheless, those who believe strongly, will argue strongly. I think that's good, especially when they are arguing against me.
Hank
My bad.
When Peter spoke of "the Holy One and the Just" [Acts 3:14], had Peter not already seen Jesus in person?
Then there is Cardinal Ratzinger. He is the pope's right hand man. There simply could not be a more stable, wise and trustworthy Catholic leader. When he says something you can trust it. So whatever Grunner says should be tested against what Ratzinger says and Ratzinger should be heeded not Grunner.
Or, better yet, when you prayed to Patent asking him to pray for you... considering that the definition of "to pray" is "to entreat; to implore"... ;)
Wow.. hey I must be a visionary too.. I KNOW we are in a crucial time for the world.. geez.. who'd have know?
You siad, "When Peter spoke of 'the Holy One and the Just' [Acts 3:14], had Peter not already seen Jesus in person?"
Yes. But what is your point? Are you implying that Peter saw Jesus' Holiness? Nothing like that is stated anywhere. Jesus is the Holy One and Just, and that is Who Peter saw. Nothing more.
Hank
Oops, there I go again . . . .
witness manifest holiness with one's own eyes.
That Peter spoke of the Holy One and the Just, Whom Peter had seen, is entirely consistent with the notion that Peter had witnessed [Jesus'] manifest holiness with his own eyes.
I see. Then you can tell me what holiness looks like. Please do.
Hank
I don't have to.
Peter saw Jesus. Peter later called Jesus the Holy One. From this I conclude that Jesus' holiness was manifest [recall that Arthur McGowan's term was manifest holiness] to Peter. Certainly Jesus' holiness was not hidden from Peter, nor was Peter indifferent to or unaware of Jesus' holiness.
You remain free to reach a different conclusion, though I really can't understand why you would do so.
If you wish to continue this discussion, please FReepmail me. I may well have erred by diverting the thread. If so, I ask the forgiveness of all.
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