Proof That Catholics Worship
Mary
by David J. Stewart
"I am the LORD:
that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to
graven images." —Isaiah 42:8
There is not a more damnable doctrine in Roman Catholicism than the teachings of Our Lady of Fatima. Roman Catholic officials claim that a supernatural event occurred in 1917 in which the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared repeatedly to 3 little children in Fatima, Portugal. Supposedly, the Virgin Mary gave a message to the 3 children—Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco—consisting of an alleged number of precise predictions, requests, warnings and promises concerning the Catholic faith. An "apparition" means "the unexpected or unusual appearance of a ghostly figure."
The 5th of the 15 promises made by Our Lady of Fatima concerning the Rosary is so blasphemous that it is unmistakable, clear, proof, that Catholics do indeed worship Mary (which is sinful idolatry). Here's the 5th promise...
The Gospel of Jesus Christ has absolutely nothing to do with Mary. None of the Apostles ever mentioned Mary in their Epistles. Jesus never directed us to recognize Mary. In fact, the Bible clearly states in Matthew 11:11 that there has never been a child born amongst women greater than John the Baptist. And no wonder, because John the Baptist prepared the people for the coming of the Savior—Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Yet, Catholics sinfully worship Mary, bowing to her statue as if she's a god. Unbelievably, during one rosary recital (a chaplet), a Catholic will recite 53 hail Marys! Each "Hail Mary" recital is 42 words long. 42 x 53 = 2,226 words just praising Mary! The devout Catholic who prays the rosary every day will praise Mary with 812,490 words in a year's time. That is idolatry! Again, Our Lady of Fatima said...Blasphemy!!! You cannot show me even one Scripture from the Word of God where we are told to trust in Mary, by reciting the Rosary to be saved. In fact, the word "Rosary" is NOT a Bible term. The Rosary is straight out of the pits of Hell. Jesus condemned vain repetition in Matthew 6:7. According to Our Lady of Fatima (whose teachings are officially sanctioned by the Vatican), a person can obtain eternal life through Mary by reciting the Rosary. In sharp contrast, Jesus Christ proclaimed in John 14:6... "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." How could Catholics be so arrogant, so blind, and so apostate as to believe that salvation is found in Mary? I tell you, Catholicism is of the Devil.
That's a BIG LIE!!! The Vatican has a lot of explaining to do, because something smells very rotten. One of the most unholy groups in this world is the Holy See, i.e., Catholic leadership. They wrote the book on self-righteousness. No devout Catholic dare deny the promises of Our Lady of Fatima, i.e., their Blessed Virgin Mary. The Catholic Mary (which is nowhere even close to the Biblical Mary) claims to have the power to save those who recite the Rosary. No wonder Catholicism's Mary is often referred to as The Great Whore. Catholics have mutated Jesus' earthly mother into a two-headed, fire-breathing, demonic, monster.
The Biblical Mary was a horrible sinner (James 2:10), who needed a Savior (Luke 1:47), and told others to do what Jesus commanded (John 2:5). The Biblical Mary was not a Perpetual Virgin (Matthew 13:55-56), was not Immaculately Conceived (Romans 3:23), wasn't Bodily Assumed into Heaven (Hebrews 9:27), and she doesn't intercede on our behalf (1st Timothy 2:5...
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus"). The Blessed Virgin Mary of the Catholic religion is straight from Hell.
Oh! Listen my friend, the Catholic Church is a prisonhouse of religion! Catholics have churchianity without Christianity, and religion without truth. From the cradle to the casket, the Catholic Church offers people a package deal; but it's a guaranteed road straight into the depths of Hellfire and damnation. In Luke 17:21, Jesus stated that the Kingdom of God is within you; not within a religious organization. Many people want an organized religion that allows them to touch, taste, see, and feel what they're trusting in for eternal life. However, true salvation, which is obtained only by faith in Christ Jesus, is of the heart (Romans 10:10).
The Hoax of Our Lady of
Fatima
Idolaters Beware... God is a Jealous God!
Idolaters Beware... God is a Jealous God!
by David J. Stewart
What is the message of Fatima?
Woe unto Catholics! Our Lady of Fatima is a dirty Satanic hoax perpetrated by the Catholic religion. It is of the Devil and blatant idolatry. Roman Catholics claim that a supernatural event occurred in 1917 in which the “Blessed Virgin Mary” appeared repeatedly to 3 children in Fatima, Portugal.
Supposedly, the Virgin Mary gave a message to the 3 children. The Message of Fatima consists of an alleged number of precise predictions, requests, warnings and promises concerning the Catholic faith and the world, which were conveyed by the Blessed Virgin Mary to 3 shepherd children—Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco—in a series of ghostly apparitions at Fatima, Portugal from May to October 1917. An “apparition” means “the unexpected or unusual appearance of a ghostly figure.” It's a scam, a falsehood, a lie of the Devil, unscriptural in every way.
Many Catholic cultures pass a statue of Our lady of Fatima around from house-to-house throughout the year. It's considered a good-luck charm while in their home. The heathen statue is adorned in the center of their living room, given undivided attention by the family, and it is worshipped, which is the horrible sin of idolatry.
Exodus 20:5 says that those who bow and pray to statues HATE God.
Exodus 20:4-5, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt NOT BOW DOWN THYSELF TO THEM, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of THEM THAT HATE ME.” I make no apologies to rain on your parade when I speak the TRUTH... God hates the Catholic Church! God loves people, but God hates IDOLATRY.
Often, a photo of Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco is passed around amongst the idolatrous group, as they feast on food and praise the graven image. They talk about the alleged miracle of Our lady of Fatima. Then the photo is placed next to the statue, adorned so beautifully as the centerpiece of their living room. The graven image is alleged to bring a special blessing upon the home. One Catholic man told me that he waited for 8-years, only after persistent request, to finally have the statue of Our Lady of Fatima brought to his home for one week. The man's family fried fish and praised the demonic image, praying to the image, and committing idolatry instead of worshipping God in spirit and in truth as John 4:24 commands. Our lady of Fatima is a rotten hoax, a sinister TRADITION of men passed down from generation to generation. The hoax of Fatima allegedly happened in 1917, later turned into official Catholic dogma by the Vatican, provoking the wrath of God.
If you have a statue in your home of Our Lady of Fatima, or Our lady of Guadalupe, or The Image of Divine Mercy (allegedly seen by sister Faustina), then you are committing the wicked sin of IDOLATRY, spitting on the God of Israel. Catholics are arrogant, sinfully proud, and Jesus said about them: “Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:9).Catholics have been deceitfully taught by the demonic Vatican that statues are no different than a picture of one's family and loved ones. Catholics are taught that adoration of statues is similar to looking at a photo of one's family and feeling love and admiration. However, this is a fraudulent teaching by the Vatican, because no one worships God by bowing and praying to a photo of their spouse and children. Catholics chant recited Rosaries and pre-written so-called “prayers.” It is 100% manmade tradition and idolatry. I asked a Catholic man why he recites memorized chants, instead of praying from the heart. He said it was the way he was brought up as a child. That is unacceptable to God. The Bible condemns placing family traditions above the Word of God (Mark 7:13). Catholics HATE GOD according to Exodus 20:5.
Oh what wickedness in the sight of God!
The statue of Our Lady of Fatima is idolized while in the possession of that family, guests are invited, a fish fry is cooked, prayers are made to the statue of Our lady of Fatima, the Rosary is chanted... AND GOD IS ANGRY!!! (Exodus 20:4-5).
Hebrews 10:31, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”The Rosary is Blasphemy!
Why Catholics Say We should Believe the Message of FatimaJeremiah 10:2, “Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.”
The following claims were obtained from www.fatima.org:
1. Supposedly, the events of Fatima were confirmed by an unprecedented public miracle, the Miracle of the Sun, which occurred at precisely the moment Lucia said it would. More than 70,000 people, including Masons, communists and atheists, reportedly saw the sun, seemingly contrary to all cosmic laws, twirl in the sky, throw off colors and descend to earth. The event was reported in newspapers around the world, including the New York Times.
However, the miraculous events which the onlookers reportedly saw were not contrary to nature at all. As a matter of fact, they were VERY NORMAL astronomical events. Please read the following simple explanation for the "miracle" of Fatima from the National UFO Center...
MASSIVE CORONAL MASS EJECTION FROM SUN
A gigantic coronal mass ejection (CME) occurred on May 13, 2000. Probably the largest of the year was recorded by NASA. Every eleven years our sun goes through a period of solar storms and these storms have been with us for centuries of recorded history. Solar flares emit high-speed particles that cause the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. Radiation from the solar flares can give passengers in aircraft or UFOs a dose of radiation equivalent to a medical X-ray. Severe weather on Earth, volcanoes and earthquakes may be all tied to this activity on the sun. Satellites, communications, silicon circuitry, portable phones and alternating current outlets can all be affected. If your appliances start acting up it may be the result of these solar storms. Even severe headaches may be tied to the sun's activity. We are watching to see if the UFO activity is influenced by the sun's heavy solar activity and initial indications are that reports have slowed in recent weeks.
Pope John Paul's visit to Fatima, Portugal was punctuated by eruptions on the sun, marking the 83rd anniversary of miracle of Fatima that occurred on May 13, 1917. Witnesses at Fatima claimed to have seen the sun dance in the sky." Some claim this was an early UFO sighting, others claim it may have been unusual solar activity. The Vatican revealed the Third Secret that the Virgin Mary the mother of Christ is said to have told three children when she appeared at Fatima. The first two secrets foretold the end of World War I and the start of World War II along with the rise and fall of Communism. The Third Secret foretold the shooting of Pope John Paul II several years ago.
You can also read about Coronal Mass Ejections (CME's) on NASA's website. I trust NASA more than the Catholic church. The Roman Catholic Church has a bad reputation for making things up.
Exodus 32:35,
“And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.”
2. Another reason why Catholics claim that we should believe the Message of Fatima is because all of the Popes since the Fatima Miracle have recognized that the Message is authentic. Several Popes have gone to Fatima in person, including Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II. John Paul II said at Fatima in 1982 that "the Message of Fatima imposes an obligation on the Church."
Realistically, just because the Popes recognize the alleged Message of Our Lady of Fatima as "authentic" is certainly NO PROOF at all. Just because the Pope says something doesn't make it so. Catholics foolishly elevate their Popes to the idolatrous level of God's Vicar (representative) on earth. There is NO such teaching found in the Bible. God has no official representative upon the earth. All believers are God's representatives (2nd Corinthians 5:20).
3. Another reason why Catholics claim that we should believe the Message of Fatima is because of other alleged miracles have been performed by God authenticating the Fatima Message as coming from Him, not only at the time of the Miracle of the Sun, October 13, 1917, but down the years to the present day, reported miracles of conversions and cures which science seemingly cannot explain by natural means.
However, the Bible clearly teaches that Satan can also perform miracles, signs, and wonders (Revelation 13:14). We must be extremely careful about attributing anything to God simply because it is a miracle. Pharaoh's wicked magicians mimicked the Miracles which God performed at the hand of Moses. Satan is deceiving the world with his miracles, signs, wonders, and damnable heresies.
In addition, Charismatic such as Oral Roberts have been known to scam the masses with fake miracles and rigged healing services (an excellent book to read on this is The Charismatic Movement by Dr. John R. Rice | Order book HERE).
4. Another reason why Catholics claim that we should believe the Message of Fatima is because the Message of Fatima supposedly accurately predicted world events, which proves that it is a true prophecy.
The TRUTH is that any idiot saw World Wars coming. I predict that a future war is coming! Wow!, I must be a prophet. Why are the predictions so vague?
Also, the events that Our Lady of Fatima supposedly predicted could have easily been known in advance by Vatican insiders (friends of the richest and most powerful people). For anyone who understands the truth about history, they know that it was Wall Street bankers behind the diabolical Federal Reserve System, WW1, the Great Depression, WW2, etc. It was Wall Street that created Communism. It's A Conspiracy Too Monstrous To Conceive. IBM manufactured the devices used to stamp serial numbers on holocaust victims. Henry Ford was a personal friend of Adolph Hitler. I. G. Farben (a German company) was a conglomerate of around 200 companies (many of which were U.S. companies) which manufactured the Zyklon B gas used to murder holocaust victims. The Vatican in Roman was involved in the brutal murdering of millions of innocent people in the holocaust. Did you know that the new Pope, Benedict XVI was a former Hitler Youth? It's true! *
The prediction that Russia would rise to a world-power is NOT surprising in the least when one understands the deliberate creation of Communism.
The Message of the Blessed Virgin of Fatima is nothing more than a ridiculous and evil invention of the Roman catholic Church. There is NO PROOF of any cosmic miracle, other than than testimonies of people who THOUGHT they saw a miracle. What they saw in 1917 was an astronomical event which occurs repeatedly every 11 years. The Vatican used the event to dupe the ignorant masses who thought they had seen a "miracle" of nature. I'm sure that there have been people throughout history who were conned by some smart guy who predicted a solar eclipse, calling it a "miracle." The Catholic Church thrives on the ignorance of the masses. Most people don't have enough sense to question the "traditions" and "claims" of the Catholic Church, they just blindly believe the Vatican because they package everything in appealing wrappers. The Catholic religion is all about "eye candy." They offer a structured, non-spirit based system, from the cradle to the casket, step-by-step religion. Just add participation, no faith required.
I am NOT trying to be unkind. On the contrary, I care about people very much, which is why I am willing to risk being unpopular in exchange for giving you the TRUTH of God's Word. The Bible does NOT deal in traditions, it is the Word of God. You have been lied to by the Vatican for long enough!
The Message and miracle of Fatima is a lie, a hoax. The Catholic Church propagates to the world that the Blessed Virgin of Fatima gave the following requests to the 3 children:"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." -Colossians 2:8
WHAT DOES THE MESSAGE OF FATIMA REQUEST?This stuff is better than science fiction... as a matter of FACT, it is science fiction! Let me quote a phrase from the above article again...
At Fatima Our Lady said that God wished to establish in the world devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Our Lady said that many souls would be saved from Hell and the annihilation of nations averted if, in time, devotion to Her Immaculate Heart were established principally by these two means:
1) the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by the Pope together with the world's bishops in a solemn public ceremony, and
(2) the practice or receiving Holy Communion (and other specific devotions of about 1/2 hour in duration) in reparation for the sins committed against the Blessed Virgin Mary, on the first Saturdays of five consecutive months--a practice known to Catholics as "the First Saturday" devotion.
WHAT DOES THE MESSAGE OF FATIMA WARN?
It warns that if the requests of Our Lady of Fatima for the Consecration of Russia and the First Saturday devotion are not honored, the Church will be persecuted, there will be other major wars, the Holy Father will have much to suffer and various nations will be annihilated. Many nations will be enslaved by Russian militant atheists. Most important, many souls will be lost.
WHAT DOES THE MESSAGE OF FATIMA PROMISE?
The Message of Fatima promises that if the requests of Our Lady of Fatima are carried out "My Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will Consecrate Russia to Me, which will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to mankind.
SOURCE: http://www.fatima.org
Can anyone show me that in the Bible? No, you CANNOT! John 14:6 tells us that the ONLY way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. . . ."Our Lady said that many souls would be saved from Hell and the annihilation of nations averted if, in time, devotion to Her Immaculate Heart were established..."
Catholicism is a lie of the Devil! No greater fraud exists in the world today than Roman Catholicism. From the cradle-to-the-casket, Roman Catholicism has a package for you, and it's all a package of rotten tomatoes. If you die in your sins you'll burn in Hell fire for all eternity (Revelation 20:11-15). Romans 10:3-4 expressly warns against going about to establish your “OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS.” You have no righteousness friend, and neither do I. But I'll tell you what, I do have the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which was imputed (credited) to my eternal record the moment I trusted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior 30-years ago. You can have the same righteousness of God imputed to your eternal record by faith alone in Jesus as the Christ (Romans 4:6)."Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." -John 14:6
Jesus commands in John 5:39 for us to SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES. And He tells us why in the rest of the verse... “for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which TESTIFY OF ME.” The Scriptures testify completely, exclusively and abundantly about the precious Lord Jesus Christ. In sharp contrast, Jesus' earthly mother, Mary, is not anything. The Vatican has been grasping at straws for centuries trying to justify the worship of Mary, but it's impossible to do so with the Word of God. Mary worship clearly originated back at Babel with Nimrod and Semiramis.
The Message of Fatima is Satanic, totally contrary to the Word of God! NO AMOUNT OF DEVOTION to Mary can save a person from hell. Where in the world did Catholics ever get the crazy idea that Mary is to be recognized at all? Read A Woman Rides the Beast. Roman Catholicism has it's origins in a heathen Babylonian religion which worshipped the “Queen of Heaven” (Jeremiah 44:19,25). ...
The Catholic Church even addresses the “Blessed Virgin Mary” as the “Queen of Heaven,” revealing it's pagan ancient Babylonian origin. Where do you think they got that term from? It came from ancient Babylon. Please don't believe the lies of the Catholic religion any more, turn to Jesus Christ by faith and He WILL forgive you and cleanse your sins away with His precious blood (1st Peter 1:18,19; Revelation 1:5; 7:14). Ye Must Be Born Again!"The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger" —Jeremiah 7:18
The praise, prayers, and idolization of Our lady of Fatima is the same as witchcraft, because the Devil is the father of Catholicism. Nearly all Catholics are stubborn, close-minded, and knowingly REJECT the knowledge of God (Mark 7:6-13; Romans 10:3-4; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; Romans 3:19-20 — King James Bible).* There is no evidence that there were even a single homical gas chamber!
Matthew 22:29, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.”
PROOF That Catholics WORSHIP Mary!
(The tradition of Our Lady of Fatima teaches that Mary gives eternal life to those who come to her by way of reciting the Rosary. This is a false Gospel.)
The
Lies of Fatima
The apparition of the Virgin Mary at Fatima in origin had nothing to do with prophecies or, indeed, the Virgin Mary. But through a series of manipulations, the Church created one of the most elaborate lies, which formed the backdrop of major political events.
Philip Coppens
In
the last two centuries, the Church has made apparitions of the
Virgin Mary an evermore important part of the Christian religious
experience and doctrine. Some critics argue the popularity of
the Catholic Faith is largely maintained by the popularity of
the Virgin Mary. The so-called “Marian Era”, i.e.
the period when the Virgin Mary began to appear and offer messages
to those that saw her, began in the early 19th century, with a
series of apparitions, of which Lourdes is no doubt the most famous.
But the most intriguing apparition occurred in the early 20th
century, in the Portuguese hamlet of Fatima.
The Virgin Mary is said to have appeared at Fatima six times, starting on May 13, 1917, with a final apparition on October 13, 1917, when she performed a great sun miracle, “which all shall see so that they may believe”. On the second or third apparition, the three young witnesses were allegedly given three secrets by the Virgin Mary. Two secrets were revealed in subsequent years, but the so-called “Third Secret of Fatima” was kept secret by the Vatican for almost a century. As a result, there was endless speculation about the nature and its importance. Rightfully so, as the Second Secret was linked with major political events of the 20th century. But what if all of these “secrets” were fabricated by the Vatican, for political and religious reasons?
Indeed, the Third Secret of Fatima became the subject of extra-ordinary conspiracy theories, with suggestions ranging from the Virgin’s announcement that extra-terrestrial life existed elsewhere in the universe to the end of the world. Lucia had received the information in 1917, but she only informed the Vatican of the Secret in January 1944. When it was delivered, the Vatican refused to make it public. Lucia therefore proclaimed that the secret had to be revealed upon her death, or at the latest in 1960.
Lucia, however, had been a hostage of the Vatican for many decades: shortly after the Fatima apparitions, she was forced into a convent (she was not a devout Catholic when the visions happened; her father was actually an atheist), sent to a nunnery where she could not communicate with anyone because language barriers, and was later placed in solitary confinement, to make sure she didn’t speak to anyone; access to Lucia required the consent of the highest Vatican circles and it was rarely granted. What Lucia desired, was therefore totally at the Pope’s discretion.
The
assassination attempt on Pope John Paul I on May 13, 1981
On May 13, 1991, the Pope was in Fatima, to meet with Lucia. The event, of course, was the tenth anniversary of his miraculous escape from death and it was clear – even though the contents of the Third Secret had not yet been released – that he wanted to commemorate his narrow escape from death in Fatima. During the mass, he specifically said thanks to the Virgin Mary for the liberation of Europe from Communism. Indeed, whereas in 1981, communism was believed as having ordered the papal assassination, a decade later, communism had just died across Eastern Europe.
The 1990s would see intense speculation on the nature of the Third Secret, so much so that the Church began to be depicted as the evil keeper of a secret that should have long been revealed to the world, as per Lucia’s wishes.
Finally, just over a month later, on June 26, 2000, Pope John Paul II released its contents, claiming that the 1981 assassination attempt was the fulfilment of this Secret. The announcement received mixed reactions. For some, it was the Church finally officialising what had been “known” for years, if not decades. For others, there was doubt.
The
letter of the Third Secret of Fatima
The war that was going to end in 1917 was obviously the First World War. The “worse one” was going to be the Second World War. Interestingly, Pius XI presided over the Church from 1922 till 1939 and one should rightfully query whether the Virgin truly dictated this in 1917, or whether it was edited in by Lucia. And if Lucia edited this in, the question might be asked what else she edited in – the letter itself was only composed in 1944.
Even though such doubts should exist, it is clear that no such doubts existed in the heart of Pope John Paul II. He immediately thought of consecrating the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary after the assassination attempt and composed a prayer for what he called an “Act of Entrustment”, which was to be celebrated in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major on June 7, 1981.
On May 13, 1982, exactly a year after the assassination attempt that was at the core of the Third Secret of Fatima, John Paul II was in Fatima, both to thank Mary for saving his life, and also to carry out a public act of consecration of the whole world, including Russia, to her Immaculate Heart – as per the Virgin Mary’s instruction, as dictated to Lucia in 1917… or so it seems.
It is clear that the “Holy Father” is killed, at a top of a mountain, by a group of soldiers, and that he is not alone to die, as “one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women” die too. In short, this is a vision of carnage, and not at all like what happened on May 13, 1981. While the Pope was driving through St Peter’s Square, he was first of all driven, not walking; nor were there any corpses around him; he did not climb a mountain, or kneeled at the foot of a big cross. The only potentially matching correspondence is that you might argue that assassin Agca was a soldier and that he did indeed try to kill the pope with a gun. Even though some bystanders were injured in the shooting, no bishop or priest, let alone several of them, died.
However much Pope John Paul II might have believed in Fatima and that the Virgin of Fatima predicted his assassination attempt, however much there is this coincidence of dates (May 13), based on the official publication of the document in 2000, it appears that the Third Secret does not apply to the failed assassination attempt of 1981. How was this explained? The Pope believed that the Virgin altered the course of history and that he should have died by Agca’s bullets, but that the Virgin personally intervened and rescued him. In short, that the Virgin Mary herself stopped her own prediction from happening! Which begs the question why she simply did not say so!
Amidst all of this, however, were a number of questions that weren’t asked, like why Sister Lucia had been so adamant that the Secret had to be revealed by 1960 at the latest, even though the events foretold in it were for 1981 – a gap of two decades, making us wonder why Lucia felt the Third Secret had such urgency. However, in retrospect, it is but a small mystery in a much larger enigma!
Lucia: “I don’t remember having done that.”
Formigao: “Did you ask them to close their umbrellas?”
Lucia: “The last time, I cannot remember whether I asked them.”
Formigao: “Did She tell you that the people would be punished if they did not repent their sins?”
Lucia: “I do not remember whether she said that; I think not.”
Formigao: “The 13th, you did not have such doubts as you have today about what the Virgin has said. Why do you have such doubts today?”
Lucia: “That day I could remember better; it was closer to the events.”
Lucia clearly had a rather short-term memory, which begs the question how she could possibly correctly remember decades later what had transpired in 1917, when six days after the apparition, most of what had happened, she had already forgotten.
One might argue that the secrets were nevertheless forcefully imprinted on her memory, but the evidence suggests otherwise. That same day, on October 19, 1917, in front of Father Ferreira de Lacerda, when she was asked “What did the lady say the fifth time?” (i.e. September 13), Lucia replied “I do not remember well, but it appears to me that she said…” “It appears to me that she said” doesn’t invite confidence and it begs the question of the contents of the Second and Third Secret, written down decades later, could have been remembered correctly. Indeed, Father Rolim would later conclude: “Because of the interrogations we have submitted them to, the visionaries were the first to hesitate about the words that the lady had truly used.”
But it gets worse. There are clear contradictions in what Lucia said in 1917 and what she wrote in 1942 and would comment on later. In 1917, Lucia declared to Formigao that “The Virgin did not speak about penitence”, but in 1946, to Father McGlynn, Lucia claimed: “She continued to demand sacrifices and penitences.” Worse still, in 1917, Formigao asked Lucia whether she had been given a secret, which Lucia confirmed. Asked whether she gave it only to Lucia or to all three children, Lucia replied “all three.” Most importantly, he asked: “If the people were to know the secret that Our Lady revealed to you, would they be sad?” Lucia answered: “I think they would remain as they are, more or less the same.” It suggests that the secrets as given by the Virgin Mary were quite modest, and seem not on par with the revelations of the Second and Third Secret several decades later. This is underlined when Lucia went on the record stating that the secret only applied for the good and happiness of the three children present, and not anyone else.
Should one draw the conclusion that the Second and Third Secret as revealed by the Church had nothing to do with the message the Virgin gave to the three witnesses in Fatima? It definitely appears to be. In fact, seeing Lucia was kept a hostage by the Church for several decades, there is no way to verify at all that what the Church claimed was what Lucia was told. We simply have to take the Church’s word for it.
If this were to be the case, then it is no wonder that the official records of these 1917 interrogations were placed under seal by Church officials for several decades, as they completely tear apart any credibility these “secrets” have.
All the first-hand testimony, taken down in 1917, shows that Lucia was confused about many things and even though she was given a – one – secret, the secret had to do only with the children themselves. Specifically asked whether people would take note of the secret if they were told, and whether it would impact them, Lucia highly doubted this might happen.
Yet since 1942, that is precisely what we are meant to believe: that there are powerful secrets, revealed by the Virgin to Sister Lucia, one to do with the need for the Soviet Union to convert and a third that continued to intrigue thousands if not millions of Christians. It is nothing more, or less, something that either Lucia on her own, or with the help of her entourage, concocted after 1935. Seeing Lucia was a nun in solitary confinement, with no political agenda, the Church is a more likely suspect, using an innocent girl – and the Virgin Mary – as the posterboard for a political campaign.
No-one seems to have realized that the entire scheme of the secrets was a game of cat and mouse, part of a deliberate campaign to gain support from the Catholics in the fight against communism. The secrets transformed the fight against communism from a political, western agenda, to a divine call to arms, the express desire of the Virgin Mary – and by extension Jesus – which was not only of vital importance for the future of Mankind, but, also, part of the “End Times”, that were said to be upon us. Religious, apocalyptic imagery was painted upon an otherwise rather bland political agenda.
Pope John Paul I with Sister Lucia
Is
it a coincidence that the first of the most famous series of apparitions
occurred on May 13 and that the Pope was shot on the same day
of the year? Maybe. But the Pope did not believe so. However,
as the assassination attempt was an act of man, the question is
whether the date was chosen by accident, or by careful planning.
If so, the question should be asked whether the assassination
attempt on John Paul II is part of an extraordinary political
framework, the boundaries of which have never been defined.
The apparition of the Virgin Mary at Fatima in origin had nothing to do with prophecies or, indeed, the Virgin Mary. But through a series of manipulations, the Church created one of the most elaborate lies, which formed the backdrop of major political events.
Philip Coppens
In
the last two centuries, the Church has made apparitions of the
Virgin Mary an evermore important part of the Christian religious
experience and doctrine. Some critics argue the popularity of
the Catholic Faith is largely maintained by the popularity of
the Virgin Mary. The so-called “Marian Era”, i.e.
the period when the Virgin Mary began to appear and offer messages
to those that saw her, began in the early 19th century, with a
series of apparitions, of which Lourdes is no doubt the most famous.
But the most intriguing apparition occurred in the early 20th
century, in the Portuguese hamlet of Fatima. The Virgin Mary is said to have appeared at Fatima six times, starting on May 13, 1917, with a final apparition on October 13, 1917, when she performed a great sun miracle, “which all shall see so that they may believe”. On the second or third apparition, the three young witnesses were allegedly given three secrets by the Virgin Mary. Two secrets were revealed in subsequent years, but the so-called “Third Secret of Fatima” was kept secret by the Vatican for almost a century. As a result, there was endless speculation about the nature and its importance. Rightfully so, as the Second Secret was linked with major political events of the 20th century. But what if all of these “secrets” were fabricated by the Vatican, for political and religious reasons?
The
Secrets of the Virgin
According
to the standard accounts, the first secret was a vision of hell
and a prediction of the imminent death of two of Lucia’s
cousins, who were eyewitnesses to the Fatima apparitions. Lucia
did not reveal the contents of the second and third secret and
informed the Vatican of the second secret only in July 1941, following
the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. The Virgin, Lucia said,
had proclaimed that if Russia was converted back to Christianity,
many years of war and persecution could be avoided, but since
1917, communism had only expanded its reach. It seemed that Lucia
was advocating that the invasion of the Soviet Union was a good thing, as per the Virgin Mary herself. Nazi Germany, of course,
lost the Second World War and with its demise, communism spread
across Eastern Europe. The Cold War came to be seen as “many
years of war and persecution [of Christians]” and so it
seemed, the Second Secret was true. It also meant that there were
great expectations to know the Third Secret, which was assumed
to be as accurate as the Second and no doubt of even greater importance.
Indeed, the Third Secret of Fatima became the subject of extra-ordinary conspiracy theories, with suggestions ranging from the Virgin’s announcement that extra-terrestrial life existed elsewhere in the universe to the end of the world. Lucia had received the information in 1917, but she only informed the Vatican of the Secret in January 1944. When it was delivered, the Vatican refused to make it public. Lucia therefore proclaimed that the secret had to be revealed upon her death, or at the latest in 1960.
Lucia, however, had been a hostage of the Vatican for many decades: shortly after the Fatima apparitions, she was forced into a convent (she was not a devout Catholic when the visions happened; her father was actually an atheist), sent to a nunnery where she could not communicate with anyone because language barriers, and was later placed in solitary confinement, to make sure she didn’t speak to anyone; access to Lucia required the consent of the highest Vatican circles and it was rarely granted. What Lucia desired, was therefore totally at the Pope’s discretion.
Keeping
the Secret
The
assassination attempt on Pope John Paul I on May 13, 1981
It
was not until mid-March 1957 that Pope Pius XII asked for the
document, but he apparently did not read it. Instead, the document
was placed in the Secret Archives of the Holy Office on April
4, 1957 and, ahead of its intended revelation in 1960, the envelope
was brought to Pope John XXIII on August 17, 1959. On February
8, 1960, the pope announced that the contents of the secret would
not be revealed: “We shall wait. I shall pray. I shall let
you know what I decide.” Nothing happened.
In his turn, Pope Paul VI read the contents on March 27, 1965, and returned the envelope to the Archives of the Holy Office, also deciding not to publish the text. The next pope who took an interest was Pope John Paul II, who asked for the envelope following the attempt on his life on May 13, 1981. Once again, it was returned to the archives. However, was it a coincidence that the pope was shot on May 13 (1981) and that the first apparition of Fatima occurred on May 13 (1917)? Was this evidence of “divine synchronicity” – or careful planning?
In his turn, Pope Paul VI read the contents on March 27, 1965, and returned the envelope to the Archives of the Holy Office, also deciding not to publish the text. The next pope who took an interest was Pope John Paul II, who asked for the envelope following the attempt on his life on May 13, 1981. Once again, it was returned to the archives. However, was it a coincidence that the pope was shot on May 13 (1981) and that the first apparition of Fatima occurred on May 13 (1917)? Was this evidence of “divine synchronicity” – or careful planning?
After
the assassination attempt, it was clear that the Pope believed there was
a connection. On the occasion of a visit to Rome by the then Bishop
of Leiria (the bishopric to which Fatima belongs), the Pope decided
to give him the bullet which had remained in the jeep after the
assassination attempt, so that it might be kept in the shrine.
By the Bishop’s decision, the bullet was later set in the
crown of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
On May 13, 1991, the Pope was in Fatima, to meet with Lucia. The event, of course, was the tenth anniversary of his miraculous escape from death and it was clear – even though the contents of the Third Secret had not yet been released – that he wanted to commemorate his narrow escape from death in Fatima. During the mass, he specifically said thanks to the Virgin Mary for the liberation of Europe from Communism. Indeed, whereas in 1981, communism was believed as having ordered the papal assassination, a decade later, communism had just died across Eastern Europe.
The 1990s would see intense speculation on the nature of the Third Secret, so much so that the Church began to be depicted as the evil keeper of a secret that should have long been revealed to the world, as per Lucia’s wishes.
The
Pope visited Fatima (again) on May 13, 2000, to celebrate the
beatification of Jacinta and Francisco, two of the Fatima witnesses,
and again spoke to Sister Lucia. As early as 1935, there had been
attempts to have the two visionaries beautified. That same day,
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, then Vatican Secretary of State, announced
that the Third Secret would be revealed, and disclosed what he
claimed was a portion of it. Sodano announced that the secret
spoke of “a bishop clothed in white” who, while making
his way amid the corpses of martyrs, “falls to the ground,
apparently dead, under a burst of gunfire.” Cardinal Sodano
went on to indicate that this was a prediction of the 1981 assassination
attempt against John Paul II.
Finally, just over a month later, on June 26, 2000, Pope John Paul II released its contents, claiming that the 1981 assassination attempt was the fulfilment of this Secret. The announcement received mixed reactions. For some, it was the Church finally officialising what had been “known” for years, if not decades. For others, there was doubt.
The
Secret Revealed
The
letter of the Third Secret of Fatima
Though
labelled a secret, in 1917, the Third Secret was actually a prophecy:
“If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved
and there will be peace. The war is going to end: but if people
do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during
the Pontificate of Pius XI. […] To prevent this, I shall
come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart,
and the Communion of reparation on the First Saturdays. If my
requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will
be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world,
causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be
martyred; 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, and she shall be
converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.”
The war that was going to end in 1917 was obviously the First World War. The “worse one” was going to be the Second World War. Interestingly, Pius XI presided over the Church from 1922 till 1939 and one should rightfully query whether the Virgin truly dictated this in 1917, or whether it was edited in by Lucia. And if Lucia edited this in, the question might be asked what else she edited in – the letter itself was only composed in 1944.
Even though such doubts should exist, it is clear that no such doubts existed in the heart of Pope John Paul II. He immediately thought of consecrating the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary after the assassination attempt and composed a prayer for what he called an “Act of Entrustment”, which was to be celebrated in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major on June 7, 1981.
On May 13, 1982, exactly a year after the assassination attempt that was at the core of the Third Secret of Fatima, John Paul II was in Fatima, both to thank Mary for saving his life, and also to carry out a public act of consecration of the whole world, including Russia, to her Immaculate Heart – as per the Virgin Mary’s instruction, as dictated to Lucia in 1917… or so it seems.
The
full text was released by then Cardinal Ratzinger on the Vatican
internet site. But upon its publication, it was apparent that
the Third Secret did not say that the Pope fell “apparently
dead”, but says that he was killed. This is the passage
of the officially published text: “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.”
It is clear that the “Holy Father” is killed, at a top of a mountain, by a group of soldiers, and that he is not alone to die, as “one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women” die too. In short, this is a vision of carnage, and not at all like what happened on May 13, 1981. While the Pope was driving through St Peter’s Square, he was first of all driven, not walking; nor were there any corpses around him; he did not climb a mountain, or kneeled at the foot of a big cross. The only potentially matching correspondence is that you might argue that assassin Agca was a soldier and that he did indeed try to kill the pope with a gun. Even though some bystanders were injured in the shooting, no bishop or priest, let alone several of them, died.
However much Pope John Paul II might have believed in Fatima and that the Virgin of Fatima predicted his assassination attempt, however much there is this coincidence of dates (May 13), based on the official publication of the document in 2000, it appears that the Third Secret does not apply to the failed assassination attempt of 1981. How was this explained? The Pope believed that the Virgin altered the course of history and that he should have died by Agca’s bullets, but that the Virgin personally intervened and rescued him. In short, that the Virgin Mary herself stopped her own prediction from happening! Which begs the question why she simply did not say so!
Amidst all of this, however, were a number of questions that weren’t asked, like why Sister Lucia had been so adamant that the Secret had to be revealed by 1960 at the latest, even though the events foretold in it were for 1981 – a gap of two decades, making us wonder why Lucia felt the Third Secret had such urgency. However, in retrospect, it is but a small mystery in a much larger enigma!
Faked
Secrets
The
central question as to whether the secrets are genuine or not
is the credibility of Sister Lucia. Questioned by canon Formigao,
only six days after the October 13, 1917 apparition, she was asked:
“The 13th of this month, did you ask that the people would
look at the sun?”
Lucia: “I don’t remember having done that.”
Formigao: “Did you ask them to close their umbrellas?”
Lucia: “The last time, I cannot remember whether I asked them.”
Formigao: “Did She tell you that the people would be punished if they did not repent their sins?”
Lucia: “I do not remember whether she said that; I think not.”
Formigao: “The 13th, you did not have such doubts as you have today about what the Virgin has said. Why do you have such doubts today?”
Lucia: “That day I could remember better; it was closer to the events.”
Lucia clearly had a rather short-term memory, which begs the question how she could possibly correctly remember decades later what had transpired in 1917, when six days after the apparition, most of what had happened, she had already forgotten.
One might argue that the secrets were nevertheless forcefully imprinted on her memory, but the evidence suggests otherwise. That same day, on October 19, 1917, in front of Father Ferreira de Lacerda, when she was asked “What did the lady say the fifth time?” (i.e. September 13), Lucia replied “I do not remember well, but it appears to me that she said…” “It appears to me that she said” doesn’t invite confidence and it begs the question of the contents of the Second and Third Secret, written down decades later, could have been remembered correctly. Indeed, Father Rolim would later conclude: “Because of the interrogations we have submitted them to, the visionaries were the first to hesitate about the words that the lady had truly used.”
But it gets worse. There are clear contradictions in what Lucia said in 1917 and what she wrote in 1942 and would comment on later. In 1917, Lucia declared to Formigao that “The Virgin did not speak about penitence”, but in 1946, to Father McGlynn, Lucia claimed: “She continued to demand sacrifices and penitences.” Worse still, in 1917, Formigao asked Lucia whether she had been given a secret, which Lucia confirmed. Asked whether she gave it only to Lucia or to all three children, Lucia replied “all three.” Most importantly, he asked: “If the people were to know the secret that Our Lady revealed to you, would they be sad?” Lucia answered: “I think they would remain as they are, more or less the same.” It suggests that the secrets as given by the Virgin Mary were quite modest, and seem not on par with the revelations of the Second and Third Secret several decades later. This is underlined when Lucia went on the record stating that the secret only applied for the good and happiness of the three children present, and not anyone else.
Should one draw the conclusion that the Second and Third Secret as revealed by the Church had nothing to do with the message the Virgin gave to the three witnesses in Fatima? It definitely appears to be. In fact, seeing Lucia was kept a hostage by the Church for several decades, there is no way to verify at all that what the Church claimed was what Lucia was told. We simply have to take the Church’s word for it.
If this were to be the case, then it is no wonder that the official records of these 1917 interrogations were placed under seal by Church officials for several decades, as they completely tear apart any credibility these “secrets” have.
It
is clear that in 1917, the secrets revealed by the Virgin were
not that important, at least not to the world as a whole. What
was important – and remains the case – is that in
October 1917, a truly supernatural event was witnessed by thousands:
the sun seemed to stop on its tracks, a phenomenon that convinced
hardened skeptics who had travelled to Fatima to be shown how
fake it all was that something truly magical had just happened.
But as supernatural events are unimportant – if not demonic
– in the eyes of the Church, the entire event was redefined
into a more Christian context. Soon, a political dimension was
added it to. And one of the greatest lies of the 20th century
was created: The Third Secret of Fatima.
The
Greatest Lie
Based
on Sister Lucia’s memoirs written down between 1935 and
1941, it is clear that the “secrets” and their contents
are at best to contain some errors, but is likely completely erroneous,
and potentially fraudulent, written by those who were in charge
of this visionary.
All the first-hand testimony, taken down in 1917, shows that Lucia was confused about many things and even though she was given a – one – secret, the secret had to do only with the children themselves. Specifically asked whether people would take note of the secret if they were told, and whether it would impact them, Lucia highly doubted this might happen.
Yet since 1942, that is precisely what we are meant to believe: that there are powerful secrets, revealed by the Virgin to Sister Lucia, one to do with the need for the Soviet Union to convert and a third that continued to intrigue thousands if not millions of Christians. It is nothing more, or less, something that either Lucia on her own, or with the help of her entourage, concocted after 1935. Seeing Lucia was a nun in solitary confinement, with no political agenda, the Church is a more likely suspect, using an innocent girl – and the Virgin Mary – as the posterboard for a political campaign.
No-one seems to have realized that the entire scheme of the secrets was a game of cat and mouse, part of a deliberate campaign to gain support from the Catholics in the fight against communism. The secrets transformed the fight against communism from a political, western agenda, to a divine call to arms, the express desire of the Virgin Mary – and by extension Jesus – which was not only of vital importance for the future of Mankind, but, also, part of the “End Times”, that were said to be upon us. Religious, apocalyptic imagery was painted upon an otherwise rather bland political agenda.
The
Unthinkable Thought
Pope John Paul I with Sister Lucia It is now commonly accepted that the assassination was ordered by the leaders of the Soviet Union, who via the KGB ordered it down to a satellite intelligence agency, who eventually managed to recruit an assassin. Though this is the accepted sequence of events, it has never been proven, as such matters are simply hard to prove – they were designed that way. The reason normally given is that the Pope was always suspected of being a staunch anti-Communist and that the Soviet Regime realized that this Pope would stop at nothing in his fight against Communism. That the Kremlin therefore ordered his assassination; stop him, before he would stop them.
Maybe. Another hypothesis is that someone realized that if the Pope was shot – dead or not – on May 13, this could be used as part of the worldwide anti-communism campaign that had been in operation around Fatima for several decades. If the Pope survived, it was evident that he would embrace Fatima – which he did. If he died, his entourage could make him into a martyr and persecute communism – with the full co-operation of the Western political powers. Finally, let us remember that 1981 was a time when the Vatican was embroiled in extraordinary difficulties, most of these political and financial, and of its own making. A dead or injured pope would – and did – completely shift the focus and momentum.
The unthinkable thought therefore is whether someone – a non-communist – decided to use the date of May 13 to try to assassinate the Pope, as part of a larger, anti-communist religious agenda, one in which the Secrets of Fatima had been used for a number of decades, and would continue to do so for several more.
That is speculation, but what is fact, is that the Church incarcerated a nun for most of her life, and abused her image in a political and religious anti-communist campaign. She, definitely the image of the Virgin Mary, and maybe the Pope himself, were used as pawns in a game of charades.
The Three Shepherd Children
On July 13, 1917, with the end of
World War I still one year in the future, Our Lady of Fatima told the three
children, "... when you shall see a night illuminated by an unknown light ..." it would herald
that the next great war, namely, World War II — was imminent.
________________________________
The three Fatima children, from left to
right,
Lucia dos Santos, Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto. The children were
startled by a vision of an
Angel in 1916 while tending their sheep. This was to prepare them for the
visions to come from the 'beautiful Lady' on May 13th, June 13th, July 13th, in
August, on September 13, and on October 13, 1917. Amidst persecution and
controversy, the crowd attending the visions grew each month, until 70,000 were
present on October 13th for the promised 'miracle' which Lucy had announced in
advance in obedience to the Lady's instructions. On that day the sun 'danced' in
the sky amidst other miraculous happenings for ten full minutes. Even the hostile
Masonic press, such as the O Seculo newspaper based in Lisbon, which had sent its reporters to
scoff, reported the miraculous events in amazement and awe with great detail and
many photographs. The entire story is
in the book,
Our Lady of Fatima.
This photograph was
taken, as far as can be ascertained, on August 13 or 14, 1917 when the children
were ages 10, 9, and 7, respectively. Ironically, history owes this most famous
picture of the Fatima children to the Masonic government which had kidnapped
them on these August days, put them in an open jail with the region's convicted
criminals for a few hours, and then threatened them with death in boiling oil if
they did not renounce their story about visions of a beautiful Lady. Even with
no one there to help them, the children refused to renounce their testimony.
This picture of the three little children who were creating such a "buzz"
throughout Portugal appeared a few days later on the front page of Lisbon's
daily newspaper,
O Seculo.
________________________________
Here is another picture taken in 1917 after the
visions had begun. Here the children are photographed holding their rosaries and
without head coverings. Jacinto (left) died at age nine on Feb. 20, 1920 from
the influenza epidemic that had begun to sweep through Europe as WW I was
ending. Francisco (right) had died in the previous year of the same affliction on April
4, 1919 at age ten. Lucy (center) would live
many years longer, and some pictures of her as an adult are below. All three
children had accurately predicted these things in 1917, relating that the
beautiful Lady had told them she would take Jacinta and Francisco to Heaven
soon, but that Lucy would have to remain on earth "for some time longer."
________________________________
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