Fatima News
FULL TEXT OF THIRD FATIMA SECRET - Catholic World News
Feature JUN. 26, 2000
VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- On Monday, June 26, the Vatican released the full text of the "third secret" of Fatima, complete with a commentary by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
(CWNews.com will provide details on Cardinal Ratzinger's commentary in a second Feature story today.)
The "third secret was written down by Sister Lucia, the only survivor
among the three children to whom the Virgin Mary appeared at Fatima in 1917. Sister Lucia-- now a Carmelite nun-- wrote down the text in 1944, at the request of the local bishop. The following is the full text of the "third secret" in its original translation:
"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 aspergilium 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."
FATIMA MESSAGE RELEASED WITH VATICAN COMMENTARY
VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- The Vatican finally unveiled the famous "third secret" of Fatima, at a news conference on Monday, June 26.
As the Vatican had already disclosed, the "third secret" comes in the form of a prophetic message-- a vision of a struggle between the Church and a totalitarian system-- and culminates with a vision of an assassination attempt on the Pope.
The text of the "third secret" was included in a 40-page document which
also contained a theological commentary by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, an introduction by Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, and several short texts that were apparently included to underline the authenticity of the text.
The document was released through the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, of which Cardinal Ratzinger and Archbishop Bertone are prefect and secretary, respectively. The text was published simultaneously in English, Italian, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Polish translations.
[For the full text of the Fatima message, and for a more detailed report
on Cardinal Ratzinger's commentary, see today's CWN Feature stories.]
The "third secret" is part of the message conveyed by the Virgin Mary to
the three children to whom she appeared in Fatima, Portugal, in 1918. The only surviving Fatima seer, Sister Lucia-- who is now a Carmelite nun, living in a convent in Portugal-- wrote down the text of the Virgin's message in 1941.
Archbishop Bertone points out, in his introduction to the message, that
the Fatima apparition is "undoubtedly the most prophetic" message from the Virgin Mary. He goes on to observe that it was inconceivable that in 1917,three young shepherd children would have predicted World War II and the rise of a totalitarian empire in Russia.
The full 40-page document made public by the Vatican explained that Pope John XXIII read the "third secret" in August 1959, but decided not to publicize it. Pope Paul VI made the same decision in March 1965. Soon after the attempt on his life on May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II re-read the secret, and decided to consecrate the world to the Virgin Mary-- an act which he carried out on June 7, 1981. Sister Lucia confirmed that this consecration fulfilled the wishes of the Lady of Fatima.
Finally, Archbishop Bertone concludes his sketch of the history of the
message by recalling that in May of this year, Pope John Paul decided to
make public the full text of the Fatima secret. That decision, the
archbishop writes, "brings to an end a period of history marked by tragic human lust for power and evil, yet pervaded by the merciful love of God and the watchful care of the Mother of Jesus and of the Church."
CARDINAL RATZINGER COMMENTS ON FATIMA MESSAGE
VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- In his theological commentary on the "third
secret" of Fatima, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger emphasizes that the key to
understanding the Fatima message lies in the words attributed to the
Virgin Mary: "Penance, penance, penance!"
Cardinal Ratzinger adds that a second crucial aspect of the Virgin's
message is her reassurance that "my Immaculate Heart will triumph."
The prophetic vision which was disclosed to the three young children who saw the Virgin Mary at Fatima was a preview of the 20th century, the cardinal writes. "In the vision we can recognize the last century as a
century of martyrs, a century of suffering and persecution for the Church, a century of world wars and the many local wars which filled the last fifty years and have inflicted unprecedented forms of cruelty."
That vision is coupled with Mary's plea for prayer and penance, Cardinal
Ratzinger continues. And taken as a whole, the Fatima message is a strong reminder that the crises of the world must finally be resolved not through armed force but through prayer, and reliance on God's grace. Thus despite its violent imagery and its strong warning tone, the Fatima message concludes with a note of confidence: "my Immaculate Heart will triumph."
In his analysis of the message, Cardinal Ratzinger directly addresses the theories which have been put forward by many amateur theologians, suggesting that the Fatima message-- and, in particular, the "third secret"-- contained extraordinary news about the end of the world or about apostasy within the Church. Those analyses were wrong, writes the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Cardinal Ratzinger writes: "Those who expected exciting apocalyptic
revelations about the end of the world or the future course of history are bound to be disappointed. Fatima does not satisfy our curiosity in this way, just as Christian faith in general cannot be reduced to an object of mere curiosity."
Above items reproduced with permission from Catholic World News Service.
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For more information about Fatima see: Fatima, Russia and John Paul II, by Timothy Tindal-Robertson
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Fatima News: Text of Third