The Pope and Fatimas “third secret”
ON May 13, the Pope visited Fatima in Portugal to “beatify” two of the children who claimed to have seen a series of visions of the Virgin Mary there in 1917. This is expected to lead to them being given full “sainthood” at some time in the future. In the past, children have not been deemed suitable candidates for beatification or canonisation. But the present Pope has changed the rules with, it would seem, these particular children in mind.
The importance the Pope gives to Fatima is related to the assassination attempt against him in Rome in 1981. This also took place on May 13, the anniversary of the first of the “appearances” of the Virgin Mary to the children in Fatima. The Pope claims that the bullet which hit him was guided by “a motherly hand” that of Mary so that he was enabled to “halt at the threshold of death”, and that this was all predicted in the so-called third secret of Fatima.
The bullet has been placed in the crown of a statue of the Virgin Mary in Fatima. No doubt this is intended to be an added attraction to keep the hundreds of persons coming year after year to this shrine of idolatry. Perhaps it is only appropriate that many travel on foot for miles on their pilgrimage to the shrine and some make a point of covering the last few yards on their knees; it demonstrates the foolishness of the whole performance.
The first secret, a “vision of hell”, has somehow been interpreted as a prophecy of the end of the First World War and also that there would be a Second World War. The second secret is supposed to foretell Russian Communism. It is claimed, with breathtaking arrogance, that only when, in 1984, the Pope did as the Virgin Mary is said to have demanded in one of the Fatima visions consecrated Eastern Europe “to her immaculate heart” did Gorbachev become leader of Russia and perestroika begin. The childrens original interpretation was certainly more mundane; they thought their vision had something to do with one of their sheep! But that was before the propaganda machine in Rome took over.
This third secret is said to have been in the hands of successive Popes for over 50 years but has not yet been made public. However, during his recent visit to Portugal, the Pope has let it be known that it will soon be released to the world. But this will only be done when a commentary has been prepared. Otherwise, no doubt, the man in the street would never think of the interpretation which Rome place on this “prophecy”. It is on the same principle that Rome is so insistent on publishing her own notes with her approved versions of the Bible, in the hope that Roman Catholic doctrines will be conveyed to the reader rather than the truth which the Holy Spirit has placed in Scripture.
One report states that “examination of the considerable evidence available leaves little doubt that the gist of the secret is that, in the last third of the twentieth century, the highest church officials would fall under satanic influence and err in their teaching”. The writer has in mind such matters as acceptance of abortion and the denial of transubstantiation. He further comments that “the present Popes call for blind, and unreasoning, fidelity to his teaching is obviously ineffective”. No doubt the statements of these children will be manipulated in such a way as to strengthen the Popes hand in trying to force his traditionalist standpoint on dissenting elements within Roman Catholicism.
“Man, by putting God to the side,” said the Pope at Fatima, “cannot reach happiness.” What he really means to claim is: that man, by putting the Pope and his doctrines to the side, cannot reach happiness. The fact is that the Pope has consistently been putting God to the side, and indeed has been putting himself in the place of God as 2 Thessalonians 2 expresses it: “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [of Christs second coming] shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. . . . Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” Rome has always dealt largely in “signs and lying wonders”; even today, in spite of the increasing scientific sophistication of modern times, she still impresses multitudes with her soul-destroying doctrines.
K. D. M.
A shocking statistic
WE have recently been given the following statistic about the Roman Catholic Church in the USA (which has been taken from a website run by Roman Catholics who have been abused by priests).
“In the past 15 years,” they report, “about 1,000 paedophile priests have been identified nationally, and during that period the church has paid nearly $800 million to settle with victims of sexual abuse, according to those who track the issue. There are about 50,000 priests in the United States.”
Here we have another indictment of the exceedingly corrupt Church of Rome, and another piece of proof of the shocking immorality which results from Rome forbidding her priests to marry (see 1 Timothy 4:3).
Return to Table of Contents for The Free Presbyterian Magazine – June 2000