Pope to Fr. Gruner, et al, about Fatima: "The Truth IS Out There, Get Over It!

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. This feast commemorates the appearances of Mary to 3 shepherd children, Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto at Cova da Iria near Fatima Portuga in 1917. During the visions, Mary called the children to pray, do penance & revealed 3 secrets to them.

2 of the 3 secrets were made public. The 1st was a vision of Hell. The 2nd was about the end of World War I & what needed to be done (but wasn't by enough people) to prevent World War II. It also talked about the conversion of Russia from Communism to Christianity after being consecrated to Mary's Immaculate Heart. (In part, it talked about Russia spreading errors. Remember that Russia was just going communist at the time & the children wouldn't have known it) The 3rd Secret wasn't revealed at the time. By 1920 Jacinta & Francisco were dead. (They were beatified in 2000 by Pope John Paul the Great.) Lucia eventually joined a convent.

In 1944, at the orders of Bishop da Silva, Sr. Lucia wrote down the 3rd Secret. It was sent by the Bishop to Rome in 1957 & was originally to be revealed in 1960. Pope Blessed John XXIII chose not to as did subsequent Popes. It was finally announced by Cardinal Ratzinger (now Papa Benedetto) at Pope John Paul the Great's order on this date in 2000 that the 3rd Secret would be finally be revealed. It was a few weeks later on 26 June.

The message talked about an attack on the life of the Pope. Along with the message, then Cardinal Ratzinger included a commentary. (The Message of Fatima) On 13 February 2005 Sr. Lucia died & later that year Cardinal Ratzinger became Papa Benedetto XVI.

There are many people who claim that the entire 3rd Secret of Fatima has not been revealed. A lot of these are against everything since Vatican II including the Novus Ordo Mass. & while some, like Fr. Gruner & his group, Fatima Crusader, claim to be loyal to the Pope etc, they aren't. They are dissenters as much as those on the left are.

Unfortunately, this didn't stop these people from making a variety of claims. Some claimed it was only a part of the 3rd Secret. Others, that it was a forgery & that Sr. Lucia was an imposter who was used to claim the 3rd Secret was the forgery as well as to uphold the claim that Russia was consecrated to Mary's heart when it wasn't. The above mentioned Fr. Gruner has been at the forefront of those claims. ( Fr. Gruner has been out of order with his diocese & Rome for years despite his claims to the contrary. 1 of his followers recently wrote a book slandering EWTN & Mother Angelica. New book slams EWTN)

According to a recently written book interviewing Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, "The Last Fatima Visionary: My Meetings With Sister Lucia", the secret was revealed specificly to counter claims of people like Fr. Gruner. The book begins with a letter of presentation from Pope Benedict. (Fatima: The secret's out, despite claims to the contrary)

The Catholic News Service article says the following about the book's contents:

"In the new book, Cardinal Bertone said Carmelite Sister Lucia dos Santos, at the time the last surviving visionary, confirmed the Vatican's interpretation.

He also said Pope John Paul felt that since the assassination attempt had already taken place and he survived, the 2000 beatification of Sister Lucia's cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, was an appropriate occasion for announcing the publication of the secret.

He also said Pope John Paul felt that since the assassination attempt had already taken place and he survived, the 2000 beatification of Sister Lucia's cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, was an appropriate occasion for announcing the publication of the secret.

The continuing rumors that the Vatican is still hiding something puzzle Cardinal Bertone and, he said, they irritated Sister Lucia, who died in February 2005 at the age of 97.

In the book, Cardinal Bertone said, "The most diehard 'Fatimists,' like those who follow Father Nicholas Gruner's Fatima Crusader magazine, remain disappointed.

"Father Gruner, a priest based in Canada, repeatedly has said that the Vatican's text does not match other accounts by Sister Lucia and, basically, does not contain anything worrying enough to have prevented Popes John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II from publishing it earlier.

The strange thing, Cardinal Bertone said in the new book, is that Pope John Paul decided to publish the secret precisely to put an end to the wild speculation that had surrounded it.

"The pressure from the 'Fatimists' was extremely strong," the cardinal said."The most absurd theses" were being spread, mainly presuming that the secret predicted catastrophic world events or widespread heresy at the top levels of the church, Cardinal Bertone said.

"Clearing up the question was a pastoral concern," he said.Pope Benedict's letter, written in late February, reflects that concern. "

"The pope, as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said he wrote the Vatican commentary "after having prayed intensely and meditated deeply on the authentic words of the third part of the secret of Fatima, contained on sheets written by Sister Lucia."

Pope Benedict said that for him the secret can be summarized "by the consoling promise of the Most Holy Virgin: 'My immaculate heart will triumph.'""

Another claim that Fr. Gruner has made is that the Secrets of Fatima are public, not private revelation & thus require ascent by the faithful. Not true, Fatima is considered a private revelation. The Church says that there is nothing in it that is contrary to the faith, but we are not required to act on the message in the same way that the Church requires of public revelation. (Personally, I accept the message, trusting in the Church's discernment. I regularly pray the Rosary, as noted elsewhere. I believe the consecration has taken place as Sr. Lucia confirmed & that Russia's conversion HAS begun.)

Sadly, Fr. Gruner & others have put themselves above the very Pope they claim to be obedient to. They claim that the Popes, etc, are grieving Jesus & Mary by their lies & inaction. The truth is, they are the ones doing so. They are hung up on a false vision of the Church that is NOT of God. As the title of this post says: "GET OVER IT!"

(For more on the message & history of Fatima go to World Apostolate of Fatima USA's website.)

(Added: 14 May 2007 4:28 am) On EWTN's Bookmark that just got over the guests were Thomas McCormack & Dr. Branca Paul, Sr. Lucia's physician at the end. They were there to promote a new DVD & book, The Call to Fatima. It is about the full message of Fatima as well as what happenned. It was done with the approval of Sr. Lucia & was originally to come out before here death but delays prevented it. The whole thing also has the permissions of the Shrine at Fatima & the Carmel that Sr. Lucia was a part of.)