The Last Secret of Fatima

by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone SDB
Vatican Secretary of State
Doubleday
ISBN-10: 0385525826
ISBN-13: 978-0385525824

A few months ago I posted some comments about the release of this book. From what I read I saw in this book the opportunity to correct many misconceptions about the message of Fatima that were still being pushed by groups like Fatima Crusader. Sadly, despite the release of the 3rd part of the Secret in 2000 with an excellent theological commentary on it by then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Papa Benedetto) (The Message of Fatima), these groups are still in denial as to what the real message of Fatima is. Nor am I surprized that they would reject the facts. To accept the truth is to undermine their disident stand. They basically accuse the Pope & others of being liars while claiming to be loyal Catholics. They're not.

However, for the rest of us who trust the Holy Spirit to guide & protect the Church, this book is a much needed look at the real Secret & where it fits into the rest of the Fatima Message.

I have to admit that I was a bit surprized by the format of the book. I thought that it would be a straight forward telling of the events of Fatima, the Secrets & how they apply to the life of the Church & individual Catholics as well. What it turned out to be was a bit different. The heart of the book is an interview of Cardinal Bertone by journalist Giuseppe De Carli. As I read the book I saw how this was the ideal format for the subject at hand.

By handling it in this way it keeps the material fresh & interesting in a way that a simple rehash of events & commentary by Cardinal Bertone couldn't be. I don't mean to say that it would have been dry & boring. In fact, from the way the Cardinal answered the questions I am sure it would have been an interesting presentation. The Q & A format adds an intimacy & immediacy. De Carli often asks the very question that I would have asked.

The book begins with a short forward by Papa Benedetto. I suspect this is the 1st time a sitting Pope has ever done that. After that we have a note from De Carli seting the tone of the book. He describes the goal of the book as a manuductio. The word means "safe conduct" or "the act of leading by the hand". Because the ultimate goal of God's allowing Mary to appear at Fatima is to help us on our spiritual journey to Heaven this book hopes to offer a manuductio ad coelum (a helping hand to heaven).

Before getting into the interview, De Carli gives us a little background of Fatima as well as how this book came about. Then we get into the heart of the book, the interview with Cardinal Bertone. In the interview Cardinal Bertone shares much about the time he spent discussing the 3rd Secret with Sr. Lucia, the last (at the time) living Fatima visionary. Given the fact that Sr. Lucia spent most of her adult life in a Carmelite convent, very little of who she was & what she was like is known. The Cardinal does an excellent job of giving us a snapshot of Sr. Lucia.

Cardinal Bertone discusses the message with Sr. Lucia to confirm both the authenticity of the 3rd part later released by the Vatican (it was the real secret) & the understanding of Pope John Paul II of its application to him (it did). He also helps us to put the message within the context of the whole of Catholic doctrine & piety. At this point I have to explain that a message like Fatima is not public revelation. Public revelation ceased with the writing of the last book of the Bible. Fatima is considered private revelation. Even when a message is approved, all that means is there is nothing in it that is contrary to authentic Catholic teaching. Catholics are never required to grant the same assent to an approved message that it does to the "deposit of the faith". As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about private revelations: "It is not their role to improve or complete Christ's definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history." (Par 67)

& that is what this book succeeds in doing. It helps us to see how the true message of Fatima can lead us to grow & mature in our faith. By the time I got to the end of the interview I had a much deeper appreaciation of the events of Fatima as well as the message. Much of this came through the interview section. But it was also helped by the material in part 2 of the book.

That part of the book presented some of the writings of Sr. Lucia about the messages. It also contains the Theological Commentary section of the Vatican document I mentioned at the start of this article. That commentary included a section where Cardinal Ratzinger attepts to interpret the Fatima message as a whole.

Too often people have only looked at 1 aspect of the message, its predictions of what would happen. They focus on the prediction of WW II found in the 1st 2 parts of the Secret. Many of these same people are disappointed that the 3rd part isn't some huge apocalyptic prediction of the end times.

What is the real message of Fatima. As then Cardinal Ratzinger points out in his commentary: "“To save souls” has emerged as the key word of the first and second parts of the “secret”, and the key word of this third part is the threefold cry: “Penance, Penance, Penance!” The beginning of the Gospel comes to mind: “Repent and believe the Good News” (Mk 1:15). To understand the signs of the times means to accept the urgency of penance – of conversion – of faith. This is the correct response to this moment of history, characterized by the grave perils outlined in the images that follow. Allow me to add here a personal recollection: in a conversation with me Sister Lucia said that it appeared ever more clearly to her that the purpose of all the apparitions was to help people to grow more and more in faith, hope and love—everything else was intended to lead to this." God wills that all souls be saved. He calls each of us to participate in the proclamation of this message, both in word & deed. For the believer that means daily growing closer to God, dying to self. It also means we are to proclaim the good news of the Gospel to a world that is lost & on its way to Hell. Our failure to do so is a failure to obey Christ's call to be His witnesses.

I told you how De Carli describes this book as a manuductio ad coelum. Does he suceed in doing so. YES! For those who are willing to listen to what the Spirit is saying to the Church in this day & time, this book is truly a "helping hand to heaven".