Posted on 02/18/2005 10:48:45 AM PST by sinkspur
In most cases, processes for beatification involve some degree of uncertainty, since one never knows quite how it will go. Every now and then, however, there's a slam-dunk candidate for whom it's only a matter of time. Such was the case with Mother Teresa when she died in 1997, and such is the case again this week with Carmelite Sr. Maria Lucia of Jesus and of the Sacred Heart, better known as Lucia dos Santos, the last of the three visionaries of Fatima, who died last Sunday.
Lucia passed away on the 13th of the month, the same day in May 1917 that, according to the Fatima tradition, the Virgin Mary began appearing to three small children in this remote site in Portugal. It's a spot named after the wife of Ali, the cousin of the prophet Muhammed, and hence a reminder of the Muslim conquest of the Iberian peninsula. (In some Koranic schools, especially in Shi'ite circles where devotion to Fatima is strong, it's long been believed that Mary, who is also venerated in the Koran, didn't come to Fatima for Christians at all, but for the Muslims).
The other two seers of Fatima, Francisco and Jacinta, died in 1919 and 1920, respectively, and were beatified by John Paul II in 2000. Lucia, however, entered a Carmelite convent in Coimbra, Portugal, in 1948, where she lived ever since. From there, she handed over to Vatican officials the "Third Secret" of Fatima, a vision of a bishop in white and a hail of gunfire which John Paul II interpreted as a reference to the assassination attempt against him on May 13, 1981, the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. The pope's delegate for Sr. Lucia's funeral, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone of Genoa, who had long meetings with Lucia when he was the secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has said that there are no more major revelations waiting in her monastic cell to be disclosed.
There's no question that John Paul II feels a special connection with the Fatima devotion, and with Lucia. It was Fatima where Mary referred to "the errors that Russia will spread in the world," taken by most Catholics as a reference to Soviet Communism. In keeping with Mary's request at Fatima that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart, the pope performed a consecration of the whole world at Fatima in 1982, on the anniversary of the assassination attempt. There followed concern that the pope did not do this in concert with the rest of the bishops, as Mary had asked. Hence on March 25, 1984, John Paul repeated the consecration in a ceremony in St. Peter's Square, after having sent letters to all the world's Catholic and Orthodox bishops asking them to join him. The statue of the Virgin from Fatima was brought to Rome for the occasion. Though the pope's text did not specifically mention Russia, at least one observer, the bishop of Leiria-Fatima, Alberto Cosme do Amaral, said the pope paused at one point and quietly added "Russia" under his breath. Afterwards, Sr. Lucia apparently told the apostolic nuncio in Portugal that Mary had accepted the consecration, a fact that, in the pope's mind, is not without significance in explaining subsequent events, including the collapse of the Berlin Wall and eventually the Soviet system.
John Paul also credits the Virgin of Fatima with saving his life on May 13, 1981, believing that the flight path of a bullet launched from Mehmet Ali Agca's gun was altered in order to preserve him in office. Without descending into too much pop psychology, this undoubtedly helps to explain why resignation is essentially unthinkable for John Paul -- he believes that his pontificate is part of a much larger cosmic drama, and God and the Virgin are watching. It's up to them, not him, to decide when the time has come.
Of course, to believe that Mary saved the pope's life on May 13, 1981, logically raises the question of why she allowed him to be shot in the first place. His closest aide, personal secretary Archishop Stanislaw Dsizwsz, in a rare public lecture in Poland in 2002 supplied the answer. The pope's blood had to be spilled, Dsizwsz argued, in order to augment his witness against bloodshed in the world, above all with respect to abortion. It has always impressed John Paul and Dsizwsz that the Italian left had scheduled a major abortion rights rally in Rome the evening of May 13, 1981, which was cancelled out of respect for the fallen pope.
If time and health permit, there's no doubt John Paul would like to be the pope who beatifies Sr. Lucia.
Incidentally, Portugal is presently in the middle of national elections, and the center-right government, which most polls project to lose, has declared a "stop" to campaigning out of respect for her funeral. That has triggered charges of political opportunism not only from the center-left opposition, but also from church spokespersons in Lisbon, who say they doubt the "sincerity" of the gesture.
A counter to the Sungenis' conspiracy theories.
Thank you for this marvelous article from the National Catholic Reporter - the official organ of the American Catholic Church, in de facto schism for some 30 years.
This is also the flagship journal for the "cafeteria Catholic".
Thank you so much for posting this!
Pot, kettle, black.
Not a bad article, considering it's NCR. They would never have written like this 10 years ago. But even so, they still get some facts wrong. Maybe they just can't help it.
Not to say there isn't some good information here. A few points are surprisingly frank. But not all is correct. According to Pope Paul VI, the smoke of satan enters through some crack. He doesn't need an open door, just "some crack." A ship can sink, a space shuttle can be ripped apart, a bathysphere can be imploded, all by a mere crack!
"...[S]he handed over to Vatican officials the 'Third Secret' of Fatima, a vision of a bishop in white and a hail of gunfire..." No, she handed the secret over to her local bishop, who was afraid to read it because he didn't want the responsibility involved. He left it unopened with instructions what to do with it after his death, etc. This might seem a minor point, but it is rather key, since it assists the agenda of the reformers to say that Sr. Lucy gave the secret to the Vatican. That is a lie. She gave it to her local bishop with no hint of intending it for Rome.
Furthermore, this "bishop in white and a hail of gunfire" is a half-truth and therefore a whole lie. That is not part of the words of Our Lady, the "3rd Secret," per se. It is rather part of a narrative given later by Sister Lucy describing her experience, a visual image she saw while the real 3rd Secret was being spoken by Our Lady.
"May 13, 1981, the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima" another half-truth and a whole lie. The modern Vatican has not given us a worldwide feast day in the name of Our Lady of Fatima as we have for Our Lady of Lourdes and the Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Perhaps it's because they have forgotten how to properly adjust the calendar. Whatever the reason is we can only guess, but it would SEEM that they don't want to draw any more attention to this topic than they absolutely have to. Which is why we need to keep the issue in discussion, because the Vatican wishes it would quietly go away, and I can prove it.
More than one Marian priests refer to the 13th of EVERY MONTH as "the day of Our Lady." Is this in some kind of affront to triskaidekaphobia? Ahem... What is it about the number 13 that's so frightful, anyway? Or Friday, for that matter? Were we not loosed from our sins on Friday? If this recent development is any clue, perhaps it's the DEVIL that is afraid of 13, because he knows his head is crushed by her heel - on the 13th? We shall see...
As for Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone of Genoa, don't bother believing a word he says. Not an easy thing to say, but when the stripes are shown, the colors are known, Bertone.
As Newsmax put it:
“According to Unity, what the nuns or Lucia said about the movie [“The Passion of the Christ”] is unknown and may never be known because statements by Lucia or for that matter any Carmelite nun throughout the world are always sent through the bishop or the Holy Father first. Because of her power of influence, Lucia must be very careful what she says publicly since she is one of the possessors of the so-called ‘Third Secret of Fatima.’”
So now it has been confirmed that any “reports” we receive from Sr. Lucia do not come from Sr. Lucia directly but are first passed through the bishop of her diocese or the pope himself, and who knows who else (e.g., Bertone, Sodano, Ratzinger, et al). No wonder we can’t get the truth from Sr. Lucia, since the filtering system surrounding her cleanses her message of anything detrimental to the prelates who are in control. Did Sr. Lucia see another “apparition?” Well, since she is no longer speaking for herself without a biased interpreter we can only depend on the words of that impeccable prelate, Cardinal Bertone. I think I’d rather buy some swamp land in Florida.
The power brokers in Rome don't want a little Carmelite nun in Portugal to have the influence they covet.
"...[Q]uietly added "Russia" under his breath," as if we should be impressed. What tripe. What, is he afraid of something? A little weak in the gut, perhaps, a little lacking in resolve? Why say the most important thing "under his breath?" Why is it important? Because, simply put, if it is not spoken clearly by the Pope and by the bishops (the Catholic bishops, not the Orthodox, or whatever) together for all the world to hear without doubt or question, the enemies of the Faith can simply chide, "they didn't say it for me to hear it so they didn't say it at all." In that way confusion and discord set in, in which environment we cannot expect God to give us the effects we anticipate by the promise of Our Lady.
"You're just afraid to discuss the substance of the article, lest you have to consider an 'alternative reality.'"
Oh I get it now...that's certainly is "in keeping"...Mother Mary requested that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart.
So the Pope complied by consecrating the whole world.
Nice job at following directions.
It is important also to bear in mind that Bishop Cosme do Amaral was personally present on the afternoon of March 21, 1982, when Sister Lucia explained precisely what the Pope and the bishops must do in order to fulfill Our Lady of Fatima's request for the consecration of Russia.
On that Sunday afternoon, Sister Lucia explained that the Pope must select a date on which to order the bishops of the whole world to arrange for a public and solemn act of reparation and of consecration of RUSSIA to the most Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, each in his own cathedral and at the same time as the act of consecration effected by the Pope.
In spite of the obvious fact that the above described act of consecration has never been performed, Bishop Cosme do Amaral has made numerous statements which clearly create the false impression that the consecration of Russia requested by Our Lady of Fatima has already been performed.
A detailed examination of the bishop's words make it clear that he is engaged in a campaign of deception and disinformation against Sister Lucia which distorts Our Lady's message.
Referring to Pope Pius XII's consecration of the world in 1942, the Bishop of Fatima says:
"I do not believe we are exaggerating, if we say that we see here a consecration of Russia that is implicit ... But Pope Pius went even further in 1952 when he consecrated explicitly all the people of Russia on the feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius ... The Holy Father said quite clearly, we consecrate you, all the people of Russia. Thus there can be no doubt that the Holy Father consecrated explicitly the peoples of Russia."
Bishop Amaral's Deceptive Words Answered
Bishop Amaral knows very well that the consecrations of 1942 and 1952 did not fulfill Our Lady of Fatima's request. On June 13, 1929, Our Lady of Fatima appeared to Sister Lucia in Tuy, Spain, and said: "The moment has come in which God asks the Holy Father to make in union with all the bishops of the world, the consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart, promising to save it by this means."
The 1942 consecration was not a solemn and public consecration of Russia: it was a consecration of the world that only included Russia in a general and implicit way.
The 1952 consecration of Russia was not performed in union with all the bishops of the world.
No one who has seriously studied the Fatima message can claim that either of these two consecrations fulfilled the request of Our Lady of Fatima since, as Sister Lucia explains, Our Lady requires that "the Holy Father will himself make a solemn act of reparation and consecration of Russia ... as well as ordering all the bishops of the Catholic world to do the same."(4)
The next consecration that the Bishop of Fatima mentions is the 1964 consecration of the world, performed by Pope Paul VI at the Second Vatican Council, but even he, Bishop Cosme do Amaral acknowledges the fact that that act of consecration was "not specifically for Russia but for all the world." The same is true of the consecrations of the world made by Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1982, and March 25, 1984. These consecrations were not specifically of Russia but of the whole world.
Bishop Cosme do Amaral involves himself in some serious and deceptive hairsplitting when he expounds on the two last mentioned consecrations of the world.
Sister Lucia has unequivocally stated that these consecrations do not fulfill Our Lady of Fatima's request for the consecration of Russia.
After the 1982 consecration, Sister Lucia explained to the Apostolic Nuncio, Msgr. Sante Portalupi, Father Messias and Dr. Lacerda that the consecration of Russia had not been effected because Russia was not clearly the object of the consecration and because each bishop had not arranged a public solemn ceremony of Russia's consecration in his own cathedral.
The 1984 consecration, being substantially identical to the consecration of 1982, likewise suffered the same two defects, and therefore it is no surprise that Sister Lucia again stated on July 20, 1987, in the above-cited interview with Enrique Romero, that the consecration of Russia has not yet been done in the manner that Our Lady of Fatima has requested.
Pope John Paul II and Sister Lucia Publicly Acknowledge Consecration Not Done
The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, has acknowledged publicly, on March 25, 1984, that the consecration requested by Our Lady of Fatima has not yet been done. His statement was published in his own newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.
http://www.fatimacrusader.com/cr30/cr30pg08.asp
According to him, Russia has already been consecrated to the Immaculate Heart at least five times: in 1942, 1952, 1964, 1982 and 1984.
But then again, you and NCR are fond of quoting the "nuts".
The consecration never did, and never will, take place in the precise manner that the Grunerites demand, so Fatima Inc. continues to churn out the propaganda.
You quote a Grunerite website, and you actually make this statement?
Wow!!
You don't care about what the Blessed Mother demanded, which by the way has been public knowledge for years?
You, however, go straight to the "ad hominem".
The only way we know what the Blessed Mother said is through Sister Lucia.
The same Sister Lucia who said that the Consecration to Russia took place and that it satisfied the Blessed Mother's demands.
This sentence can be placed in the weird file:
Though the pope's text did not specifically mention Russia, at least one observer, the bishop of Leiria-Fatima, Alberto Cosme do Amaral, said the pope paused at one point and quietly added "Russia" under his breath.
"It's a spot named after the wife of Ali, the cousin of the prophet Muhammed,"
The "spot" is not named after the wife of Ali.
What's more, Fatima was the daughter of Muhammed and Ali his son-in-law.
"it's long been believed that Mary ...... didn't come to Fatima for Christians at all, but for the Muslims)."
Total bilge. Wonder where Allen got his MA? The University of Making-Stuff-Up?
And as to:-
"the bishop of Leiria-Fatima, Alberto Cosme do Amaral, said the pope paused at one point and quietly added "Russia" under his breath."
Now that's what I'd call breathtaking!
Incidentally, it's just as well you jumped in when you did. This post had all the hallmarks of running to a marathon 5 threads.
Glad you stopped by and brought some "fire to moribundity". As well as lending "levity, frivolity and serendipity to an otherwise doleful and ponderous post ;-)
You have to be pretty gullible to believe that "Sister Lucia...said that the Consecration to Russia took place and that it satisfied the Blessed Mother's demands." It would contradict everything she had said for decades on this subject. Why do you think the Vatican put the big mute on her? They didn't want her to speak in public because they're afraid of the embarrassment!
On January 11, 2005, Newsmax published a story about Mel Gibson’s visit with Sr. Lucia. As the story goes, Sr. Lucia and her nuns had requested to see “The Passion of the Christ” so Mr. Gibson flew over to Portugal personally to deliver a copy of the movie and a CD player on which to watch it. After the movie, Sr. Lucia had some questions for Mr. Gibson, which he promptly answered. But the Unity reporter who interviewed the Mother Superior of Sr. Lucia’s convent revealed something very interesting. As Newsmax put it:
“According to Unity, what the nuns or Lucia said about the movie is unknown and may never be known because statements by Lucia or for that matter any Carmelite nun throughout the world are always sent through the bishop or the Holy Father first. Because of her power of influence, Lucia must be very careful what she says publicly since she is one of the possessors of the so-called ‘Third Secret of Fatima.’”
So now it has been confirmed that any “reports” we receive from Sr. Lucia do not come from Sr. Lucia directly but are first passed through the bishop of her diocese or the pope himself, and who knows who else (e.g., Bertone, Sodano, Ratzinger, et al).
No wonder we can’t get the truth from Sr. Lucia, since the filtering system surrounding her cleanses her message of anything detrimental to the prelates who are in control. Did Sr. Lucia see another “apparition”? Well, since she is no longer speaking for herself without a biased interpreter we can only depend on the words of that impeccable prelate, Cardinal Bertone. I think I’d rather buy some swamp land in Florida.
As I said in an earlier post, Grunerites will never be satisfied. Never. Your post is proof of it.
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