Posted on 06/05/2007 9:22:05 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
Appearing on an Italian TV station, Holy See Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, has shown the original copy of Fatima Sister Lucia's letter detailing the so-called Third Secret revealed to her by Our Lady.
Catholic News reports that Cardinal Bertone showed the letter, which was first revealed in 2000, on the program "Port a Porta" on the Rai Uno network.
He first opened an orange envelope with a translation in Italian of the letter, and then he opened a white envelope and showed the original letter written in 1944.
The cardinal read the phrase that appears on the outside of the envelope: "Through express order of Our Lady, this envelope can be opened in 1960". Inside is the letter in which Sr Lucia revealed the Third Secret of the Fatima apparitions of 1917.
In 2000 Pope John Paul II decided to reveal the secret, which did not refer to any worldwide catastrophe, but rather to the attempt on his life on 13 May 1981.
Latin Mass letter coming soon, Bertone says
Meanwhile, in an interview with Italian Catholic daily "Avvenire", Cardinal Bertone said that the Motu Propio authorising the universal celebration of the Mass of St Pius - known as the Tridentine Mass - will be made public "soon", Catholic News says.
During the interview, Cardinal Bertone, said the Motu Propio that would be signed by Pope Benedict XVI would authorise any priest to celebrate the Tridentine Mass without the need for prior approval by the local bishop.
The Vatican secretary of state said Catholics "will not have to wait long" for the publication of the Motu Propio, adding that the Pope "has written an accompanying letter that explains the reasons for the decision and why he hopes the authorisation will be calmly accepted".
Cardinal Bertone did not say whether the Motu Propio would open the possibility for the return to communion with the Rome of the Priestly Fraternity of St Pius X, founded by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who was excommunicated by the Vatican on 30 June 1988 after ordaining four bishops without the pope's consent.
The cardinal also said the pope's letter to Catholics in China would also be published soon, and that it has already been approved by the pope and is being translated into various languages.
I wonder... if Islam was mentioned.
Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) said in November 1984 that the Secret would cause "sensationalism" and dealt with the "end times." This comment could not be understood if the Secret referred to the assassination attempt in 1981.[13]
On November 11, 1984, as reported in the Pauline Catholic magazine Jesus, Cardinal Ratzinger stated that he had "read the text of the Third Secret." When asked why he had not revealed it, he replied that "in the judgment of previous Popes, it adds nothing to what Christians must know respecting what is stated in the Book of Revelation."
This followed the report in the October 1981 issue of the German Catholic magazine Stimme des Glaubens of a discussion at Fulda in November 1980 when Pope John Paul II had stated to a select group of German Catholics, in response to the question why he had not revealed the Third Secret of Fatima, "If you read that the oceans will inundate continents, and millions of people will die suddenly in a few minutes, once this is known, then in reality it is not necessary to insist on the publication of this Secret."
However, in another interview, Pope John Paul II indicated that the entire secret of Fatima could be summarized in the idea that prayer, especially the Rosary, is the remedy against all manner of evil.
I'm not Catholic, but I rather think there may be more to the story.
Because it revealed eschatologically the lot of the Church as prophesied in Revelation. It also demonstrates that Mary plays an essential role in the survival of the Church, and was the instrument of God in sparing John Paul II’s life.
I guess I should amend that. The fate of the Church has already been revealed in Scripture. The vision of the children is, more a less, a signpost of that fate, much like the star of David was a signpost for the birth of Christ. It doesn’t add to Revelation, but brings it into clearer view for our time.
Well... she appeared in “FATIMA”, didn’t she?
Lucia Santos, at the prompting of the local bishop, wrote down the content of the three communications.
The third one - or "Third Secret" - is her description of what she, a 36 year old woman, saw as a ten year old girl.
Because a man dressed as the Pope is grievously injured in the vision, John Paul II and many others took this to mean the attempt on the his life.
I believe her claims to be true and I consider this assessment of the third communication to be a convincing one, but obviously a visual tableau described at second hand is liable to numerous interpretations.
I would also point out that the word "secret" in English has very different connotations than the word "segredo" in Portuguese (Lucia Santos' native tongue) or the Latin word "secretum" - a Latin word she would only have known in its specific pre-Novus Ordo liturgical context.
Date: 2007-05-20
Pope’s Intro to Cardinal Bertone’s Book
“The Last Fatima Visionary: My Meetings With Sister Lucia”
http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=107996
Exactly, it reminds me of all the spiritualist "prophets " that give prophecies that can be forced to mean almost anything.
The Church doesn't have the authority to say that even if she wanted to. That would be adding to public revelation.
The contents of the letter, the subject of the article, is never given...
Great!
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