Posted on 10/08/2024 8:32:26 AM PDT by ebb tide
The following text is written by Father Frank Unterhalt, a priest of the Archdiocese of Paderborn, Germany. He is the speaker of Communio Veritatis, a group of priests in that diocese who have continuously raised their voice of opposition against the changes coming out of Rome. LifeSite has published multiple interventions of this group under Fr. Unterhalt’s leadership.
Unterhalt, in a recent new intervention, discusses the life of Padre Pio, his charism, as well as his own vision that he had of the Third Secret of Fatima. LifeSite is pleased to publish here, with Unterhalt’s permission, a translation of his new text.
Unterhalt reminds his readers that in 2017 José María Zavala published a book on the Third Secret of Fatima, in which he revealed that Padre Pio himself, around 1960, had once spoken about it to Rome’s chief exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth. For the sake of those who are not yet aware of Zavala’s conversation with Fr. Amorth, let us consider here a key passage before we go to Unterhalt’s own new essay:
“Indeed,” [Amorth] states, “One day Padre Pio said to me very sorrowfully: ‘You know, Gabriele? It is Satan who has been introduced into the bosom of the Church and within a very short time will come to rule a false church.’”
“Oh my God! Some kind of Antichrist! When did he prophesy this to you?” [Zavala asks].
“It must have been about 1960, since I was already a priest then.”
“Was that why John XXIII had such a panic about publishing the Third Secret of Fatima, so that the people wouldn’t think that he was the anti-pope or whatever it was …?”
A slight but knowing smile curls the lips of Father Amorth.
“Did Padre Pio say anything else to you about future catastrophes: earthquakes, floods, wars, epidemics, hunger …? Did he allude to the same plagues prophesied in the Holy Scriptures?” [asks Mr. Zavala]
“Nothing of the sort mattered to him, however terrifying they proved to be, except for the great apostasy within the Church. This was the issue that really tormented him and for which he prayed and offered a great part of his suffering, crucified out of love.” [says Fr. Amorth]
“The Third Secret of Fatima?”
“Exactly.”
We cannot enough stress the importance of the Third Secret. The Consecration of Russia obviously has not been made properly, or would we otherwise be at the brink of World War III? We do not see yet any signs of the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary as announced by Our Lady of Fatima. Let us keep the topic of Our Lady of Fatima’s warnings alive.
Please see here the full text by Father Frank Unterhalt:
The message and events of Fatima, described as an “explosion of the supernatural,”[1] were clearly reflected in the life of St. Padre Pio. In a very special way, he was able to be a witness to the true Catholic faith and a prophet for our time.
Like the little shepherds, the stigmatized Capuchin priest was characterized by a heroic adoration of God in the sacrament of the altar. Accordingly, he confessed: “It would be easier for the earth to exist without the sun than without Holy Mass!”[2] Thus he was repeatedly drawn into this incomprehensible mystery of love with ecstatic emotion. The visualization of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross became transparent, as it were, during its celebration. “The drama of Golgotha arose before his mind. He was allowed to experience the suffering of the Lord and the sacrificial death of the Lamb of God in a mysterious way.”[3] His reverent attitude was reminiscent of the Angel of Fatima, who taught the two famous prayers of adoration[4] and administered kneeling oral communion. Padre Pio also felt that the encounter with the Eucharistic Lord was the source of his whole life: “Jesus’ heart and mine … merged into one. It was no longer two hearts beating, but one. My heart had lost itself like a drop of water lost in a sea.”[5] The zealous Capuchin priest attached great importance to the fact that the faithful received Holy Communion in the state of grace so as not to offend the Lord and eat judgment (cf. 1 Cor. 11:27).
Padre Pio’s priestly devotion was to the glory of the Most High and the salvation of souls. “Just as God urged the children of Fatima through a vision of hell to expiation and sacrifice, he also sees many people in danger of being eternally lost. … ‘How should I not weep when I see how humanity wants to plunge into hell at all costs!’”[6] Like Jacinta of Fatima, the saint from Pietrelcina knew that the sins that bring most souls to eternal perdition are those of the flesh.[7]
As a true shepherd after the heart of God, he therefore fought resolutely against the disastrous evils of unchastity and gave urgent warnings. “These sins desecrate the sources of life and are very displeasing to God, as the Church has always taught. … Finally, Padre Pio waged an even more relentless battle against other terrible evils, such as homosexuality, active euthanasia, and abortion. He considered these sins to be the abomination of humanity and the destruction of all human and Christian values.”[8]
Fatima’s wake-up call to pray and sacrifice much for the conversion of sinners was engraved in the heart of the soulful Capuchin. He knew the price of salvation: “If only you knew how much a soul costs! Souls are not given to you as a gift, you buy them. You don’t know what they cost Christ. Now you always have to pay for them with the same coin.”[9] Padre Pio often confirmed to people after their conversion how much he had suffered for them.
His lifeblood was always devoted to his favorite prayer, the Rosary. He saw it as the excellent spiritual “weapon” with which one can achieve everything, because “the Blessed Virgin warmly recommended the [R]osary at every apparition.”[10] He therefore wanted to bequeath this victorious chain to his spiritual children.
As a servant of Divine Mercy, Padre Pio was an apostle of the sacrament of penance, hearing up to 15 hours of confession every day. He did not tolerate superficiality, but demanded genuine repentance: “He demanded a clear and honest accusation, sincere contrition and firm resolutions. Above all, you had to recognize and admit your sins and your own wickedness.”[11] The outstanding confessor was characterized by mercy and determination at the same time. His gift of soul-seeing enabled him to guide the faithful in an inimitable way. He told a confessor: “I know you inside out, just as you recognize yourself in the mirror! … I know everything in the light of God!”[12]
The gifted spiritual guide often suffered unspeakably from the filth of sin that arrived in the confessional. “He had such an abhorrence of sin that he would have preferred to die a thousand times rather than let this filth stain his soul. … He struggled with all his strength to make the confessor finally understand who he was, whose goodness and love he had offended.”[13] The drama of the immense flood of mud could shake him to the core: “He weeps over the sinner who prefers sin to his precious soul. He weeps over God’s blood that is shed in vain for so many wretched ones.”[14]
Like the shepherd children of Fatima, Padre Pio knew perfectly well who is able to guide us safely to our eternal goal. The famous words of the Immaculata echoed in his soul: “My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God!” He knew exactly the prominent position of the Blessed Virgin and Mother of God Mary in the plan of salvation, tenderly calling her his “Mammina” and describing her as the “incomparable masterpiece of the Creator.”[15] With great zeal, he proclaimed the glories of the heavenly Queen – in particular her Immaculate Conception, her perpetual virginity and the Motherhood of God. In an ecstasy, he exclaimed: “Yes, you are beautiful, if it were not for faith, people would call you goddess. Your eyes are brighter than the sun!”[16] He lived and spread the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, so urgently requested in Fatima, as a powerful anchor of salvation and praised the Immaculata as the mediatrix of all graces: “She shines like the morning star over all creation. All things refer to her, every grace passes through her. She alone is able to catch the streams of love that pour out of God’s heart. She alone is worthy to be in communion with them.”[17]
Padre Pio’s special connection with the message of Fatima was also revealed in 2017 in an enormously enlightening dimension: It was disclosed that he even knew the Third Secret – it had already been revealed to him four years before the shepherd children. The renowned journalist José María Zavala testifies to this in his book El secreto mejor guardado de Fátima, which he published to mark the 100th anniversary of the apparitions. In this investigative work, the Spanish author refers to his extensive interview with Don Gabriele Amorth, a spiritual son of Padre Pio. In it, the famous exorcist reveals what the stigmatized saint, struck to the core and shocked, confided to him about the Third Secret: “It is Satan who has entered the womb of the Church, and within a while he will rule over a false church.”[18]
Zavala questioned Don Gabriele Amorth about this in more detail and, as the conclusion of the dialogue, states the following: “There were two recurring and interrelated themes: the great apostasy in the Church from its apex – in accordance with the testimony of Cardinal Ciappi – and the introduction of the devil to the head of the Church by means of the ‘Pope under the control of Satan.’”[19]
Zavala points out the clear correspondence between these words and the statement of Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, an outstanding expert on the Message of Fatima and author of a corresponding trilogy. He stated:
It will be the time of the decisive battle between the Virgin and the devil. A flood of diabolical confusion will spread throughout the world. Satan will penetrate the highest levels of the Church. … He will blind the spirits and harden the hearts of the shepherds, for God will have abandoned them to their fate as punishment for disobedience to the requests of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
This will be the great apostasy announced for the last days … the ‘False Prophet’ who betrays the Church in favor of the ‘Beast’, according to the prophecy of the Apocalypse.[20]
The False Prophet who is limping around and the soon-to-appear Antichrist try everything to deceive and defraud people and to lead them into eternal perdition.
“Here is the patience of the saints, who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12).
In the end, however, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Virgin of Fatima, the Queen of the Rosary and victor in all God’s battles, will triumph!
Father Frank Unterhalt
July 13, 2024
Anniversary of the Third Apparition in Fatima
ReferencesReferences
| ↑1 | Paul Claudel, in: Fr. Charles Olmi, Méditations sur les révélations de Fatima, Le Puy 1945, Introduction. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Fr. Ferdinand Ritzel, Pater Pio. Sein Leben. Lieben und Leiden, Media Maria Verlag 2018, p. 182. |
| ↑3 | Ibid., p. 181. |
| ↑4 | My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You! I ask pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You. Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly and I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He Himself is offended. Through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners. |
| ↑5 | Fr. J. Derobert, Heiliger Pio aus Pietrelcina durchsichtig auf Gott hin, Hauteville/Switzerland 2011, p. 66. |
| ↑6 | Fr. Ferdinand Ritzel, p. 182. |
| ↑7 | Cf. Prof. Dr. L. Gonzaga da Fonseca, Maria spricht zur Welt, Fribourg/Switzerland 1973 (16th edition), p. 177. |
| ↑8 | Fr. Stefano Maria Manelli, Der heilige Pio von Pietrelcina, Castelpetroso 2002, p. 132. |
| ↑9 | Don Gabriele Amorth, Pater Pio. Lebensgeschichte eines Heiligen, Stein am Rhein 2006 (2nd edition), p. 60. |
| ↑10 | Fr. Stefano Maria Manelli, p. 97. |
| ↑11 | Ibid., p. 105. |
| ↑12 | Fr. J. Derobert, p. 717. |
| ↑13 | Ibid., p. 715. |
| ↑14 | Maria Winowska, Das wahre Gesicht des Pater Pio, Augsburg 1989 (25th edition), p. 127. |
| ↑15 | Ibid., p. 159. |
| ↑16 | Fr. Ferdinand Ritzel, p. 266. |
| ↑17 | Maria Winowska, p. 159. |
| ↑18 | José María Zavala, El secreto mejor guardado de Fátima, Spanish edition, Planeta Publishing 2017, p. 231. |
| ↑19 | Ibid., p. 267. |
| ↑20 | Ibid., pp. 83–84. |
Ping
Love it!
OMG!!
This is what a lot of us have thought for a while. So heartbreaking, but the important thing is God will be with us if we only ask.
Anyone who thinks that the Vatican told the truth about the 3rd secret is very gullible. Father Malachi Martin had read it. And while he could not disclose exactly what it was, he said enough that I know that it was much more dire than what the Vatican claimed it to be.
Pope Benedict, then Cardinal Ratzinger, told an ambassador that the Third Prophecy of Fatima and the Aketa Prophecy were almost the same: “The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops, churches and altars sacked.” That’s enough weight to make me question the “revealed” prophecy at its face.
Ahh so we are going to play the, “who is lying game,” brought to you by the fraudulent and deceptive LifeSite. Yayyyy. Fun and games for all; and, with a bit of conspiracy thrown in.
I write this with a 3rd degree Saint Padre Pio relic in my pocket. Do I think Padre Pio lied about knowing the 3rd secret or that he knew about it before the visionaries? Nope. Did he publicly state what the 3rd secret was? Nope.
Other than speculation, has anyone (other that the Church) clearly, with full knowledge and personal review, definitevly stated the 3rd secret? Nope. And does such a person contradict the Chruch? Nope.
I have also read Fr. Amorth. Does he clearly state, in writing or otherwise, this conversation with Padre Pio? Nope. Has he clearly stated, writen or published the 3rd secret? Nope. Even if so, does he contradict or try to set the Church straight about the 3rd secret? Nope.
Has the Church through any Pope(and several had/have access), or someone who might actually have access to the 3rd secret, stated, proclaimed or published the deception that is published here by good ole LifeSite? Nope. Has anyone in this priveleged group ever disclaimed the Church’s position on the 3rd secret? Nope
It makes one wonder, “who is lying?” The Church? A Pope of any stripe? A person with actual knowledge? Saint Padre Pio, Father Amroth? Nope. Could it be Satan? Maybe the most reaonable answer and, the winner of the game, is... the author and his routinley dubious publisher!!! Yayyyy LifeSite. A Hall of Fame deceiver.
Thanks for playing! I am sure we will get to play this game again as these fake stores get posted to FR many, many more times than Carter’s has pills...
Not a surprise. Hopefully God intervenes and defeats His enemies soon.
Oh stop making sense:)
Do you get your Church news from Fr. James Martin’s America Magazine, published by the Jesuits?
Jimmy Martin isn’t a contestant. Who do you believe is the liar? I gave you a clue but, by your inane question, I have doubt about your ability to ferret out, that means discern, the truth
He either get his news from America, or National Catholic Distorter or New Ways Ministries.
Really? You and people of your ilk are pathetic. The Church is in perhaps the worst crisis in its history, and the only people you find worthy of criticism are those who try to defend the Faith. The neoconservative’s have been the bane of the Church since VII. You strain at gnats, but swallow camels.
WOW, WHAT A GREAT METAPHOR.
ANYTHING THAT HELPS THE CHURCH REALIZES AND ACTS ON THIS PHONY POPE’S DESIRES...IS IN FOR A FIGHT, BUT IT WILL BE WORTH IT.
I know it must seem like this is the worst problem in its History, but unfortunately and unbelievbly it is not the WORST.
THERE HAVE BEEN MANY “TIMES” ...THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO REMEMBER THAT OUR BELOVED, WONDERFUL, CHURCH WILL SURVIVE IT, AS IT HAS IN THE PAST.
THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE NOW IS TO TRY TO PLY THIS IDIOT JESUIT FROM THE PAPACY.
I AM CONFIDENT WE WILL PREVAIL AND pope FRANK WILL BE JUST A DISTANT MEMORY.
Me? Really? This article tries to make the case that every Pope from 1917 is complicit in some sort of abomination. Even Popes who became saints. Even before VII was conceived (and some grand conspiracy high jacked VII - the Jesuits!!! or some such evil.)
See #16. Understand history. This time is not the worst time in Church history. Not even close. Read the article. Read it again and again. Find one clearly, definable, documented fact written in the article that supports the headline or conclusions you desperately seek. Not hearsay or fantasy. Fact(s). You won’t find one. Not one. All you somehow read/state is that VII is evil. Sainted Popes John, Paul, John Paul II, and Pope Ben are somehow bad because of some taint. Others are just as bad. And the worst of all is duly elected Frankie the Jesuit who is somehow impropery involved with sinning homosexuals and Fr. Jimmy.
Find the facts not your feelings. Good luck.
I respectfully, disagree. We had morally corrupt popes before, but none of them has done has much damage to the Catholic Church as Jorge Bergoglio.
If you can name a pope who you think has done more damage, please name him.
Neglect is mild in comparision to Bergoglio's deliberate attacks on the Catholic Church.
I could argue every post-conciliar pope, except for Pope Bendedict could also be guilty of neglect.
I would also wage more Catholics have left the Catholic Church since VCII than those who left during Alexander's time.
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