Unfortunately people did not stop offending God, and the worse war, World War II broke out during the reign of Pius XI. ²

   Our Lady revealed to Sister Lucy the sign that would indicate the onset of the impending chastisement:

   World War II could have been prevented if the requests of Our Lady of Fatima had been heeded. She had already promised, "If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace." Our Lady emphasized that the only way that peace can be obtained is by obedience to Her requests when She asked for the praying of the daily Rosary "in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary in order to obtain peace for the world . . . because only She can help you."

   It was precisely to prevent the chastisement of the world, "by means of war, famine [and] persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father" that Our Lady of Fatima requested the consecration of Russia and the devotion of the First Saturdays. Her exact words were: "To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays." The promise connected with this request is: "If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace."

   It is of the utmost importance to bear in mind that World War II was only the beginning of the threatened chastisements. If people do not repent and amend their lives then more severe chastisements will follow. Our Lady had foretold in particular the punishment of the second World War when She said, "The war is going to end; but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the reign of Pius XI." This particular chastisement has already taken place.

   The threatened punishment of the world "by means of war, famine, persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father" is a far more general prophetic warning that has only been partially fulfilled. Whether or not it will take place is contingent on the fulfillment or non fulfillment of Our Lady's requests. The chastisement is fully revealed in the not yet published third part of the Secret, while being only mentioned in a general manner in the second part. What Our Lady said about it in the second part of the Secret is:

   It was God's will that the requested act of consecration be accomplished quickly: On January 21, 1935, Sister Lucy wrote: "About three years ago, Our Lord was very displeased because His request had not been attended to and I made this fact known to the bishop in a letter . . . from an intimate conversation with Him, it seems that He is ready to show mercy towards Russia as He promised five years ago and which He wishes so much to save." On August 19, 1931, Our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to Sister Lucy with the message, "Make it known to My ministers seeing that they follow the example of the King of France in delaying the execution of My demand, they will also have to follow him into misfortune." ⁶

   This is a very stern warning spoken by Jesus Christ Himself, since the example to which He refers was that of the disobedience of the French King who failed to consecrate France to His Sacred Heart. That request was made by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It was revealed to St. Margaret Mary who communicated it to King Louis XIV. Louis XIV and Louis XV did nothing, and finally, after being jailed, Louis XVI tried to obey the command of God but could not make the required public and solemn act, and in 1793, he was beheaded at the guillotine.

   Our Lord has made it unequivocally clear that a certain period of time has been given to the Pope to perform the requested consecration of Russia, after which, if the consecration will still not have been performed properly, then some of the pastors of the Church will pay for this omission with their lives. This is plainly depicted in the vision of the Third Secret published on June 26, 2000. In that vision the Pope is killed by a group of soldiers, and other high ranking prelates are killed as well.

    The Vatican apparatus has attempted to interpret the vision of 'the bishop in white' as a prediction of the May 1981 assassination attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II. The Fatima Crusader has amply demonstrated that the interpretation of the vision published by Cardinal Ratzinger on June 26, 2000, is a fraudulent attempt to place the fulfillment of future events foretold in the vision in the past. The motive for this fraudulent interpretation is to promote the idea that the consecration of Russia has already been done and therefore, as Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone says, the "period of history marked by tragic human lust for power and evil" has been brought to an end." In other words, What Our Lady requested has already been done so we need not concern ourselves about that any more.

 Cardinal Sodano stated on May 13, 2000 "the events to which the third part of the 'secret' of Fatima refers now seem part of the past . . ." Sodano's interpretation of the vision is like an attempt to fit a square peg into a round hole: it crudely explains the prophecy of a future event, a pope being killed by military personnel i.e. by a band of soldiers, in terms of a past event, the failed assassination attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II by a lone civilian gunman. Sodano's interpretation is plainly fraudulent: Cardinal Sodano changed the words of the prophecy that refer to the killing of a pope, "on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers," to, "he too falls to the ground, apparently dead." A prophecy foretelling the future killing of a pope is thus transformed by verbal trickery into a prediction of the failed attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II in 1981.

   In the booklet entitled The Message of Fatima, Cardinal Ratzinger lays down his first principle for interpreting the vision: "First of all we must affirm with Cardinal Sodano: . . . the events to which the third part of the secret of Fatima refers now seem part of the past." The statement is a deliberate deception: when Cardinal Ratzinger spoke of the 'Third Secret' in his November 11, 1984 interview with Jesus magazine, he said, "the things contained in this 'Third Secret' correspond to what has been announced in Scripture, and has been said again and again in many other Marian apparitions . . ."

   It is manifestly evident that these words of the Cardinal did not refer to a failed assassination attempt three years earlier that was neither announced in Scripture nor foretold in many Marian apparitions-----nor did they refer specifically to the vision published in June 2000. On the contrary, they referred to the future events foretold by the Blessed Virgin, in "the letter" of January 1944 to Bishop da Silva, "in which Sister Lucy wrote down the words which Our Lady confided as a secret to the three little shepherds in the Cova da Iria." ⁷ This is the 'Third Secret' that Sister Lucy revealed on September 2, 1952 to the emissary of Pope Pius XII, Father Schweigl, who explained that the 'Third Secret' is "the continuation of Our Lady's words: In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved etc." ⁸ This is properly the 'Third Secret' of which Cardinal Ratzinger spoke saying, "the things contained in this 'Third Secret' correspond to what has been announced in Scripture, and has been said again and again in many other Marian apparitions . . ." This position has been confirmed by the nephew of Sister Lucy, Father Jose dos Santos Valinho, who plainly stated his view on February 14, 2003 on the Italian TV program Enigma, that the third part of the secret is closely connected to the second part. It concerns the Church: war, persecution and the loss of faith. There will be a universal crisis in the Church and in the whole world. ⁹ Thus, it corresponds to the Virgin's words in the second part of the Secret: "The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated". In particular it corresponds to the July 13, 1917 revelation that God was "going to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father". Father Valinho also plainly maintains that the third part of the Secret is the continuation of the second part of the Secret that ends with the words, "in Portugal the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved, etc.". . . His precise words: "the three dots [after the etc.] indicate 'here is the third part that is not yet revealed' ".

   It is important also to consider, that after a certain point, such as the outbreak of a world war, the pastors of the Church may be physically unable to carry out the consecration, as was the case with Louis XVI, who unsuccessfully attempted to carry out the consecration of France after it was already too late to save France from the revolution and the Reign of Terror. Judging by what Our Lord foretold to Sister Lucy, it appears that the chastisement of the world mentioned in the second part of the Secret and depicted in the vision of the third part will take place before the consecration will have been accomplished. What Our Lord said to Sister Lucy is this: "The Holy Father, pray much for the Holy Father, he will do it but it will be late."

   Our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, explained why this act of consecration is so necessary. In a letter, dated May 18, 1936, Sister Lucy wrote: "About the other questions, if it will be convenient to insist in order to obtain the consecration of Russia . . . I have spoken to Our Lord about the subject and not too long ago I asked Him why He would not convert Russia without the Holy Father making the consecration, [He replied] 'Because I want My whole Church to acknowledge that consecration as a triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary so that it may extend its cult later on and put the devotion to this Immaculate Heart beside the devotion to My Sacred Heart . . .  Nevertheless, the Immaculate Heart of Mary will save Russia. It has been entrusted to Her.' "

   The ultimate purpose for the consecration of Russia is not the conversion of Russia or world peace. The conversion of Russia and world peace are graces promised by God to be obtained by means of that consecration, but the ultimate purpose of the consecration is to save souls from Hell by establishing the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Our Lady Herself said, "To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart." On June 13, 1917, the Holy Virgin said that it is Jesus, Who wishes to establish this devotion: "He wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. To whoever embraces this devotion, I promise salvation; those souls will be cherished by God, as flowers placed by Me to adorn His Throne." It is for the salvation of souls that Heaven requests the consecration of Russia. "The salvation of souls . . . is always the supreme law of the Church." [Canon 1752] Those who oppose or hinder the consecration for whatever reason set themselves in opposition to the supreme law of the Church and are therefore criminals in the sight of God.

   The consequences of disobedience to Heaven's requests will be incalculable and catastrophic. Those who claim that Our Lady's requests have been fulfilled and the consecration of Russia has been done have lost touch with reality. Navarro-Valls, the Vatican spokesman in September 2002, made mention of the fact that the Catholic Church is presently persecuted in Russia. Our Lady of Fatima warned that Russia would persecute the Church if Her requests were not heeded. She said, "If My requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace . . ."

    Two hundred and fifty thousand American ground troops and one third of the British Air Force have been sent to the Persian Gulf in preparation to wage war on Iraq, and the U.S. military is making preparations for war with North Korea and Iran as well. Nevertheless the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has assured us that "the decision of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to make public" the vision of the 'bishop in white', "brings to an end a period of history marked by tragic human lust for power and evil".

    Our Lady of Fatima said to Sister Lucy in May 1952, "Make it known to the Holy Father that I am always awaiting the Consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart. Without the Consecration, Russia will not be able to convert, nor will the world have peace." ¹⁰

   Our Lord said He would not convert Russia without the Holy Father making the consecration [of Russia], "Because I want My whole Church to acknowledge that consecration as a triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary." There is as yet no sign of that triumph, or that conversion, because Our Lady's requests have not been heeded, and therefore the world looks forward to the Great Chastisement by which God "is going to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father."
 

   FOOTNOTES
(1) "As guerras nao sao sanao castigos pelos pecados do mundo." Era um Senhora mais brillante que o Sol; Pe. João de Marchi, 1996, Torres Novas, Portugal, p. 268. 
(2) Some, who would attempt to discredit the Message of Fatima, have claimed that the war broke out with the invasion of Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, during the reign of Pius XII, but this view is incorrect. Actually, conflicts broke out between the Japanese Manchurian Army and Chinese forces on July 7, 1937 at the Marco Polo Bridge near Peiping (Beijing). The Japanese used this incident as a pretext to overrun northern China, and then moved on to eastern and southern China. The war came to an end only when the Japanese Manchurian Army (Kwantung Army) surrendered to Soviet forces, who were only at war with Japan for 5 days, in August 1945 after the dropping of the atomic bombs. 
(3) In 1971, my Philosophy professor, Father Roben Schuben, Ph.D., showed me his collection of newspaper clippings reponing on the 'unknown light'. In some cities the fire engines were dispatched to the other end of the city in the belief that there was a great conflagration, but it was only the strange light foretold by Our Lady. Without any foundation some have gratUitously claimed that the 'unknown light' was an Aurora Borealis. The claim is absurd on its face
since it did not resemble a  manifestation of the Northern Lights in any manner. 
(4) Frére Michel de 1a Sainte Trinite, The Whole Truth About Fatima; Buffalo, Fort Erie, 1989, vol. II, p.555. These words were handwritten by Sister Lucy in her journal. 
(5) Those who claim that the consecration hasbeen done have produced only the crudest and most disingenuously simplistic arguments that fly in the face of logic, along with the flimsiest of evidence devoid of credibility, such as post cards and letters of very dubious authenticity, and anecdotal reports based on rumors and hearsay that the Pope, or Sister Lucy have alleged that "the consecration has been done." We have amply demonstrated in many articles previously published in The Fatima Crusader, available at www.fatima.org, that the consecration of Russia has not yet been done. We have provided proof beyond legitimate dispute that establishes the unassailable fact that Our Lady, as Pope John Paul II publicly stated on March 25, 1984, is "still awaiting" the requested act of consecration.
(6) J.M. Alonso, Fatima Ante La Esfinge, Madrid, 1917, p. 117.
(7) Vatican press release to the UPI in Feb. 1960. 
(8) Frére Michel de la Sainte Trinite, The Whole Truth About Fatima, Vol. III, Immaculate Heart Publications, Fort Erie, 1990 p. 710. 
(9) "crisi di tipo universale nella chiesa e nell'umanita." 
(10) Cf. Il Pellegrinaggio Delle Meraviglie, p. 440. (published under the auspices of the Italian Catholic Bishops) 

Reprinted from The Fatima Crusader, Spring 2003 Issue.

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