In 1917 an unusual event happened in Fatima, Portugal. On May 13 that year, three small shepherds saw an apparition, which they described as the figure of a “luminous lady.” That day the luminous figure spoke to the children and during the following months; on each occasion she gave them extracts from a message that should be disclosed to the whole world.
On October 13, the last day on which the apparition was seen, a strange phenomenon happened to the sun, and an estimated crowd of between 50 to 70 thousand people witnessed it. All this took place in “Cova Iria.”
One of the witnesses, Mr. Oliveira Figueiredo, said:
“The sun tore the heavy blackness of the clouds that poured down rain onto the earth and shone in a very strange way, but in such a way that one could look at it and not be blinded, and then it began to rotate in a circular motion, spinning like a wheel, giving off different colors rays in all directions illuminating everything and everybody in an eerie way. It stopped for a few moments and then restarted its ‘dance’.”
Another impartial witness, also there, Mr. Avelino de Almeida, editor of a small left-wing Lisbon daily newspaper ‘The Century,' said this:
“And then what we witnessed would be an unbelievable spectacle for all those who weren't there to see it. The star looked like a matt silver disc and it was possible to look at it without making the slightest effort; it neither burned nor blinded. (…) To the amazed eyes of the people present, whose behavior was just like those of biblical times and who, pale from astonishment, with uncovered heads looked into the blue sky and saw the Sun shake, the Sun had never been seen making such abrupt movements before, something that defied all the cosmic laws, the Sun ‘danced,' according to a typical peasant's expression.”
Today, without a doubt the majority would say that it was a mere collective illusion, an induced catharsis or something like that. Modern day man has developed an extraordinary ability to label everything that he does not understand; any neologism is enough; it is all that is needed to appease his spirit, to overcome his ignorance and disguise his superficiality.
But the fact is that this extraordinary and inexplicable event, that took place in Portugal, caught the attention of the world, awaking in many an interest for the contents of the message.
A part of the message announced the coming of the World War II, after a “great and unknown light” that would appear in the sky. That light was really seen in the European skies on the night between then 25 th and 26 th of January 1938. It was a type of gigantic ‘aurora borealis' a unique event that was also never satisfactorily explained by science. The last part of the message that was well known as “Fatima's Third Message” was never disclosed, on the occasion that it was transmitted to the girl, Lúcia. The Church was already in the control of the situation and the text was sent to the Vatican, where it has remained to this day.
All the requests and demands for the last part of the message to be disclosed, by both Catholics and non-Catholics, were systematically denied by the Papal State. At least here it appears that the Vatican has managed to treat the world like one big herd: as one that is too immature to assimilate the revelation. Only the Pope and a few selected members of the curia have been favored by providence and considered capable of interpreting the text. The remaining billion Catholics and the other billions of believers of other faiths on this planet are, unhappily, completely inapt and inept to understand the content of the Third Message…A message that was perfectly understood by a 10 year-old girl. And all she received for her efforts from the clergy was a permanent visit to a Carmelite convent, vowed to silence.
The prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, on more than one occasion tried to soothe the world, by revealing that the Third Message made no reference to the Church nor did it talk about themes related to the future of humanity, but that it only spoke about “the faith.” According to him, the Third Message “the revelation contained nothing that was necessary for a Christian to know.”
Thus, some questions must be asked:
If Fatima's Third Message is basically about faith, why did Pope Paul VI faint on reading it? Didn't he have faith? Or, the contrary, his faith was not in line with what was required by the message?
Why should a message that speaks about the faith and does not make any specific reference about the Church not be revealed to the rest of the world? Can it be inferred, then, what would be disclosed explicitly explained about the necessary change that the clergy had to make, urging it to change its conduct and use the Truth as its base? Could it be said that if this did not happen it would bring about the death of the Church? If it were made public could it bring about the end of the Papacy? And finally, would the last Popes cry in pain from physical suffering?
Part of the revelations spoke about the unleashing of World War II. If the Third Message explicitly spoke about the coming of World War III, would it be correct to hide this fact from the world? Would it be an act of Christian love to deprive the rest of the world from the fact that the Third World War would be so horrible that it leave only a few people remaining on Earth?
If the initial passages of the message were carried out to the word, it can be supposed that the last part of it will also come true. So we ask ourselves through which canon and through which dogmatic ordinance did the Vatican bestow on it the right of not disclosing the message to the rest of the world? Another question could be asked. In which Church Council was the fact established that only a few ecclesiastical dignitaries could rule over what the world should and should not know, presiding over the information sent down to us from on High?
Contrary to what the leaders of the Church may imagine, walls and safes have not been impeding factors for other people to become aware of the main passages of the Third Message of Fatima, because it is a text of capital importance for our time.
However, what a healthy and constructive effect and principally saving grace would be achieved if the holders of the original text disclose it to the world! Far from being a weakness of the Church, it would be a proof of grandeur, a living testimony that the institution has as a real altruistic objective, to guide all its followers and the rest of humanity with love, even if it means that it has to reformulate its doctrine and eliminate its dogmas.
Vain hope? Of course, for the Church won't disclose the content of Fatima's Third Message because this would mean admitting that it has been going on the wrong path for centuries now, and this is something that has to be avoided at any price. Already two thousand years ago a high priest called Caifas experienced a similar fear and considered it legal to undertake any measures whatsoever to safeguard the concept that he enjoyed amongst his people and the influence he exercised over them. That is why the Truth brought by Jesus had to be eliminated to any cost…
The forewarnings of Fatima's Third Message will be fulfilled, one by one. And the whole world will know – including the rest of the clergy – what it contained. The saddest thing is that we will know when it is too late to take any corrective action.
Roberto C. P. Junior