The Third Secret is Spoken”)
The “Great Secret” of Fatima, given by Our Lady to three shepherd children on July 17, 1917, is generally known by its three distinct parts, which are distinguished as “the First Secret,” “the Second Secret,” and “the Third Secret.” As noted by Frère Michel of the Holy Trinity, together these three Secrets “form a consistent whole” which apply “first, to the salvation of souls; second, to the salvation of the nations and of Christendom, [through which God gives] the peace of the world; and third, to the preservation of the Catholic Faith and the salvation of the Church.” As Frere Michel also observed, “These three themes, which are joined by an indissoluble bond, reveal to us the extraordinary mystical, moral, political, ecclesial, and dogmatic implications of the Secret of Fatima.” [2]
The first two Secrets were revealed in the due course of time, but the Third Secret’s contents were studiously avoided and then suppressed by various members of the hierarchy. Although Our Lady intended it to be released to the entire Church and the world by 1960 or by Sr. Lucia’s death - whichever came first – it was not until the year 2000 that “the Vatican released a description of the Third Secret Vision, but not the Virgin’s words that pertain to it.” [3]
Although the Pope confirmed on May 11, 2010 what faithful Catholics familiar with Fatima have long understood – i.e., that the Third Secret of Fatima is, indeed, an explicit and grave verbal Message from the Mother of God - the media (especially the Catholic “mainstream”) continue to ignore what should be this decade’s top news story (which can only be topped by the wonderful announcement that the greatly hoped-for collegial consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart has finally taken place). As Part I of this essay pointed out, “Pope Benedict XVI submitted a crucial piece of evidence that there is more to the Third Secret, when he unexpectedly admitted that “Beyond…the vision…it [the Third Secret] is spoken.” [4]
Therefore, let us continue to explore what is already known of the Third Secret’s contents by again highlighting the pertinent section of the May 11, 2010 in-flight interview, an exchange made in Italian while Pope Benedict XVI was en route to Fatima.
In choosing to answer a “Third Secret question,” which was really a three-part inquiry, the Holy Father unexpectedly revealed that the Third Secret consists of both a verbal Message from Our Lady as well as a Vision, as is shown by the dialog that follows:
[Author’s translation begins, with all emphasis mine]: “Holiness, what significance have we today for the apparitions of Fatima? And when you presented the text of the Third secret (sic), in the Vatican Press Office, in June 2000, it was asked if the Message could be extended [“broadened” or “widened”], beyond the attack on John Paul II, also to the additional [or “other”] sufferings of the popes? And is it possible, in your opinion [or “according to you”], to frame also in that vision the sufferings of the Church of today for the sins of the sexual abuse of minors?”[5]
Pope Benedict XVI’s Response: “Beyond this great vision of the suffering of the pope, which we might in essence attribute to John Paul II, there is indicated the reality of the future of the Church which [will] gradually develop and demonstrate [itself]. Namely [also rendered as either “That is” or “In other words”] it is true that beyond the moment indicated in the vision, it is spoken, it is shown [there is] the necessity of the passion of the Church which, naturally [or “of course”], is reflected in the person of the Pope, but the Pope is in the Church, and therefore it is the sufferings of the Church that are announced…” [End of author’s translation] [6]
The Pope then continued, “As for the new things we may find today in this message, it is also that the attacks on the Pope and the Church not always come from the outside, but the sufferings of the Church actually come from within the Church, from the sin that exists in the Church. This has always been known, but today we can see it in a really terrifying way: the greatest persecution of the Church does not come from outside enemies, but it is from sin within the Church. And the Church now has a deep need to relearn penance, accept purification, learn to forgive, but also a need for justice...” [7]
The Third Secret
and Its Two Parts
In fact, when the Pope said the Third Secret is spoken and shown, his words correlate with other proofs that this last Secret is comprised of two parts. To cite only one example, this essay will momentarily turn to what was said decades ago by Fr. Joseph Schweigel. This priest, upon his return from an important mission given to him by Pope Pius II to question Sr. Lucia about unfulfilled parts of the Fatima Message (the Third Secret, the consecration of Russia, etc.) ,was momentarily questioned by a curious colleague about the Third Secret. Fr. Schweigel responded in the following manner:
“I cannot reveal anything of what I learned at Fatima concerning the third Secret, but I can say that it has two parts: one concerns the Pope. The other, logically – although I can say nothing – would have to be the continuation of the words: In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved.” [8]
The colleague pressed a little further, asking, “The present Pope or the next one?” However, as the interrogator himself attested in a written letter, “To this question, Fr. Schweigel made no reply.” [9]
Only a few years later, Fr. Schweigel would also say that the Third Secret “seems to suppose a victorious, triumphant, but difficult and heroic decision” of a Pope’s.[10] In considering the purpose of Fr. Schweigel’s papally-directed mission in questioning Sr. Lucia and in light of the tragic circumstances in which the Church Militant finds itself today, one can reasonably presume that, sometime in the future, a Pope will make a “difficult and heroic decision” under circumstances in which he faces vehement, if not physically violent, opposition to his unique prerogatives in his office as Vicar of Christ when he decides to comply with at least one, if not all, of Our Lady’s unfulfilled requests at Fatima.
Since Our Lady still awaits three particular actions to be made by the Pope and the bishops of the Catholic Church, it appears that Fr. Schweigel’s description of a “victorious, triumphant, but difficult and heroic decision,” made by the present Pope or a future one, lends further insight into Our Lady’s promise, “In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
What are these three things in which the Queen of the Catholic City so gently insists? First, Our Lady first asks the Pope to command (not invite) and lead the world’s bishops in a public and solemn collegial consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Second, the Virgin Mary also desires the release the complete Third Secret Message (which will then make clear the meaning of the Third Secret Vision). Third, the Pope must promulgate the Five First Saturday devotions, which are acts of reparation for five specific blasphemies against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Six “Themes” of the Third Secret
What must never be forgotten is that the last Secret of Fatima, like the first Two Secrets, is intended by God to be publicly disseminated to the entire Church and likewise followed, for it also is given for the salvation of souls living in these days of great peril. To insist on the release of the Third Secret and the other two things for which the Virgin Mary asks is neither a matter of satisfying mere curiosity or of overly sentimental piety; these are matters of obedience to God Himself, Who sent the Immaculate Virgin Mother to Fatima with an apocalyptic warning and the means to avoid it.
To grasp the general idea “of what” the Third Secret consists, it is entirely appropriate to attentively review an earlier disclosure by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, made almost twenty-one years before he became the Pope.
In a 1984 interview with Vittorio Messori, Cardinal Ratzinger was asked if he had read the Third Secret of Fatima. When he answered, “Yes, I have read it,” it was then inquired as to why the Secret had still not been released. A careful examination of the future pope’s answer reveals a total of six “themes” to the Third Secret:
“Because, according to the judgment of the Popes, it adds nothing (literally: “nothing different”) to what a Christian must know concerning what derives from Revelation: i.e., a radical call for conversion; the absolute importance of history; the dangers threatening the faith and the life of the Christian, and therefore of the world. And then the importance of the 'Novissimi' [the last events at the end of time]. If it is not made public - at least for the time being - it is in order to prevent religious prophecy from being mistaken for a quest for the sensational (literally: 'for sensationalism'). But 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, beginning with the Fatima apparitions in their known contents. Conversion and penitence are the essential conditions for ‘salvation.’” [11]
Since Cardinal Ratzinger spoke of the “Novissimi” (the last events at the end of time), one might ask: “Might these six themes of the Third Secret direct our attention to one or more of the ‘six signs’ of the last times, given by Christ Himself?” [12]
When Our Lord prophesied to His apostles the destruction of Jerusalem (which occurred in 69 A.D. but also serves as a figure-type for the end of the world), He said:
“These things which you see, the days will come in which there shall not be left a stone upon a stone that shall not be thrown down. And they asked him, saying: Master, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when they shall begin to come to pass? Who said: Take heed you be not seduced; for many will come in my name, saying, I am he; and the time is at hand: go ye not therefore after them. And when you shall hear of wars and seditions, be not terrified: these things must first come to pass; but the end is not yet presently. Then he said to them: Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there shall be great earthquakes in divers places, and pestilences, and famines, and terrors from heaven; and there shall be great signs.” [13] Those last (bolded) words of Our Lord’s are the last six events of the end times.
Consider, then, the six themes found in Cardinal Ratzinger’s disclosure about the Third Secret’s contents:
1.) The Third Secret of Fatima adds “nothing different to… what derives from Revelation” (of which the two sources are Tradition and Scripture). Of course, this remark might be considered superfluous, because the Church cannot approve any apparition or locution as “worthy of belief” unless it is in perfect accord with Divine Revelation. However, if a Church-approved revelation adds “nothing” different…from Revelation,” then it must be derived from either Tradition or Scripture – or both.
2.) The Third Secret is a “radical” (i.e., a drastic, profound, or extreme) call for conversion and penance. As the Church’s long history proves, whenever God chose to make such a “radical” call through His chosen prophets, that same call was always intended to be given to His people for their salvation. God’s message to a prophet is never solely intended for the prophet alone.
Furthermore, with one exceptional case, never in all of our “sacred history” has God given an inexplicable Vision to a prophet without also making clear its meaning. That one exception is St. John the Evangelist, who was commanded by God, “What thou seest write in a book, and send to the seven churches…”[14] As we know, the beloved disciple also wrote what he heard in that same collection of writings, now known as the Apocalypse. This singular exception also reminds us that Sr. Lucia herself said of the Third Secret, “It’s in the Gospels and the Apocalypse – Read them!”
3.) The Third Secret refers to “the absolute importance of history,” which the Church refers to as either “sacred history” or “salvation history.” Sacred history “centers on two things: The Incarnation of Christ, when Our Lord came to offer Redemption and Mercy to fallen mankind, and His Second Coming, when He will come as Just Judge.” [15] Sacred history records the unfolding of events, which depend on mankind’s acceptance or rejection of God’s Will.
4.) The Third Secret alerts the Church and the world “to the dangers threatening the Faith, the life of the Christian, and therefore the world.” Surely the nature of these unknown threats is most grave, since Cardinal Ratzinger appeared to suggest their essence in the next point.
5.) The Third Secret relates “the importance of the Novissimi,” a theological term with two “simultaneous” definitions: the four “last things” as they pertain to every human soul (death, judgment, heaven, hell) and “the last things” (meaning the last events at the end of time), in which all peoples will witness the Second Coming of Christ, the universal judgment, and the literal ending of the material world. The Novissimi could also pertain to the time immediately preceding Christ’s Second Coming – the days of the great apostasy, foretold by St. Paul, which are then followed by the “son of perdition,” who is called Anti-Christ.
6.) Although it could (as in "might be") be mistaken for sensationalism, the Third Secret is a “religious prophecy corresponding to Scripture and confirmed by many other Marian apparitions,” beginning with the Fatima revelations in their known contents.
This last point is Cardinal Ratzinger’s final affirmation that the Third Secret is in accord with Scripture (and also corresponds with Sr. Lucia’s declaration, mentioned previously, that the Third Secret is in the Gospels and the Apocalypse) – but it is also confirmed as well by other “private” Marian revelations, starting with what is already publicly known of Fatima. The Cardinal summarized these Church-approved apparitions by stating them in their most basic but essential message: “Conversion and penitence are the essential conditions for ‘salvation.’”
Finally, of the relatively few Church-approved Marian revelations since the time of Fatima, it was Cardinal Ratzinger who said that the two messages of Fatima and Akita (with its very serious subject matter, including warnings of an apocalyptic nature) “are essentially the same.”
In considering all that he knows, it is no small wonder that Pope Benedict XVI said on May 13, 2010 (the 93rd anniversary of the first Fatima apparition):
“We would be mistaken to think that Fatima’s prophetic mission is complete.”
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Secrets of the Catholic City is Marianna Bartold's column, published by Catholic Family News (CFN). "The Six Themes of the Third Secret of Fatima" was published in CFN's August 2010 issue. All Rights Reserved World-wide by the author.~+~+~+~
Marianna Bartold, founder of Keeping It Catholic, is the author of “The Age of Mary” Study Guides, a series of “digitally delivered” Catholic unit studies for homeschooled teens - as well as adults or anyone who wishes to grow closer “to Jesus through Mary.” Her other works include the upcoming digital Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings) Catholic Study Guide. She is the author of the Keeping It Catholic Home Education Guide books (Volumes I and II). Mrs. Bartold was the original homeschool editor of Sursum Corda and the founding publisher of The Catholic Family’s Magnificat! Magazine.
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Notes
1. The author here employs as a phrase the title of the magnificently written and well-documented, three-volume work by Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The Whole Truth of Fatima: Volumes I, II, and III.
2. Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The Whole Truth about Fatima: The Secret and the Church, Vol. II [Buffalo: New York, Revised edition published 2001]: pp. 9-10.
3. Marianna Bartold, "Pope Benedict XVI Reveals: The Third Secret is Spoken," Catholic Family News, July 2010.
4. Ibid.
5. The question asked of the pope; English translation by the author (M. Bartold) from the original Italian article by Gian Guido Vecchi, “Le Parole del papa: <
6. The Pope’s response; English translation by the author (M. Bartold) from the original Italian article by Gian Guido Vecchi, loc. cit. Pope Benedict’s original response, in Italian, was phrased as follows: “Oltre questa grande visione della sofferenza del Papa, che possiamo in sostanza riferire a Giovanni Paolo II sono indicate realtà del futuro della Chiesa che man mano si sviluppano e si mostrano. Cioè è vero che oltre il momento indicato nella visione, si parla, si vede la necessità di una passione della Chiesa, che naturalmente si riflette nella persona del Papa, ma il Papa sta nella Chiesa e quindi sono sofferenze della Chiesa che si annunciano.”
7. John Vennari, “Pope Resurrects Third Secret,” posted on Catholic Family News website, May 19, 2010, at [http://www.cfnews.org/b16-3rd-sec.htm] and subsequently published in the June hard-copy issue of Catholic Family News. [Emphasis added.]
8. Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The Whole Truth about Fatima: The Third Secret, Vol. III [Buffalo: New York, Revised edition published 2001]: p. 710. [Emphasis added.]
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid., p. 351, footnote 39.
12. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as quoted by Vittorio Messori, “Here is Why the Faith is in Crisis,” Jesus Magazine, November 11, 1984: p. 79. [Emphasis added]
12. Marianna Bartold, “Fatima’s Miracle of the Sun: The Meaning of the Great Sign,” Catholic Family News, October 2008. [Link to article on this blog.]
13. Lk. 21: 6-11. [Emphasis added.]
14. Apoc. 1:11.
15. Bartold, loc. cit.
16. Catholic World News, October 11, 2001. Howard Dee, the former Philippine ambassador to the Vatican, revealed in 1998 that “Bishop Ito was certain Akita was an extension of Fatima, and Cardinal Ratzinger personally confirmed to me that these two messages are essentially the same.”
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