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Who Are We?
The Fatima Center is
a grassroots association* of Catholic priests and lay people. Their
primary mission is to make known the full Message of Our Lady of Fatima
and, as requested by God, promote devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The Fatima Center Apostolate was formed in North America in 1978 in response
to Our Lady. The founder and International Director is Father Nicholas Gruner,
who for more than 30 years has dedicated his life to promoting interest
in and devotion to the Message of Our Lady of Fatima.
The Fatima Crusader Shortly after the formation of Our Ladys Apostolate, Father Gruner began
publishing The Fatima Crusader magazine. This magazine is one of
the primary means utilized to make known Our Ladys full Fatima Message
and its impact on the Catholic Church and the world. Since its first
issue over 30 years ago, the magazine has grown from a modest circulation
of 20,000 to an estimated readership of more than 1,000,000. It is by far
the largest and most influential publication on Fatima in the world.
Heavens Peace Plan: In
response to Pope John Paul IIs statement that
the Message of Fatima is addressed to every human being, the Fatima
Center began broadcasting in the spring of 1987 Heavens Peace Plan,
a worldwide radio program featuring Father Gruner and guests. A year later,
the Apostolate began a further expansion of its radio ministry to include regular
daily short- wave broadcasts of the program which grew to reach more than 190
nations overseas.
TV
Series and TV Documentaries: The
Fatima Center expanded its outreach further through various weekly television
broadcasts, and prime- time one-hour documentaries. In 1987, Fatima featuring
Father Gruner and hosted by noted actor Ricardo Montalban was completed.
More recently, the one-hour TV documentary on the Fatima Message, Heavens
Key to Peace, was aired on national television in the United States
and Canada and is now translated into various languages for broadcast overseas. In
2008, the full length documentary, The Third Secret, was
completed.
Books and Publications: In
1988, Immaculate Heart Publications, the Fatima Centers book publishing
arm, published Father Gruners first book World Enslavement or Peace. This
book is primarily about the Consecration of Russia request and fills in
many details not possible to cover in this short booklet. (It is still available
from the Fatima Center, see address on page 63.) Since 1989, the Apostolate
has published more than a dozen other books on Fatima-related subjects,
such as the first English-language version of The Whole Truth About Fatima by
Frere Michel de la Sainte Trinité.
Since
2002, over 165,000 copies of The Devils Final Battle in
English, compiled and edited by Father Paul Kramer, have been distributed.
It has also been translated and printed in Italian, French and Portuguese.
This book is available on the web at www.devilsfinalbattle. com.
We
have circulated more than 30 million copies of sound Catholic books and magazines
on the Fatima Message. Many more booklets, leaflets and pamphlets have also
been circulated. In 2007 alone, over 7,000,000 pieces of Fatima literature
were distributed in various languages worldwide.
Bishops and Priests World Peace Conferences: In
1985 the Fatima Center hosted the first of a number of Fatima Peace Conferences,
inviting Catholic
bishops and priests from around the world. Conferences have been held
twice in Fatima, Portugal; 3 times in Rome, Italy; and once in each of the
following places: Mexico City; Hamilton, Canada; Tuy, Spain; São Paulo,
Brazil; and Chennai, India. The focus of these conferences has been and
continues to be the eternal salvation of many souls, the urgency of
the Fatima Message and its link to true world peace.
Growing Support: Despite
the efforts of some influential clergy within the Church to relegate Fatima
to the status of a mere private revelation which can be safely ignored or
to an event which has no prophetic significance for the present and the
near future of mankind, the Apostolate has been successful in garnering
the enthusiastic support of many Catholic clergy around the world. A public
letter to the Holy Father on behalf of the Fatima Center was signed by 10
Archbishops, 17 bishops, 1,900 priests and religious, and 16,000 lay people.
The Fatima Center writes to all the Catholic bishops of the world each year.
Over 50% of them have responded and to date, many Catholic bishops have
signed and sent in their written agreement to the Fatima Center indicating
their willingness to fully comply with Our Lady of Fatimas request
for the Consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart as a condition for
world peace.
Outreach: Over
the years, the Apostolate expanded its outreach to Catholic clergy, regularly
providing important Fatima news and information to nearly 160,000 bishops
and priests around the world (nearly 40% of the worlds Catholic clergy).
30 Web Sites: Our
Fatima Network (www.fatima.org), launched in May 1996, is one of the largest
and most influential Catholic sites on the Internet, with over a million
visitors each year. In 1998, versions in French, Spanish, Italian, German,
and Portuguese were added. In 2004, the site was redesigned and expanded
into several new websites with hundreds more articles, an improved search
engine and an On-line Rosary.
Further
Expansion: In
1991 the Apostolate opened offices in India and the Philippines. In
1998 an office was opened in Rome, Italy and a distribution center in Fatima,
Portugal.
The Immaculate Heart of Mary Orphanage: Opened
in 1995 at the initiative of Father Gruner and Archbishop Saminini Arulappa,
the Immaculate Heart of Mary Orphanage in Hyderabad, India continues to
feed, clothe and educate over 100 children each year and provides a rich
spiritual resource for neighboring communities. In 1999, Father Gruner joined
Archbishop Arulappa in inaugurating a new fully-equipped orphanage facility
to assist the Apostolate in better serving these needy children.
In
1999, to further administer to the needs of the orphans and the surrounding
communities, the Fatima Center built and equipped a medical center adjacent
to the orphanage. In 2000, the Apostolate built a convent beside the orphanage
to ensure the well-being and safety of the community of nuns that staff the
orphanage and medical center as well as teaching the orphans at St. Pauls
Catholic School nearby.
Volunteers: In
recent years the Apostolate has added a growing core of volunteers from around
the world who help promote Our Ladys Fatima Message through pray- erful
support, distribution of our apostolate literature and other means.
Message
of Fatima: In
response to Pope Benedict XVI's proclamation that the Message of Fatima
is the most prophetic message of the 20th Century as well as to Pope John
Paul IIs avowal that the Message of Fatima is more urgent and
relevant today than ever, Father Gruner and other priests of the Apostolate
continue to preach in various dioceses throughout the world. Father
Gruner travels with the miraculous Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of
Fatima, blessed by the Pope at Fatima, Portugal, bringing Her Message of
peace and hope to all Catholics and others of good will everywhere.
FOOTNOTES: (1) Frère
Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The
Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume
I: Science and the Facts,
(Immaculate Heart Publications, Buffalo, New York, U.S.A., 1989) p. 182. (2) This
chapter is largely taken from Frère François de Marie des Anges, Fatima:
Intimate Joy World Event,
Book One, The
Astonishing Truth,
(English edition, Immaculate Heart Publications, Buffalo, New York, 1993) Chapter
III, pp. 163-198. (3) English
translation of text in Sister Lucys, Fourth Memoir, Fatima
in Lucias Own Words,
(Postulation Centre, Fatima, Portugal, 1976) p. 162. See also The
Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume
I, pp. 181-182. (4) English
translation of text in Sister Lucys, Third Memoir, Fatima
in Lucias Own Words,
p. 104. See also The
Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume I,
p. 182. (5) English
translation of text in Sister Lucys, Fourth Memoir, Fatima
in Lucias Own Words,
p. 162. See also Sister Lucy, Memorias
e Cartas da Irma Lucia,
(Porto, Portugal, 1973, edited by Father Antonio Maria Martins) pp. 340-341;
in Sister Lucys own handwriting there is no ellipsis after the etc..
See also The
Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume I, p.
182. (6) The
Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume I,
pp. 180-181. (7) The
Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume II: The Secret and the Church,
(English edition, Immaculate Heart Publications, Buffalo, New York, U.S.A., 1989)
pp. 357-358. (8) O
Seculo of October
15, 1917. (9) Article
of October 29, 1917. See also Frère François de Marie des Anges, Fatima:
The Astonishing Truth,
p. 164. (10) Ilustração
Portuguesa,
October 29, 1917. (11) Fatima:
The Astonishing Truth,
pp. 171-172. (12) Ibid.,
pp. 172-173. (13) Ibid.,
p. 173. (14) The
Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume I,
p. 337. (15) Fatima:
The Astonishing Truth,
p. 178. (16) Ibid. (17) Ibid. (18) Ibid. (19) Ibid. (20) Ibid. (21) Ibid. (22) Ibid. (23) Ibid.,
pp. 178-179. (24) Ibid.,
p. 179. (25) The
Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume I,
p. 337. (26) Ibid.,
p. 339. (27) Ibid.,
p. 340. (28) Ibid. (29) Fatima:
The Astonishing Truth,
p. 179. (30) Ibid. (31) Ibid.
There is also this fact about that miracle which is the most surprising. The
quantity of energy necessary to accomplish the drying out of the ground and the
clothes in such a rapid manner would have been so great that all persons present
there would have been incinerated. Given that this aspect of the miracle radically
contradicts the law of nature, no devil could have performed this miracle. (32) The
Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume I,
p. 340. See also Father John de Marchi, I.M.C., Fatima
From the Beginning,
(Missões Consolata, Fatima, Portugal, 1981, third edition, first published
in 1950) p. 141; and Joseph A. Pelletier, A.A., The
Sun Danced at Fatima,
(Doubleday, New York, 1983) pp. 129-130. (33) John
M. Haffert, Meet
the Witnesses,
(AMI International Press, Fatima, Portugal, 1961) p. 62. This book was published
with an Imprimatur from the Bishop of Leiria, Portugal and provides us with credible
direct testimonies of numerous witnesses to the Miracle of the Sun. (34) Ibid.,
p. 65. (35) Ibid.,
pp. 86-89. (36) Documentação
Crítica de Fátima,
Volume II, (Santuário de Fátima, 1999) 17 cases documented on pp. 277-372;
and Father John de Marchi, I.M.C., Fatima
From the Beginning. (37) Father
John de Marchi, I.M.C., Fatima
From the Beginning,
p. 136. See also Documentação
Crítica de Fátima, Volume I,
(Santuário de Fátima, 1992) p. 408. See also The
Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume I, pp.
330-331. (38) Among
the many reference works, see: The
Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume I;
John M. Haffert, Meet
the Witnesses;
Father John de Marchi, I.M.C., Fatima
From the Beginning,
pp. 135-142. (39) We
find the photographic reproduction of those three articles in Fatima
50 of October
13, 1967, pp. 6-10; 14-15. (40) Novos
Documentos de Fatima,
Loyola editions, Sao Paulo, 1984, pp. 60-63. (41) The
modernist Jesuit priest, Father Dhanis, would later attempt to debunk the
vision of hell and the prophetic elements of the Message, including the consecration
and ultimate conversion of Russia. Father Dhanis refused the invitation of Sister
Lucy herself to come to Fatima and study the Fatima archives. Father Dhanis will
eventually be cited as an authority on Fatima by key members of the
Vatican apparatus in their attempt to revise the Message of Fatima according
to a commentary published on June 26, 2000. (42) The
Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume II,
pp. 463-464. (43) Ibid. (44) Sister
Lucys words cited from The
Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume II, pp.
462-465. See also Sister Lucys Memorias
e Cartas da Irma Lucia, pp.
463-465. (45) Collective
Pastoral Letter for the Jubilee of the Apparitions in 1942, Fatima merveille
du XXe siécle,
p. 338. Cited from The
Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume II,
p. 410. (46) Salazars
influence in the Portuguese government had been growing since 1928. He became
President of the Council in 1933. Later, Salazar received for his efforts the
praise and blessing of Pope Pius XII. Pius said, I bless him with all my
heart, and I cherish the most ardent desire that he be able to complete successfully
his work of national restoration, both spiritual and material. Cited from The
Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume
II, p. 412. (47) Ibid.,
p. 415 (Salazars own words). (48) Ibid.,
p. 422. (49) Ibid.,
p. 428. (50) See The
Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume II,
pp. 369-439. (51) Ibid.,
p. 428. (52) Ibid.,
p. 405. Cardinal Cerejeira spoke these words during the 1942 Jubilee celebration
of the Fatima apparitions. (53) We
trust the word of a Fatima believer such as Cardinal Cerejeira, rather than a
Fatima debunker. (54) Cardinal
Cerejeira, Preface to Jacinta (1942), Obras
Pastorais, Volume II,
p. 333. Cf. also his homily of May 13, 1942, Fatima,
merveille du XX siècle,
p. 339. Cited from The
Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume II,
p. 437. (55) William
Thomas Walsh, Our
Lady of Fatima,
(Image-Doubleday, New York, Imprimatur 1947)
p. 221. Emphasis in the original. (56) Il
Pellegrinaggio Della Meraviglie,
p. 440. Rome, 1960. This same work, published under the auspices of the Italian
episcopate, affirms that this message was communicated to Pope Pius XII in June.
Also, Canon Barthas mentioned that apparition in his communication to the Mariological
Congress of Lisbon-Fatima, in 1967; see De
Primoridiis cultus marianae, Acta congressus mariologici-mariana in Lusitania
anno 1967 celebrati,
p. 517. Rome, 1970. See Frère François de Marie des Anges, Fatima:
Intimate Joy World Event, Book
Four, Fatima:
Tragedy and Triumph,
pp. 21 and 37. (57) Fatima:
Tragedy and Triumph,
p. 218. (58) Ibid., p.
165. (59) Reported
within an article by Father Pierre Caillon of Centre Saint Jean 61500 Sees, (Orne)
France. This article was published by the monthly periodical Fidelite
Catholique,
B.P. 217-56402. Auray Cedex, France. English translation from The
Fatima Crusader,
Issue 13-14, (Oct.-Dec., 1983) p. 3. (60) Fatima:
Tragedy and Triumph,
p. 172. (61) See Fatima
e o Coraçao de Maria,
pp. 101-102. (62) Fatima:
Tragedy and Triumph,
pp. 172-173. (63) Ibid.,
pp. 167-168. (64) Sol
de Fatima, September
1985. (65) Chrètiens-Magazine,
March 1987, #8. Cited from Fatima:
Tragedy and Triumph,
p. 189. (66) Father
Laurentin, Multiplication
des apparitions de la Vierge aujourdhui,
p. 45, Fayard,
September, 1988. Cited from Fatima:
Tragedy and Triumph,
p. 189. (67) This
testimony of Sister Lucy was reported in the early August 1987 edition of Para
Ti published
in Argentina. See World
Enslavement or Peace ... Its Up to the Pope,
Father Nicholas Gruner (Immaculate Heart Publications, 1989), pp. 212-213. (68) La
Verdad sobre el Secreto de Fatima, Fatima sin mitos,
Father Joaquin Alonso, (2nd edition, Ejercito Azul, Madrid, 1988) p. 78. English
translation by Joseph Cain. Original Spanish reads: ... podriamos
decir que Lucia ha pensado siempre que la conversión de Rusia no se entiende
solo de un retorno de los pueblos de Rusia a la religion cristiano-ortodoxa,
rechazando el ateismo marxista y ateo de los soviets, sino que se refiere pura
y llanmente a la conversion total e integral de un retorno a la unica y verdadera
Iglesia, la catolica-romana. (69) Zenit
News, December 22, 2000. (70) Father
Maurers remarks appeared in an interview in Catholic
World Report,
Feb. 2001. A synopsis and commentary on this interview was published in The
Myth of a Converted Russia Exposed, Marian Horvat, Ph.D., Catholic
Family News,
March 2001. (71) See
Mark Fellows,
This Present Darkness, Part III, Catholic
Family News,
October 2000. (72) Regarding
alcohol in Russia, researchers concluded: Russias
rate of alcohol consumption, traditionally among the highest in the world, and
rising significantly in the 1990s, is a major contributor to the countrys
health crisis ... alcoholism has reached epidemic proportions, particularly
among males ... A 1995 Russian study found that regular drunkenness affected
between 25 and 60 percent of blue-collar workers ... In 1994 some 53,000 people
died of alcohol poisoning, an increase of about 36,000 since 1991.
In the ten years since the alleged conversion of Russia, there has also been
a sharp increase in illegal drug use: In 1995 an estimated 2 million Russians
used narcotics, more than twenty times the total recorded ten years earlier
in the entire Soviet Union, with the number of users increasing 50 percent every
year in the mid-1990s. From Mark Fellows, This Present Darkness,
Part II, Catholic
Family News,
Sept. 2000. (73) Satanism
on the Rise in Russia, compiled by John Vennari. See www.fatima.org/news/newsviews/satanism2.asp (74) Russia
Legalizes Homosexuality, United
Press International,
May 28, 1993. To quote the beginning of the article: Russias homosexual
activists Friday celebrated a major victory for gay rights in post-Soviet Russia
following the repeal of Article 121 of the Soviet criminal code, which outlawed
consensual sex between men. This is great news for gays and lesbians in
Russia, said Vladislav Ortanov, editor of the Moscow gay magazine Risk. (75) Activist
Says Child Porn Prosecutions Will be Difficult in Indonesia, Russia, Christine
Brummitt, Associated
Press, Aug.
9, 2001. (Emphasis added) (76) Big
Brotherski goes too far for Staid Russians, Mark Franchetti, Sunday
Times (London),
November 25, 2001. (77) Sarah
Karush, Foreign Priests Spark Controversy, Associated
Press, February
12, 2002. (78) Radio
Free Europe Report,
June 20, 2001. See also Catholic
News Service, February
17, 2002. (79) BBC
Online, March
2, 2002. (80) AP
News, March 1, 2002. (81) Rebuff
for the Pope: Vatican Fears New Persecution, The
Catholic World Report,
October 2002, p. 9. (82) National
Catholic Register Online
Web Edition, April 28 - May 5, 2002. (83) The Catholic World Report, October 2002, p. 10. (84) CWNews, March 2, 2002. (85) Reported by London Times online edition of January 12, 2002. (86) Reported in WorldNetDaily, December 21, 2001. (87) Reported in Electronic Telegraph of May 8, 2001. (88) Electronic Telegraph, March 2, 2000. (89) A reference to Our Lord’s command that the King of France publicly consecrate that nation to His Sacred Heart. This command was conveyed by Our Lord to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque on June 17, 1689, as part of a series of apparitions the Church has officially proclaimed worthy of belief. For 100 years the kings of France failed to heed the command. Finally, on June 17, 1789 — one hundred years to the day after Our Lord’s unheeded command was given — King Louis XVI was stripped of his authority by the Third Estate, and shortly afterwards was imprisoned. He attempted to consecrate France to the Sacred Heart in his jail cell, but without a public ceremony the attempt was unavailing. King Louis went to the guillotine, and France was convulsed by the French Revolution. (90) The Whole Truth About Fatima - Volume II, pp. 543-544. See also Toute La Vérite sur Fatima - Vol. II: Le Secret et L’Église, pp. 344-345. (91) Sermon during Mass for canonization of Blessed Frei Galvão, Campo de Marte airfield, São Paulo, Brazil, May 11, 2007.
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