The salvation of many souls and the peace of the world and the very existence of several nations is literally dependent upon the Pope and the Catholic Bishops solemnly and publicly consecrating Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on one specific day. This is the message of Fatima as we have proven in this issue and previous issues of The Fatima Crusader.

To achieve this collegial consecration of Russia, the Pope must order all the Bishops to do this. The Pope needs our moral support and our prayers before he will be able to carry out this order from Heaven.

Answers to several objections:

OBJECTION NO. 1

       The Collegial Consecration of Russia has already been fulfilled by John Paul II.

ANSWER TO OBJECTION NO. 1:

       There is continuing confusion in the minds of some people regarding the previous acts of consecration of the world effected by John Paul II recently. This confusion has been generated by several false news reports stating that Sister Lucy said it had been done. A news report published by Father Caillon which we published in Issue #16 "Fatima May 13, 1982- What Actually Happened? Was Russia Consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary?", shows clearly that Sister Lucy categorically and emphatically states the consecration of Russia has not been done according to Our Lady of Fatima's requests. We publish this report in full because the public is still being confused by various articles which were published before the above-mentioned clarifying article by Father Caillon.

       As our readers might remember in The Fatima Crusader Issue No. (9-10) we published the report of Soul magazine which stated erroneously that Sister Lucy had said that the consecration of Russia had been done. We also published the report from Approaches magazine which contradicted Soul magazine's report. We stated our own position in Issue No. (11-12). In Issue No. (13-14) we carried Soul magazine's revised position in which they published their acknowledgement that in fact the consecration of Russia had not been done according to Our Lady's requests because as they explained the Holy Father had still to choose a date for all the Bishops to join him in this solemn and public act. For the benefit of some of our readers who continue to ask us why do we seem to be contradicting Soul magazine we again photographically reproduce here the essential paragraph of this report taken from page 7 of the May-June 1983 Issue of Soul magazine. The article was entitled, "Was the Collegial Consecration of Russia Complete?"

       Soul magazine reiterated this position again in September/October 1983.

       Soul magazine, as you can see from these published reports, agreed (at least up until October 1983) with The Fatima Crusader that the consecration of Russia according to Our Lady of Fatima's requests had not been done.

       Next we have the report of Father Fox, a newspaper columnist who says that the prioress of the convent of Mt. Carmel in Coimbra, where Sister Lucy lives, told Father Fox that the consecration had been done. These reports have been more than adequately dealt with by the article written by the Carmelite Father Joseph de Ste. Marie and which we published in The Fatima Crusader Issue No. (13-14) "Our Lady of Fatimas Demands Concerning Russia Not Yet Fulfilled". This article by Father Joseph de Ste. Marie shows clearly how false these words of Mother Prioress are.

Political Pressure on Sister Lucy

       We must remember that poor Sister Lucy in the early 1940's was prevailed upon, by local Diocesan authorities (who were influenced by political considerations), to actually not tell the Pope that Our Lady asked that Russia specifically be consecrated by all the bishops. Sister Lucy, at the time was in a dilemma, not knowing what to do. Now, much later in her life, she knows that she must tell the Pope clearly what precisely Our Lady has asked for. The same political and human considerations still today seem to cause the issue to not be seen clearly by certain members of the clergy. It was only after Vatican II lost the golden opportunity and grace to consecrate Russia on November 21, 1964 and only after Pope Paul VI went to Fatima on May 13, 1967 but omitted to consecrate Russia that the general public was finally informed of this urgent matter. It would now seem that it was the Rome/Moscow Agreement of 1962 (see "The Vatican Silenced by Moscow" in this issue) which was sanctioned by the Secretary of State which caused the Vatican to not obey the requests of Our Lady of Fatima in 1964 and 1967. It may well be that these political considerations still are operating in 1985 to prevent the Pope from receiving full cooperation from certain Bishops around the world.

       As we have reported in "The Pope Says Our Lady of Fatima Awaits the Bishops" in issue #16 of The Fatima Crusader, Pope John Paul II on March 25, 1984, stated publicly before 100,000 pilgrims that Our Lady of Fatima is still awaiting the consecration of "certain peoples", meaning Russia. He stated this two times that same day after he had consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Obviously, Pope John Paul II knows that Our Lady of Fatima's request for the collegial consecration of Russia has not yet been fulfilled.

OBJECTION NO. 2

       Petitions to our Catholic Bishops are not important in order to help the Pope bring about this consecration of Russia.

ANSWER TO OBJECTION NO. 2:

       It is important for all to realize that their lives, their families, their freedom and the very existence of nations depends upon the obedience of the Catholic Bishops to this request. It will only happen when enough people fulfill in their own lives the requests Our Lady of Fatima had made to us. Nevertheless, it is vitally important that the Pope and the Bishops be respectfully petitioned to fulfill Our Lady's request. The effectiveness of these petitions is demonstrated by the fact that Pope John Paul II has already made the consecration of the world three times, and referred to the fact that petitions were sent to him from around the world to do this. We also give further reasons demonstrating the importance of petitions further on in this article.

OBJECTION NO. 3

       It has been rumored some Fatima workers and their groups have been told by some unnamed person(s) to not collect any more petitions asking the Pope to consecrate Russia. We do not want to be disobedient so we shall not collect any more petitions until we are told we are allowed.

ANSWER TO OBJECTION NO. 3

       It would seem that this anonymous person who supposedly gave this order is a Bishop.

The Example of St. Pius X

       Unfortunately for the cause of Our Lady and for the eternal salvation of many souls and for the temporal well-being of many people, some members of various Fatima Apostolates seem to think that they are bound to obey this command, which is clearly beyond the authority of the one who gave it. This command is not binding in conscience because of the apparent lack of proper form demanded by Canon Law and the Natural Law. Our own eternal salvation is endangered as can be seen from the article "The Present-Day Persecution of the Church by Communist Russia Seriously Threatens Your Eternal Salvation" (Issue # 16). Such an order does not bind in conscience because, as Canon Law provides, an order by a religious superior can be challenged by a subject in the following manner: The superior when he gives an order must be willing to sign the written order or else give it before two witnesses. If he is unwilling to take responsibility for the order by either signing his name to the written order, or by having two persons witness the fact that he gives the order - the order does not bind in conscience. This provision of the Code of Canon Law is a reflection of the Natural Law which tells us that a superior must be willing to take responsibility for each order that he gives. If he is not willing to take responsibility then the order does not bind.

       Thus we see that St. Pius X who, when he was a parish priest, was one time called in by his Bishop and told to not preach on a certain subject. He said very well I'll be glad to comply if Your Excellency will give me this order in writing. His Bishop refused and St. Pius X said very well I will continue to preach as I have been, and he did.

       In brief, the point here is that some unnamed prelate can not bind others to do anything. If someone actually told a Fatima apostolate to stop collecting petitions, who is he? What is his name?

Even the Pope Could Not Give Such a Command

       Even in the event that some Bishop, Archbishop or Cardinal would ever come forward and take responsibility for such an order it would still not bind in conscience because in this particular case he would be outside his jurisdiction. That is, he does not have the authority to give any person or group the order to not petition the Pope. How do we know that even a Cardinal or even the Pope himself could not lawfully give such an order? Simply because it is solemnly taught by Vatican I that every Catholic, even a Layman, has the right to appeal to the Pope directly. To quote the council directly:

       "And because, by the divine right of Apostolic Primacy, the Roman Pontiff is at the head of the whole Church, we also teach and declare that he is the supreme judge of the faithful and that one can have recourse to his judgment in all cases pertaining to ecclesiastical jurisdiction." ...Vatican Council #I

       "Anyone who is aggrieved may appeal to it (the Holy Roman Church which has Primacy and Jurisdiction over the whole Catholic Church) in matters pertaining to the Ecclesiastical Court and in all cases that require Ecclesiastical investigation one may have recourse to its judgment."... The Second Council of Lyons

The God-Given Right of the Faithful to Petition the Pope

       Thus the faithful have a right given them directly by Almighty God Himself to appeal and petition the Pope in a matter pertaining to Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction. Since the Eternal Salvation of very many souls (as well as world peace, and the actual existence of various nations and the political and economic freedom of the whole world) depends upon the Pope and the Bishops fulfilling to the letter this God-given command to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, therefore this matter certainly pertains to Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction. It follows from what Vatican Council I solemnly teaches, that each and every one of us Catholics can have recourse to the Judgment of the Pope in this matter. Therefore no one, not even a Cardinal or even the Pope can take this right of recourse to the Pope away from us. Furthermore not even a Sovereign State or an agreement between the Vatican and a Sovereign State (e.g. Russia) can take away this God-given right of appealing to the Pope in a matter upon which the salvation of souls depends. Clearly then we can and must appeal to the Pope to Consecrate Russia according to the command of Our Lady of Fatima.

Further Reason for Petitioning the Pope

       Obviously these petitions are important as Sister Lucy herself signed one addressed to the Pope asking for the Consecration of Russia by all the Bishops. Over 4,000,000 people have thus far signed petitions before the above-mentioned prelate gave the order to stop collecting petitions. The petitions must be having their effect otherwise why would anyone dare try to give such an unlawful order.

       Pope John Paul who clearly wants to consecrate Russia as Our Lady of Fatima asked - would do it very soon if he knew that he had the grass roots support of the people. It is because he fears open schism that he does not insist with the Bishops just yet.

       The history of the Great Western Schism of 1380 to 1415 teaches the Popes the importance of having wide-spread popular support when ordering the bishops and Cardinals. To have this support is more important today considering the widespread heresy of modernism within the ranks of the Church today. Having many millions of petitions sent to the Pope would reassure him of our support, so that he would feel confident enough to order the bishops to Consecrate Russia.

       The Pope needs our moral support today more than ever in this matter of Consecrating Russia because for more than 20 years the Vatican foreign policy towards Communist-dominated countries has stopped the Popes from consecrating Russia as Our Lady of Fatima asked. Now Pope John Paul II has started to change this foreign policy as can be seen from the fact that he has attacked the Regime of Moscow in 1984. (See "Why the Vatican-Moscow Agreement Must Be Repudiated" in this issue.) This is contrary to the Rome-Moscow Agreement of Pope John XXIII of 1962 and therefore the Pope is trying to change Vatican foreign policy. He cannot do it all at once because it seems some of the influential Vatican Officials, who inspired the earlier Vatican policy towards Russia still have a lot of power within the Church. The Pope needs our support in order to overcome their resistance to his change in Vatican policy.

       As in any bureaucracy and institution of men, the advancement of certain men in their ambitions is dependent upon the acceptance of their policies and plans of action being adopted by the group or institute they work for. So too in the Church as in institutions that are only human, some men's personal ambition sometimes hidden even to themselves, so clouds their judgment that they cannot see that the policy they originally decided on and worked for is no longer justifiable. Thus there may well be men in the Vatican and in various bishops conferences (e.g. France) who are still in favor of continuing the Vatican-Moscow Agreement.

       These bishops work hard at seeing that the Collegial Consecration of Russia will not take place. These people have not yet seriously reflected upon the assassination attempt of May 13, 1981 which was engineered by the K.G.B. and which once more proves that the Church cannot expect the communist Regime to stop its war against the Catholic Church.

       Above all, the Pope needs the grace of God to overcome all the snares of the Devil - who continues to put many barriers in his way. We must help the Pope by our prayers and sacrifices and fulfillment of Our Lady's requests at Fatima. Thus Our Lord Himself said to Sister Lucy, "Pray, pray a great deal for the Holy Father. He will do it (the solemn, public consecration of Russia with all the Catholic bishops) but it will be late."

Return to
Table of Contents