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1. Apostasy Will
Invade the
Church
 We can do no
better than to quote Father Alonso’s judicious commentary here:
«“In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be
preserved”: The phrase most clearly implies a critical state of
Faith, which other nations will suffer, that is to say, a crisis of Faith;
whereas Portugal will preserve its Faith.»7 Father Alonso writes
again:
«In the period preceding the great triumph of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary, terrible things are to happen. These form the content of the
third part of the Secret. What are they?
«If “in Portugal the dogma of the
Faith will always be preserved,” . . . it can be clearly deduced
from this that in other parts of the Church these dogmas are going to become
obscure or even lost altogether.»8
«Thus it is
quite possible that in this intermediate period which is in question (after
1960 and before the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary), the text
makes concrete references to the crisis of the Faith of the Church and to the
negligence of the pastors themselves.»9
«One conclusion
does indeed seem to be beyond question: the content of the unpublished part of
the Secret does not refer to new wars or political upheavals, but to happenings
of a religious and intra-Church character, which of their nature are still more
grave.»10
The Rallying of the Experts
It
must be remarked that Father Alonso was not the first to express this
hypothesis. It imposes itself as soon as we pay serious attention to the first
words of the third Secret, purposely revealed by Sister Lucy. In 1967, Father
Martins dos Reis wrote in Sintese Critica:
«Everything which was said (on the contents of the third
Secret) was nothing more than fantasies in bad taste, except what has to do
with a crisis in “the dogma of the Faith” in certain nations, and
less so in Portugal . . .»11
In 1968, Father
Roger Rebut was more explicit:
«This statement of the Blessed Virgin suggests, by opposition
to the word always, that in other places it will not be the same.
These words recall Our Lady’s words pronounced at La Salette and
Pellevoisin regarding the Church.»12
Before long, the
majority of Portuguese experts rallied to this hypothesis: Father Messias Dias
Coelho, publicly, in his journal Mensagem de Fátima; more
discreetly, Canon Galamba, Father Luis Kondor, vice-postulator of the causes of
beatification for Jacinta and Francisco, and undoubtedly Bishop Venancio
himself, who strongly desired publication of Father Alonso’s works.
Can we be
more precise on the probable contents of this prophecy concerning the crisis of
the Faith? In 1970, Father Messias Dias Coelho wrote:
«From the mouths of some Fatima experts we were able to hear
this opinion: very probably the third part of the Secret does not only speak
about the crisis of the Faith, but also about the countries in which it is
more acutely felt.»13
We know that this
was also Father Schweigl’s opinion. He confided it to a member of his
entourage — from whom we have this information — after returning from
his investigative trip to Portugal, when he had the privilege of being able to
question Sister Lucy at length.
An Unprecedented Apostasy
Whether various nations are cited in the Secret or not, we now know that it
concerns not only a crisis of the Faith strictly limited to some regions of the
world: «The loss of Faith of a continent, (declares the Bishop of
Leiria), is worse than the annihilation of a nation; and it is true that Faith
is continually diminishing in Europe.»14
As for Cardinal
Ratzinger, it is clear that his declarations to Vittorio Messori, in August,
1984, equally confirm Father Alonso’s hypothesis. The Cardinal tells us
that the third Secret of Fatima deals with «dangers threatening the
faith and life of Christians, and therefore the world». It is even
probable that it was reading this extraordinary document that made the prefect
of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith decide to denounce the grave
errors which have taken root, and today threaten the integrity of the Catholic
Faith in four continents out of five.15
Such a crisis of
faith, on the scale of several nations or entire continents, has a name in Holy
Scripture: apostasy. The word itself may be found in the text of the
Secret.
Now everything is clear. This hypothesis, and it alone, corresponds
perfectly to all the data concerning the mysterious Secret. And first of all
the fulfillment of this prophecy, expressed at the Cova da Iria forty years
earlier, is as striking as it is undeniable.
II. Since 1960 the Prophecy is Being
Fulfilled before Our Eyes
Yes, henceforth we understand Lucy’s
words: «In 1960, it will be clearer.» Our Father already denounced
the seriousness of this terrible crisis of the Faith in 1959, in a series of
letters entitled, “The mystery of the Church and the
Antichrist”.16
With the passing of time, the fact has become more and
more obvious. While using prudent circumlocutions, Father Alonso explains it to
his reader. His analysis deserves to be followed, step by step:
«Can this intermediate period (which corresponds to the
spiritual chastisements announced by the third Secret) be determined,
chronologically, as being the one we have been living through, since the
immediate pre-conciliar period and the post-conciliar period? (Let us point
out how he skillfully sidesteps the conciliar period, curiously isolated from
the pre-conciliar period, which prepared it, and the post-conciliar period,
which flowed from it!) We may affirm in general that this is so, for it
is certain that the consecration of Russia has still not been made.
«On
the other hand, the internal troubles in the post-conciliar Church bear witness
to a lamentable state of affairs, clearly pointed out by Pope Paul. This has
been characterized not only by conflicts and antagonisms within the Church, but
also by a tremendous weakening of the seriousness of theology; this was
followed by a hypercriticism which is in the process of undermining Catholic
exegesis; and later on, an anything-goes theology, which makes a game out of
proposing new interpretations and new dogmas every day; finally a terrible
crisis of the Faith in which the Church is without joy, without firmness,
without support and without inner strength to work, faced with a hostile world
which pretends to reduce it to a secular establishment.»
How
correct all these observations are! But such is their importance that our
official expert saw fit to prudently attenuate his thought. He will not, all
the same, declare openly what follows inevitably from his thesis. That is, it
is precisely this terrible apostasy from the Faith — which was the work of
a minority of bishops and theologians before the Council, was then imposed on
the majority during the Council, and which has grown uninterruptedly worse
since then — which is the subject of the final Secret of Fatima! Hence he
adds some expressions of uncertainty about the truths he has just enunciated,
truths which are too powerful:
«No one can doubt that this is what happened. But is
it precisely to this condition that the words of the text allude, “In
Portugal, the dogma of the faith will always be preserved”? There are
assuredly good grounds for believing that they do. It is not, however, easy
to say if the third part of the Secret refers to the era we are living in today
or to another epoch yet to come. To limit the “intermediate” period
to the present time is extremely probable, but not certain.»17
In
other words: the Church is suffering from a frightful crisis of the Faith since
1960; this is certain. On the other hand, it is definite that the final Secret
of Fatima announces a grave crisis of the Faith; this is equally certain,
Father Alonso tells us. Is there not a necessary correspondence between these
two facts? Our expert thinks so, proves it, but does not dare to say so
categorically . . . at least in 1976. For six years later, in an article on the
Secret of Fatima where he takes up the same thesis almost line by line, it is
remarkable that he failed to go through the motions of repeating these
restrictions, which do not take into account one of the four definite facts
concerning the contents of the third Secret.18 In effect, as we have
shown, it is certain that the prophecy began being fulfilled in a clearer
manner, beginning in 1960.19
For this reason it is useless, henceforth, to
try to continue dissimulating about the truth. Besides, in September, 1984,
Bishop do Amaral left not the slightest doubt on this subject. He tells us
without the slightest hesitation: the third Secret of Fatima prophesies the
terrible crisis of faith from which the Church is presently suffering.
«Behold, I Have Foretold It To
You!» (MT. 24, 25)
Once this certainty is acquired, it is obvious that the
fact is of the highest importance. The prophecy of Fatima then assumes a more
extraordinary scope in our eyes. In 1917, the Immaculate Virgin had predicted,
at the Cova da Iria, the two major facts which were going to dominate the
history of the century: the worldwide expansion of Russian Bolshevism, and the
unprecedented apostasy which would strike the Catholic Church.
Even if the final Secret of Fatima did nothing
more than announce, without further details, this terrible crisis of Faith
which would suddenly ravage the Church if Our Lady’s requests were not
obeyed, this prophecy would already be of capital importance. But, as we will
see, the Third Secret tells us more. It does not merely denounce the frightful
misfortune of this collapse of Faith. It also indicates the causes; it sheds
its own divine light on the dramatic confrontations which have happened within
the very bosom of the Church for well nigh thirty years, and it points to the
one, narrow road of true salvation.
FOOTNOTES:
(7) VSF, p.
70. (8) Ibid., p. 80. (9) Ibid., p. 80. (10) Ibid., p. 81. (11) Ibid., p. 69.
(12) Les messages de la Vierge Marie, p. 195. Téqui, 1968. (13) Quoted
by Freire, p. 160-161. (14) Cf. supra. p. 676. (15) “Vittorio Messori
speaks with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger: Here is why the faith is in
crisis”, in the review Jesus, November 1984. On this terribly
alarming diagnosis of the present situation of the Church, cf. the “Open
Letter to Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger” published by our Father, the
Abbé de Nantes, in January 1985 (CRC 207). (16) Lettres à mes
amis, No. 58 et. Seq. (17) VSF, (Spanish ed.), p. 74; cf. Engl. Ed. p. 81. (18)
“De nuevo el secreto de Fátima”, p. 92. Ephemerides
mariologicae, 1982. (19) Cf. supra, p. 639-641.
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