Catholic Family News, through the help of The Fatima Center, has obtained a video copy of the SIC television broadcast of the Hindu ritual performed at Fatima. As reported last month, the sacrilege took place on May 5, 2004 with the blessing of Fatima Shrine Rector Guerra and the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima, Serafim de Sousa Ferreira e Silva.
 |
| May 5, 2004: A Hindu ritual was performed at Fatima in the Capelinha, the Chapel built on the spot where Our Lady appeared. |
SIC, a national television station in Portugal, reported on the Hindu ritual at Fatima the same day it took place. The announcer called it an “uncommon ecumenical experience.”
The broadcast shows morning prayer at the Radha Krishna temple in Lisbon. “Light and water, energy and nature, mark the rhythm of the Arati, the morning prayer,” the announcer said. “Hinduism is the oldest of the great religions. It is characterized by multiple deities, worshiped through a triple dimension of life and sacredness: the creator god, the preserver god, and the god who has the power to destroy.”
Thus the Hindus spent the morning worshiping their false gods, which are nothing more than demons. Saint Francis Xavier, the apostle to India, said of Hinduism: “All the invocations of the pagans are hateful to God because all their gods are devils.”1
A young Hindu woman appears on screen with statues of gods in the background. She explains, “This is god Shiva and his wife Parvati. In the center we can see god Rama, to our right his wife Sita and to our left, his brother and companion Lakshmama. Now we can see Krishna Bhagwan and his consort Radha. The deities are always accompanied by their respective consorts or wives. As a rule, when we address the deities or want to ask for their graces, we address the feminine deity, who is very important to us.”
About 60 Hindus, said the broadcast, “leave Lisbon with the chandam, the sign on their foreheads which shows the wish for good fortune in a noble task. And this is the day dedicated to the greatest of all female deities. She is called the Most Holy Mother, the goddess Devi, the deity of nature who many Portuguese Hindus also find in Fatima.”
Another young Hindu lady explains, “As a Hindu, who believes the whole world, or rather all human beings, are members of a global family, it would be natural for me to see any manifestation of god, including Our Lady of Fatima, as a manifestation of the same god.”
Here, this young lady speaks as a true Hindu, since Hinduism regards the various false gods they worship as manifestations of “god”. Thus, they are not honoring Our Lady as the Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, but worshiping Her as a manifestation of their pagan god.
The newscast then shows the Hindus bringing flowers to the statue of Our Lady inside the Capelinha, the little chapel built over the spot where Our Lady of Fatima appeared. The Hindu ‘priest’ stands at the Catholic altar and recites a Hindu prayer. Meanwhile, the SIC announcer says, “This is a unique moment in the history of the Sanctuary and of devotion itself. The Hindu ‘priest,’ the Shastri, recites at the altar the Shanti Pa, the prayer for peace.”
Pope Pius XI, in a liturgical prayer consecrating the human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, prayed for the conversion of all who are not members of the Mystical Body. He invoked Our Lord, “be Thou King of all those who are deceived by the darkness of idolatry.”2 This idolatry is now practiced at the Fatima Shrine, desecrating the sacred site, making it necessary for the chapel to be re-consecrated.
 |
| Front page of October 24, 2003, Fatima bi-weekly Notícias de Fátima reporting on the interfaith Congress under the headline, “Sanctuary of Various Creeds”. The caption under the front-page photo reads: “The future of Fatima will be able to pass through the creation of a Shrine where the different religions can live together. The interreligious dialogue which, today, we are engaged in, is still in an embryonic phase, but this Shrine is not indifferent to this fact and assumes from this moment on a ‘universalist vocation’.” It is a sad truth that the syncretistic “interfaith” orientation is now underway at Fatima, whether it is officially called an “Interfaith Shrine” or not. |
In another clip, the Hindu ‘priest’ explains that he finds a “divine energy” at Fatima. “It is an energy that permeates the whole place,” he says. “It has the power to be present here, around us. Whenever I come here, I feel this vibration …”
SIC then explains that the display of this group of Hindus at Fatima “is not well-accepted by all Catholics”. The camera then shifts to Fatima Shrine Rector Guerra, who defends Hindu worship at the Catholic Shrine.
“It is obvious” says Rector Guerra, “that these civilizations and religions are quite different. But I think that there is a common background to all religions. There is a common background that, how can I put it, is born from the common humanity we all possess. And it is very important that we recognize this common background, because, due to the clashes of the differences, we sometimes forget our equality. These meetings give us that occasion.”
The Hindus are then welcomed by the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima in a room containing a large model of the modernistic Fatima Shrine now under construction. “This time,” says the broadcast, “the Hindu pilgrims are received as if they were an embassy, an unheard of gesture which can be understood as an invitation for other visits.” This means that the pagan desecration of the Fatima Shrine is likely to happen again and again.
The Bishop of Leiria-Fatima then says, “We don’t want to be fundamentalist, we don’t want that, but we want to be honest, sincere and want to communicate by osmosis the fruitfulness of our rituals, so that we may produce fruits. I am pleased to meet them.”
At this point, the Hindu ‘priest’ places on the shoulders of the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima and Shrine Rector Guerra a shawl covered with verses of the Bhagavad Gita, one of Hinduism’s sacred books.
The report ends with a close-up of a guest book that includes the signatures of Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, and a Hindu ‘high priest’. It goes on to say that Hindus intend to keep Fatima “on the road map of places where they claim they can find vibrations of holiness …”
Catholic Family News and The Fatima Center have reported on the interfaith orientation at Fatima since it was launched at the interreligious Congress held at Fatima in October 2003. We warned repeatedly that this type of desecration was inevitable if Catholics did not resist the new ecumenical program.
Predictably, the enablers of the “New Fatima,” such as Father Robert J. Fox, ridiculed our efforts and tried to dissuade Catholics from taking us seriously. Father Fox, on an April 25 EWTN broadcast, claimed that the reports about the interfaith activity at Fatima were nothing but “fabrications,” that he knows Shrine Rector Guerra personally, and that Rector Guerra would never allow such interfaith activities to take place. Less than two weeks after this EWTN broadcast, the Fatima Shrine was desecrated by pagan worship, with the blessing of Rector Guerra and the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima.
Pope Leo XIII, along with his predecessors, taught “we are bound absolutely to worship God in the way which He has shown to be His will.”3 Hinduism worships false gods who are demons. It is sacrilegious for Rector Guerra and the Bishop of Fatima to permit these rituals in a Catholic sanctuary.
 |
| On an April 25 EWTN program, Father Robert J. Fox ridiculed the Catholics resisting the new interfaith program at Fatima, he said that all reports of interfaith activity at Fatima were mere “fabrications,” and that Shrine Rector Guerra would never allow such things to take place. Less than two weeks later, the Hindu ritual was performed at Fatima with Rector Guerra’s approval. |
Pope Pius XI called it “ignominious” to place the true religion of Jesus Christ “on the same level with false religions.”4 Pope Leo XIII likewise taught “it is contrary to reason that error and truth should have equal rights.”5Thus the “equality” that Msgr. Guerra speaks of, and his notion of various religions coming from a “common background,” defies Catholic truth.
Rector Guerra and the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima are also guilty of grave scandal. Their actions tell these poor Hindus, who are in bondage to a heathen religion, that they are pleasing to God as they are. This is contrary to the manifest will of Christ, Who said, “No one comes to the Father but through Me.” “He who believes and is baptized will be saved, He who does not believe will be condemned.” Hindus reject Jesus Christ. They have no interest in embracing baptism and the truths revealed by God. Rector Guerra and the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima counsel and encourage this Hindu idolatry. By their bad example, they scandalize not only the Hindus, but others who observe their actions.
“Scandal” says Saint Thomas Aquinas, “is a word or act which gives occasion to the spiritual ruin of one’s neighbor.” Saint Leo calls the authors of scandal murderers who kill not the body but the soul. Saint Bernard says that, in speaking of sinners in general, the Scriptures hold out hope of amendment and pardon, but the Scriptures speak of those who give scandal as persons separated from God, of whose salvation there is very little hope.6
Perhaps this is why we see a spiritual blindness in these men. They persist in their apostasy despite the outrage from concerned Catholics. Nonetheless, we must pray for them.
And what of the Hindus themselves? According to the Hindus, the Shastri comes to Fatima because he feels there a “divine energy,” “vibrations of holiness”; members of all religions worship the same god and are part of the “global family”.
This is the language of paganism, not of our received Catholic Tradition. “Holy vibrations” is what Hindus call Shakti, and they go to various places to seek it. They will rush to be in the presence of the Dalai Lama or Pope John Paul II or Ghandi because this gives them Darshan, the good fortune that comes from being in the sight of a holy man. Each and every one of their terms is rooted in heathen superstition, not in the truths revealed by Christ.
In short, the Hindus did not go to the Fatima Shrine to be Catholicized. Rather, they Hinduized the Fatima Shrine, folding their pagan myths and superstitions into one of Catholicism’s most sacred sites.
This is not honoring the Mother of God, but a blasphemy against Her, since there is nothing honorable in placing Our Lady on the same level as one more goddess in their pantheon of demonic deities. “What concord hath Christ with Belial?”, says Saint Paul, “or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever?” (2 Cor. 6:15)
At the end of the visit, the Hindus presented Msgr. Guerra and the Bishop of Fatima with a shawl covered with verses of the Bhagavad Gita. This book contains a story which illustrates a central tenet of Hinduism.
Arjuna, a warrior, is on the eve of a great battle. He dreads the next day, because he knows he will have to kill his friends, relatives, teachers. Arjuna’s charioteer, who turns out to be the god Krishna in disguise, tells Arjuna not to fear the coming battle because none of it is real. No one is going to die. All of it, and all of life, is illusion.7
Arjuna then thrusts himself into the bloody conflict believing it to be his Dharma, his given path, to hack his friends and relatives to pieces. It is all illusion anyway. No one really dies. This is Hinduism in a nutshell. You are god, everything else is illusion.
Catholics who behold the Fatima Shrine Rector and the Bishop of Fatima draped in shawls laden with verses from a pagan mythology, certainly would wish that the Hindu desecration of Fatima was an illusion, that none of it was real.
But no, it really happened. And Catholics must register their outrage to Rome and to Fatima, as they offer prayers of reparation for Catholic leaders who hand over the chapel of Our Lady of Fatima to a religion whose god is the devil.
Notes:
1. Saint Francis Xavier, James Brodrick, S.J., (New York: Wicklow Press, 1952), p. 135.
2. Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Pius XI, published along with the EncyclicalQuas Primas, “On the Kingship of Christ”, 1925.
3. Imortale Dei, 1885.
4. Quas Primas, 1925.
5. Libertas, 1888.
6. Quotes taken from Sermons of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, “On Scandal,” (Rockford: Tan Books, reprinted 1982), pp. 168-181.
7. For more, see “The Dharma of Deception,” Edwin Faust, Catholic Family News, November, 1998.
Extra copies of this photo report are available while supplies last.
Brief Chronology
Leading up to Sacrilegious Hindu Ritual at Fatima
May 9-12, 1992: At a Congress at Fatima presided over by Shrine Rector Guerra, New Age Professor Robert Muller, Chancellor of the United Nations University, said, “We must now move to universal religiosity and spirituality under the aegis of one-world government, which will soon see the light of day …”(see www.fatimacrusader.com/cr43/cr43pg22.asp)
Oct. 10, 2003: Opening of Pan-Religious Conference at Fatima: “The Present of Man – the Future of God: the Place of Sanctuaries in Relation to the Sacred”, sponsored by Rector Guerra. CFN’s John Vennari attends the conference as an eyewitness. (see www.fatima.org/news/newsviews/sprep111303.asp)
Oct. 11: At the Congress, Jesuit Father Jacques Dupuis denounces an infallible dogma of the Council of Florence as a “horrible text”. He says that the purpose of interreligious dialogue is not to make converts to the Catholic Faith, but to make “a Christian a better Christian, a Hindu a better Hindu”. The conference delegates, including Shrine Rector Guerra, applaud Dupuis’ speech. (see www.fatima.org/news/newsviews/sprep111303.asp)
Oct. 12: Sunday Forum at the Fatima Congress wherein a representative from Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam each give testimony of the importance of sanctuaries in their religions. Father Arul Irudayam, Rector of the Marian Shrine Basilica in Vailankanni, India, tells the Congress that Hindus now perform their religious rituals inside the Catholic Marian Basilica. Once again, the audience applauds. (see www.fatima.org/news/newsviews/sprep111303.asp)
Oct. 24: Notícias de Fátima, the local Fatima newspaper on friendly terms with the Fatima Shrine, publishes the headline: “Sanctuary for Various Creeds” and quotes Father Jacques Dupuis saying, “The religion of the future is a general convergence of religions in a universal Christ who, at root, will satisfy all of them.” Some Catholics interpret this as an implicit call for the anti-Christ. (see www.fatimacrusader.com/cr75/cr75pg08.asp)
Nov. 1: Portugal News reports that the purpose of the October Interfaith Fatima Congress is to establish Fatima as an Interfaith Shrine. Portugal News stated, “the Shrine is to be developed into a centre where all the religions of the world will gather to pay homage to their various gods.” A worldwide protest of outraged Catholics ensues. (see www.fatima.org/news/newsviews/sprep111303.asp)
Nov. 19: England’s The Universe publishes Archbishop Fitzgerald’s half-hearted denials of plans to turn Fatima into an Interfaith Shrine. “There is no question” says the Archbishop, “of the Fatima sanctuary becoming an interfaith pilgrimage center … This is a place of prayer centered on Our Lady and everyone is welcome.” Later, Christopher Ferrara, in The Fatima Crusader (Issue 75, pp. 9-10), points out in detail how this isn’t really a denial. (see www.fatimacrusader.com/cr75/cr75pg08.asp)
Dec. 1: Catholic Family News publishes its first report on interfaith activity at Fatima, predicting that it is only a matter of time before pagan ceremonies take place at Fatima. Meanwhile, The Fatima Center has launched a campaign of protest through its magazine, web site, mailings and leaflet distribution. (see www.fatima.org/news/newsviews/sprep111303.asp)
Dec. 28: After nearly two months of silence, wherein he would not answer direct questions that he affirm or deny statements attributed to him in the media about his intentions regarding the future of the Fatima Shrine, Shrine Rector Guerra issues a Communiqué defending the new interfaith orientation at Fatima.(see www.fatima.org/news/newsviews/news020504.asp)
Early Jan. 2004: Shrine Rector Guerra grants an interview to a Marian website wherein he says, “We are very far from having Hindus or any Muslims pray in Fatima, except if they do it in private — not in public liturgies or other such services.” (see www.fatima.org/news/newsviews/news020504.asp)
Apr. 23-25: The Fatima Crusader publishes the “Open Letter to the Faithful of Portugal” in three Portuguese newspapers, warning against the new interreligious activity at Fatima. (see www.fatima.org/news/newsviews/042804open.asp)
Apr. 25: Father Robert J. Fox, on an EWTN television program, ridicules concerned Catholics opposed to the interfaith initiatives, claiming that all reports of interfaith activity at Fatima are “fabrications,” and that Shrine Rector Guerra would never allow such things to take place. (see www.fatima.org/news/newsviews/060304rit.asp)
May 5: Hindus publicly perform a pagan ritual on the Catholic altar in the Capelinha at the Fatima Shrine, with the endorsement of Shrine Rector Guerra and the Bishop of Fatima. The event is broadcast the same day by SIC, a national television station in Portugal. (see www.fatima.org/news/newsviews/060304rit.asp)