“The Fatima Crusader” Discloses Vatican Cover-up
of THIRD SECRET
August 7, 2000
The revelation by the Vatican of the long-suppressed “Third Secret of Fatima” has sparked a controversy that is now rocking the Catholic Church.
For more than 40 years, the Third Secret (the final part of a message by the Blessed Virgin Mary to three Portuguese shepherd children during Her apparitions in the early 1900’s) has been kept under lock and key.
Despite promises that it would be revealed to the world in 1960, the Secret, consisting of approximately 25 lines on a single sheet of paper, was suddenly suppressed in that year and Catholics were told it would probably remain under seal forever.
The four-page document released by the Vatican on June 26, which it claims is the Third Secret, has only renewed the Third Secret controversy. It is not the single sheet of paper containing words of the Virgin Mary which everyone had expected and to which the Vatican itself had referred in 1960.
The Vatican “spin” on the text released June 26 is that it refers to the assassination attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II in 1981 and other events entirely in the past. Many have asked why, if this is so, the Vatican continued to suppress the Secret for nearly 20 years after the assassination attempt.
The Fatima Crusader Issue 64 provides a detailed exposé of the machinations behind the recent controversial disclosures, as well as the background leading up to these events.
Many Catholic publications and secular journals have already expressed skepticism about the Vatican’s claim that what it released is the complete, authentic text of the long-awaited Third Secret. There has also been much criticism of the Vatican’s official interpretation of the document.
The Vatican has offered no explanation for its long suppression of this seemingly innocuous document, which contains none of the criticism of Church policies or leadership it was expected to contain.
While Vatican officials have attempted to close the door on Fatima with this publication, it seems clear that the real story is still unfolding, and there are more chapters to come.