"Echo
of Mary" No. 130 Nov-Dec 1996
Cardinal Ratzinger and the
Message of Fátima
Third
Secret of Fatima:
nothing sensational, it
regards crisis of faith
Cardinal Ratzinger, one of the
few people besides the Pope who knows the
secret of Fatima, was in Fatima on the anniversary date of 13 October.
During his visit he responded to questions by the most popular radio
station in Portugal, Radio Renascensa, regarding the third secret of
Fatima. He said: "To all the
curious people I say that the Virgin does
not create sensationalism, or fear, nor does She present apocalyptic
visions. Instead, She guides men towards Her Son, and this is the
essential."
If after 80 years the secret
has still not been published it is
because: "the Church wishes to oppose the expectation of unheard-of
things so that Marian devotion remains sincere. Our Lady did not appear
to the little shepherd children - unknown by the world - to create
sensation, but to call the world back to the Sacraments." The decision
to reveal the secret "depends on the Pope, but let us not forget that
the Pope is guided by the Holy Spirit..."
In the interview the Cardinal said that the fact that the Pope was
saved in the attempt on his life on the 13th May 1981 is a miracle.
"Alì Agcà was a sharp shooter, and the date itself is very
significant!" He added that what worries the Pope most today is the
"weariness in people's faith in so many parts of the world, especially
of those in Europe. Instead of being happy to know the true God, they
see Christianity as a burden or just a habit. And there are many who
want to create their own Church as though it were a private club,
forgetting that the Church was wanted by Jesus so we could know God and
His word and obtain salvation... We hope in the return of a new joy in
the faith."
The Cardinal then visited Sr. Lucia the 89 year-old visionary in the
Carmelite convent of Coimbra, and confirmed that the third secret "does
not regard something which we will have to one day face, but is a help
to the faith."
We think the Cardinal's explanations
coincide with Fr. Amorth's (see
Echo 126, pg. 4). When you put together the above elements: the
weariness in people's faith, especially in Europe, others who create
their own Church, and Mary who only wants to teach people about faith,
it is easy to deduce that the
secret regards the fall of faith, the
divisions in the Church and that this is Satan's moment. The
same
interpretation was also given by the bishop of Leiria-Fatima on the 16
August 1924. It was not without reason that Jesus said: "But
when the
Son of Man comes will he find any faith on the earth?" (Lk 18:8)
(1) In the transcript:
Bold and italics as in the original. Underline by The M+G+R Foundation
