Former
Cardinal Ratzinger attempted to deflect the warnings of Fatima
BACKGROUND
In 1996, Cardinal Ratzinger made a public statement about the Messages
of Fátima which was very disturbing because of the negative effect it
would have on the Faithful.
At that time, miguel de Portugal was moved to write to him about his
statements, and also made copies of this letter available to
possibly-interested parties within the Hierarchy and the worldwide
Media.
Since the original document is a lengthy letter, we have chosen to
prepare a fully referenced summary for the reader's convenience. (The
reader retains the option of reading the letter as it was sent in 1997 (1) since we had scanned the
original document and uploaded to our servers.)
INTRODUCTION
The following summarizes (a) Ratzinger’s October 1996 comments
downplaying the significance of the Fatima events, and (b) the April
1997 letter that Miguel de Portugal sent to Ratzinger (1), calling him (and the
Vatican) to repentance.
SUMMARY
Ratzinger’s attempt to deflect the
warnings of Fátima
In 1996, during his tenure as Prefect of the Congregation of the
Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger offered his
opinion of the Marian apparitions at Fátima, in order to deflect
apocalyptic expectations surrounding the Apparition and the messages
given by Our Lady.
On October 13, 1996, Ratzinger visited Fátima, and answered questions
from Radio Renascensa, the most popular station in Portugal. (2) According to a report in
"Echo of Mary", a newsletter
that promotes the Medjugorje phenomena, the Cardinal told “all the curious people” 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...» (2)
According to the same "Echo of Mary"
article,
«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.”» (2)
It is odd that Ratzinger felt the need to “confirm” the contents of the third
secret with anyone, because this article, published in 1996 while John
Paul II was Pope, indicated that Ratzinger was «one of the few people besides the Pope
who knows the secret of Fátima». (2)
On January 30 1997, the Portuguese periodical "Visão" made a similar report on
Ratzinger’s October 1996 visit to Fátima. (3) They said (in
translation),
«Faced
with the recent wave of expectation of apocalyptic events, the Vatican
saw the need to send Cardinal Ratzinger last October to Fátima to
announce that the secret no longer has any importance; that it does not
exist any longer. “It does not pertain to the future of the world (...)
The Virgin Mary does not want speculations about the future, nor does
she want to scare anyone.”» (4)
The response by miguel de Portugal
miguel de Portugal responded to Ratzinger’s statements on April 16,
1997, with a letter to the Cardinal titled “The Intoxication of the Messages of
Fátima and of Other Valid Marian Apparitions”. (5)
Thirteen years ago, he wrote this to Ratzinger:
“Cardinal Ratzinger, if you have not
been misquoted by the press, you have lied. … Your alleged statements
reach beyond Fátima. This compounds the problem. May we remind you that
the Apparitions of La Salette also have the endorsement of the Church?
Not only was the controlling hierarchy of the Church derelict in their
responsibility regarding the timing of the implementation of the
requests from Heaven, through Fátima, but now said events and requests
are being rewritten as a way of covering up past failings and
devastating future failings.”
miguel continued,
“If the original Fátima revelations and
events were a lie, The Vatican has endorsed, and continues to endorse,
the biggest financial fraud in the history of the Church and should be
prosecuted in an International Tribunal. If instead, they were not a
lie, The Vatican is responsible for the death of over 100 million
people as a result of not acting upon what God, through the Virgin Mary
at Fátima, asked to do to prevent such holocaust.”
Miguel concluded with a warning to Ratzinger and his allies:
“Lying, denying, and ignoring is not
the way to serve the Truth Incarnate – Jesus Christ. Confessing
wrongdoing and seeking forgiveness is. miguel de Portugal, in the Name
of God, have pleaded with and warned those who shamelessly control, for
the satisfaction of their egocentric purposes, the Church founded by
Our Lord Jesus Christ. There is still time to temper the level of
suffering God will allow upon the Church and mankind by abandoning the
erroneous path chosen by the Masters of the Vatican.”
The Vatican –and Ratzinger and his confederates– did not heed this
warning. With the release of the falsified “Third Secret” in 2000, and
with their continued efforts to manipulate the authentic messages from
Heaven (as given at Fátima, Akita, and elsewhere), the controlling
authorities of the Church have compounded their fraud, negligence, and
other crimes against God and man.
NOTES
(1) Actual
letter
(2) “Third Secret of Fátima:
nothing sensational, it regards crisis
of faith”, Echo of
Mary,
issue 130 (year 12, no. 6),
November-December 1996, viewed 02/24/10. We have the
same
newsletter and article in a copy on our site: “Former Cardinal Ratzinger
and the Message of Fátima”, Page 4 of 5
(5) An image of the
original letter is available at: “Former
Cardinal Ratzinger
and the Message of Fátima,” Page 1 of
5
and “Former Cardinal
Ratzinger
and the Message of Fátima,” Page 2 of 5
Document Originally Published
on June 30, 2006 - First Martyrs of the Roman Church
Summary added on February 28, 2010
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