Complete Translation of Original Text
VATICAN CITY, JUN 26, 2000 (VIS) - Given below is the complete translation of the original Portuguese text of the third part of the secret of Fatima, revealed to the three shepherd children at Cova da Iria-Fatima on July 13, 1917, and committed to paper by Sr. Lucia on January 3, 1944:
"I write in obedience to you, my God, who command me to do so through his Excellency the Bishop of Leiria and through your Most Holy Mother and mine.
"After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendor that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: 'Penance, Penance, Penance!'. And we saw in an immense light that is God: 'something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it' a Bishop dressed in White 'we had the impression that it was the Holy Father'. Other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark; before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God."
.../THIRD SECRET/... VIS 000626 (380)[Found at: VIS (Vatican Information Service).]
Click here for the interpretation made by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith -- includes a copy of the handwritten message, along with information on the First and Second Parts of The Secret.
[Note: The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was founded in 1542 and was originally called the Sacred Congregation of the Universal Inquisition as its duty was to defend the Church from heresy.]
VATICAN CITY, JUN 26, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office, the document "The Message Of Fatima" was presented. It has been prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and carries the signatures of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., respectively prefect and secretary of the congregation. Presentation of Text Text of Third Secret of Fatima
The document, which is over 40 pages long, has been published in English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Polish. It is made up of an introduction by Archbishop Bertone; the first and second parts of the "secret" of Fatima in Sr. Lucia's original text dated August 31, 1941 and addressed to the bishop of Leiria-Fatima, and a translation; the photostatic reproduction of the original manuscript of the third part of the "secret" and a translation; John Paul II's letter to Sr. Lucia dated April 19, 2000, and a translation; a summary of Sr. Lucia's conversation with Archbishop Bertone and Bishop Serafim de Sousa Ferreira e Silva of Leiria-Fatima which took place on April 27, 2000, in the Carmel Monastery of St. Teresa of Coimbra, Portugal; the words of Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano at the end of the beatification of Jacinta and Francisco on May 13, 2000; a theological commentary by Cardinal Ratzinger.
In his introduction, Archbishop Bertone affirms that "Fatima is undoubtedly the most prophetic of modern apparitions. ... In 1917 no one could have imagined all this: the three 'pastorinhos' of Fatima see, listen and remember, and Lucia, the surviving witness, commits it all to paper when ordered to do so by the Bishop of Leiria and with Our Lady's permission."
He continues: "The third part of the "secret" was written ... on January 3, 1944. There is only one manuscript, which is here reproduced photostatically. The sealed envelope was initially in the custody of the Bishop of Leiria. To ensure better protection for the 'secret' the envelope was placed in the secret archives of the Holy Office on April 4, 1957. The Bishop of Leiria informed Sr. Lucia of this."
The secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith indicates that "according to the records of the Archives, the Commissary of the Holy Office, Fr. Pierre Paul Philippe O.P., with the agreement of Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, brought the envelope containing the third part of the 'secret of Fatima' to Pope John XXIII on August 17, 1959. 'After some hesitation,' His Holiness said: 'We shall wait. I shall pray. I shall let you know what I decide.' In fact Pope John XXIII decided to return the sealed envelope to the Holy Office and not to reveal the third part of the 'secret.' Paul VI read the contents with the Substitute, Archbishop Angelo Dell'Acqua, on March 27, 1965 and returned the envelope to the Archives of the Holy Office, deciding not to publish the text. John Paul II, for his part, asked for the envelope containing the third part of the 'secret' following the assassination attempt on May 13, 1981," and this was given to Archbishop Eduardo Martinez Somalo, Substitute of the Secretariat of State, on July 18 of the same year. On August 11 it was returned to the Archives of the Holy Office.
"As is well known," added Archbishop Bertone, "Pope John Paul II immediately thought of consecrating the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and he himself composed a prayer for what he called an 'Act of Entrustment' which was to be celebrated in the Basilica of St. Mary Major on June 7 1981."
"In order to respond more fully to the requests of 'Our Lady,' the Holy Father desired to make more explicit during the Holy Year of the Redemption the Act of Entrustment of June 7, 1981, which had been repeated in Fatima on May 13, 1982."
"Sr. Lucia," continued the archbishop, "personally confirmed that this solemn and universal act of consecration corresponded to what Our Lady wished. Hence any further discussion or request is without basis."
Sr. Lucia had already hinted at the interpretation of the third part of the 'secret' in a letter to the Holy Father dated May 12, 1982. That letter is also published in the document.
Finally, Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone indicates that "the decision of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to make public the third part of the 'secret' of Fatima brings to an end a period of history marked by tragic human lust for power and evil, yet pervaded by the merciful love of God and the watchful care of the Mother of Jesus and of the Church."
.../MESSAGE FATIMA/BERTONE VIS 000626 (740)[Found at: VIS.]
Vatican Discloses Secret of Fatima
The Associated Press May 13 2000 1:58PM ET
FATIMA, Portugal (AP) - Ending an enduring mystery, the Vatican disclosed the so-called third secret of Fatima on Saturday, saying the secret the Virgin Mary is said to have told two children more than 80 years ago was a description of the shooting of Pope John Paul II.
Since 1917 -- when two shepherd children said the mother of Christ appeared above an olive tree in Fatima and told them three secrets -- many have speculated about the third.
The first two are said to have foretold the end of World War I and the start of World War II, and the rise and fall of Soviet communism. Some believed the third, unrevealed secret was a doomsday prophecy foretelling the end of the world.
But a top Vatican cardinal said otherwise on Saturday as the pope visited Fatima to beatify the two shepherd children from the story. Cardinal Angelo Sodano said the "interpretations" of the children spoke of a "bishop clothed in white" who, while making his way amid the corpses of martyrs, "falls to the ground, apparently dead, under a burst of gunfire."
The description recalled the 1981 assassination attempt against John Paul, who was wounded when a Turkish gunmen opened fire in St. Peter's Square. The shooting came on May 13 -- the same day as the first of the reported Fatima visions in 1917.
Sodano recalled that John Paul has credited the Virgin of Fatima with intervening and saving his life. He quoted the pope as saying a "motherly hand" guided the bullet's path, enabling the "dying pope" to halt "at the threshold of death."
Many in the crowd of more than 600,000 people gathered for the beatification burst into applause after Sodano, the Vatican's secretary of state, spoke. Lucia Dias, a 31-year-old lawyer, called it a "wonderful" moment.
"He knew of the prophecy and he survived it. Now he can die," she said.
Some in the crowd, however, expressed skepticism.
"What they said all happened in the past," said Julio Estela, 33, a Portuguese car salesman. "This isn't a prediction. It's disappointing, I think there's more."
The pope leaned on his staff as his hands trembled, a symptom of Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurological disorder. But his voice was clear and he seemed to gain strength as the ceremony went on.
"I desire once again to celebrate the goodness of the Lord toward me when, severely struck on that May 13, 1981, I was saved from death. I also express my debt to the blessed Jacinta for the sacrifices and prayers made for the Holy Father, whom she saw suffer greatly," John Paul said in his homily.
The pope made no direct mention of the so-called secrets, but he spoke of the horrors of the 20th century and the two world wars.
"So many victims during the final century of the second millennium!" John Paul said.
The first two of the so-called secrets were made public by a cousin of the children, Lucia de Jesus dos Santos. The woman -- now a 93-year-old cloistered nun -- met with John Paul near the tombs of her cousins, who both died within three years of the reported visions of complications from influenza. Lucia, in a black nun's habit, was assisted by two church officials as she walked with a cane.
Pope Punctures More Fanciful Fatima Predictions
LISBON, May 13 (Reuters) - For decades, the content of the so-called "Third Secret of Fatima," supposedly transmitted to three shepherd children by the Virgin Mary in 1917, has spawned fears and fancies.
From the date of Doomsday to sex scandals so scurrilous they would sink the Roman Catholic church, speculation has been rife about a prophesy that the Vatican apparently felt was too delicate to divulge.
But on Saturday, before hundreds of thousands of faithful gathered to witness the beatification of two of the three child visionaries, the Vatican drew back the veil -- at least partially.
On the instructions of the 79-year-old Pope, who was in Fatima to officiate at the beatification, the number two in the Vatican hierarchy, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, announced that the prophesy had foreseen the 1981 assassination attempt on the Pope and the persecution of the church by communist regimes.
He said other details would be released in the future.
"The vision of Fatima concerns above all the war waged by atheist systems against the church and Christians," Sodano said in an address at the end of the beatification ceremony.
The protection afforded to the Pontiff by the Virgin Mary, who Pope John Paul fervently believes saved him from an assassin's bullet 19 years ago in Rome, "seems also to be linked to the so-called third part of the secret of Fatima," he added.
According to Sister Lucia, a 93-year-old nun who is the last survivor of the three shepherds, the children saw a vision in which a "bishop clothed in white...falls to the ground, apparently dead under a burst of gunfire," the Cardinal said.
The Pope narrowly survived the attack by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca and later donated the bullet dug from his body to the sanctuary at Fatima where it was placed in the gold crown of the Madonna.
The secret of Fatima has been the subject of hundreds of books, fills thousands of web sites and even inspired a 1981 hijacking by a man who wanted the Vatican to reveal it.
Australian Laurence James Downy hijacked an Aer Lingus flight between Dublin and London holding test tubes he claimed were filled with explosives.
In 1998, Nicholas Gruner, a Catholic priest, warned that the secret predicted the Church would be rocked by sex scandals, while others have seen it linked to Armageddon or the collapse of Portugal's African empire, which it lost in the 1970s.
Sodano did not close the door completely to speculation when he said that the secret contained a "prophetic vision" similar to those found in the Bible.
The full version will be issued after "an appropriate" commentary has been prepared by the Vatican's Doctrine of the Faith to make it intelligible to believers.
But Sodano limited the room for the doomsday theorists when he added that "the events to which the third part of the Secret of Fatima refers now seem part of the past."
[From: ABC News]
Many thanks to Matt and Michael N. for e-mailing these articles.
English Version of Announcement
"At the conclusion of this solemn celebration, I feel bound to offer to our beloved Holy Father John Paul II, on behalf of all present, heartfelt good wishes for his approaching eightieth birthday and to thank him for his significant pastoral ministry for the good of all God's Holy Church.
"On the solemn occasion of his visit to Fatima, His Holiness has directed me to make an announcement to you. As you know, the purpose of his visit to Fatima has been to beatify the two 'little shepherds'. Nevertheless he also wishes his pilgrimage to be a renewed gesture of gratitude to Our Lady for her protection during these years of his papacy. This protection seems also to be linked to the so-called 'third part' of the secret of Fatima.
"That text contains a prophetic vision similar to those found in Sacred Scripture, which do not describe with photographic clarity the details of future events, but rather synthesize and condense against a unified background events spread out over time in a succession and a duration which are not specified. As a result, the text must be interpreted in a symbolic key.
"The vision of Fatima concerns above all the war waged by atheist systems against the Church and Christians, and it describes the immense suffering endured by the witnesses to the faith in the last century of the second millennium. It is an interminable Way of the Cross led by the Popes of the twentieth century.
"According to the interpretation of the 'little shepherds,' which was also recently confirmed by Sister Lucia, the 'bishop clothed in white' who prays for all the faithful is the Pope. As he makes his way with great effort towards the Cross amid the corpses of those who were martyred (bishops, priests, men and women religious and many lay persons), he too falls to the ground, apparently dead, under a burst of gunfire.
"After the assassination attempt of May 13 1981, it appeared evident to His Holiness that it was 'a motherly hand which guided the bullet's path,' enabling the 'dying Pope' to halt 'at the threshold of death.' On the occasion of a visit to Rome by the then bishop of Leiria-Fatima, the Pope decided to give him the bullet which had remained in the jeep after the assassination attempt, so that it might be kept in the Shrine. At the behest of the bishop, the bullet was later set in the crown of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
"The successive events of 1989 led, both in the Soviet Union and in a number of countries of Eastern Europe, to the fall of the Communist regime which promoted atheism. For this too His Holiness offers heartfelt thanks to the Most Holy Virgin. In other parts of the world, however, attacks against the Church and against Christians, together with the burden of suffering which they involve, tragically continue. Even if the events to which the third part of the Secret of Fatima refers now seem part of the past, Our Lady's call to conversion and penance, issued at the beginning of the twentieth century, remains timely and urgent today. 'The Lady of the message seems to read the signs of the times - the signs of our time - with special insight... The insistent invitation of Mary Most Holy to penance is nothing but the manifestation of her maternal concern for the fate of the human family, in need of conversion and forgiveness.'
"In order that the faithful may better receive the message of Our Lady of Fatima, the Pope has charged the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with making public the third part of the secret, after the preparation of an appropriate commentary.
"Let us thank Our Lady of Fatima for her protection. To her maternal intercession let us entrust the Church of the Third Millennium.
"'Sub tuum praesidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genetrix!.'
"Intercede pro Ecclesia Dei! Intercede pro Sancto Patre Iohanne Paolo II! Amen."
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