Controversy over the Third Secret
The third secret of Our Lady of Fátima was made public on May 13, 2000, at the beatification Mass of Francisco and Jacinta Marto. The Mass was held in the Cova da Iria, where Our Lady told the young shepherds the three secrets.
As soon as the third secret was revealed, controversies spread like wildfire. Many questioned whether the Vatican was holding back the full secret. Was the Church revealing the authentic text? Where were the words about an impending great apostasy, a warning of a nuclear holocaust, or about Satan entering the Church? People wanted to believe that the third secret was about impending disasters. As Cardinal Ratzinger predicted, many were disappointed once the secret was revealed, and for some, disappointment led to suspicion.
Many conspiracy theories surfaced.
In the document The Message of Fátima, by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Bertone stated: “There is only one manuscript, which is here reproduced photostatically.” Sister Lúcia also confirmed the Vatican text. She met with Archbishop Bertone and Bishop Seraphim de Sousa of Leiria at her Carmelite convent in Coimbra, Portugal, on April 27, 2000. Two envelopes were presented to her by the archbishop. The first envelope was the outer envelope containing the second envelope, which held the third secret.
Sister Lúcia touched the letter and stated, “This is my letter.” She then read it and said, “This is my writing.” She was asked if it was the only third secret. She said, “Yes, this is the third secret, and I never wrote another.”
On November 17, 2001, Sister Lúcia met again with Archbishop Bertone. A Vatican Secret Service communiqué about their meeting, dated December 20, 2001, and titled “Sister Lucy: Secret of Fátima Contains No More Mysteries,” states:
“With reference to the third part of the secret of Fátima, [Sister Lúcia] affirmed that she had attentively read and meditated upon the booklet published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith [The Message of Fátima] and confirmed everything that was written there. To whoever imagines that some part of the secret has been hidden, she replied: ‘Everything has been published; no secret remains.’ To those who speak and write of new revelations, she said: ‘There is no truth in this. If I received new revelations, I would have told no one, but I would have communicated them directly to the Holy Father.’”
Our minds and hearts should be at complete ease knowing that before her 2005 death, Sister Lúcia made absolutely sure that Our Lady’s words and messages were revealed to the world at the proper time, and that the consecration of the world—including Russia to Mary’s Immaculate Heart—was fully made appropriately to satisfy the Blessed Mother.
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Source: blog.franciscanmedia.org
