|
Brother Michel de la Sainte Trinitéof the Little Brothers of the Sacred Heart THE WHOLE TRUTH ABOUT FATIMA VOLUME III THE THIRD SECRET(1942-1960) translated by John Collorafi
|
On the
cover:
The
Basilica of Fatima (photo by Andrée Michel).
Notes
to the reader:
The first
three volumes of Toute la Verité sur Fatima were published in the mid
1980’s, well before the public disclosure of the Third Secret on June 26, 2000.
Therefore, all references to the Third Secret in these volumes should be interpreted
within this pre-revelational context. Volume 4 of this series, published in 2003, covers the actual Third
Secret in depth.
Also note
that Brother Michel’s references to a fourth volume in this series were
to a proposed work that he never completed. This work was eventually taken up
and re-developed by Brother François after the publication of the Third Secret.
Paperback
editions of the English translation of the first three volumes may be purchased
online from Father Nicholas Gruner’s website: The Fatima
Network.
Sadly, this organisation has embraced a very different interpretation of the
Third Secret from that of the Abbé de Nantes’ Catholic Counter-Reformation,
on whose Fatima studies they previously drew so heavily.
Copyright
© La Contre-Réforme Catholique, 10 260 Saint Parres-lès-Vaudes, France.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
VOLUME
III
THE THIRD
SECRET(1942-1960)
PART ONE:FROM THE SECOND TO THE
THIRD SECRET (1942-1958)
Section I: The Third Secret
entrusted to the Church (1943-1945)
INTRODUCTION: Sister Lucy, Heaven’s
messenger.• The life of a humble religious. • The testimony of Canon
Galamba.
Chapter 1: THE MESSAGE TO THE
BISHOPS OF SPAIN: THE TRUE REFORM THAT HEAVEN REQUESTS• I. The revelation of
June 12, 1941: The evils of the Church in Spain. • The duty of the
bishops. • An enlightening precedent: The directives of Saint Pius X to
the Portuguese bishops.• II. The passing on of the Message: a long
silence. • Don Garcia at Tuy.• III. The «true penance» Heaven requires:
new divine communications, the letter of February 28, 1943. • «True
penance» and «true reform».• IV. A reprimand full of love. • Sister
Lucy’s disquiet.
Chapter 2: THE THIRD SECRET:
PRELIMINARY HISTORICAL FACTS (1943-1945)• I. «The part of the Secret I am not
permitted to reveal». • The manuscript of the Secret. • The
addition in the Fourth Memoir.• II. The writing down and passing on of the
final Secret (June 1943 - June 17, 1944): a providential illness. • The
conversation in Valença. • Bishop da Silva in Tuy. • Sister Lucy’s
long agony. • A mysterious impediment. • Sister Lucy writes the
Secret after an apparition of Our Lady. • The transmission to Bishop da
Silva.• III. The Third Secret and the Church. • In Bishop da Silva’s
safe.
Section II: Rome between Fatima
and Moscow (1942-1948)
INTRODUCTION: The disparate effects
of an incomplete act.• The consecration of October 31, 1942. • An
incomplete act. • Consequences in two parts.
Chapter 3: THE MIRACLE OF FATIMA: A
SHOWER OF GRACES OVER THE WORLD (1942-1948)• 1942: The dawn of a Marian era.•
1943: The beginnings of the “Great Return”.• 1944: The feast of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary. • The warning to the bishops of Spain.• 1945: The progress
of devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.• 1946: Pius XII encourages it;
crowns the Virgin of Fatima. • pronounces a radio message. • The
miracle of the doves.• 1947: The missionary Virgin: in Italy, Canada and
Hungary. • Pius XII canonises Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort and
Catherine Labouré. • “The European Tour”. • Spain, France,
Benelux. • “American Tour”, “Portuguese Tour”.• 1948: Pius XII: Devotion
to Mary, pledge of hope.
Chapter 4: THE RED PERIL: «RUSSIA
WILL SPREAD ITS ERRORS, CAUSING WARS AND PERSECUTIONS» (1939-1948)• «The
history of our times such as God sees it». • The Bolshevik war.• I. A new
opportunity lost (Sept. 1939 - June 1941): The hour of Fatima.• II. Russia
delivered over to Communism for good.• III. Pius XII between Fatima and Moscow
(June 1941 - February 1943): Roosevelt’s manoeuvres. • The Secret
censored. • Rome-Moscow agreement? The consecration of the world. •
The turning point of the war.• IV. The crusade of the democracies for a
Bolshevik peace (January 1943 - August 1944). • Katyn. • An
outstretched hand to the Vatican. • Orlemanski. • Garigliano.
• Warsaw.• V. The Church’s great trial (June-December 1944). • The purge,
and complicity with Moscow. • Pius XII and the Third Secret. • The
radio message of Christmas 1944.• VI. The democracies, Stalin’s accomplices for
the great crimes of the war. • Yalta, Dresden, Potsdam, Soviet espionage
in the USA.• VII. Towards the Bolshevization of Europe? Annexed and satellite
countries. • Spain menaced, and miraculously protected. • France:
Marianne against the Virgin Mary. • Our Lady of Fatima scorned. • A
communist coup d’état.
Chapter 5: THE SEER OF FATIMA, FROM
TUY TO THE CARMEL OF COIMBRA (1942-1948)• The Immaculate Heart of Mary, our
final salvation. • Lucy at Fatima (May 1946). • Pius XII and the
Third Secret. • The vocation to Carmel. • The messenger of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary (1944-1948). • March 25, 1948: Sister Lucy
enters the Coimbra Carmel.
Section III: The hour of Fatima
had sounded once more (1948-1950)
Chapter 6: THE HOLY YEAR, A CRUCIAL
YEAR (1948-1950)• I. Towards the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
(1948-1949): Pius XII encourages Marian devotion. • May 1948: the triumph
of Our Lady of Fatima in Madrid. • The marvels of the “world tour”.• II.
The rising dangers: communism, progressivism and neo-modernism.• III. An
extraordinary remedy: a Council in the spirit of Fatima and Saint Pius X.
• Saint Pius X exalted. • Reparation. • Communism condemned.
• The true reform. • Our Lady of Fatima in Moscow.• IV. Shady manoeuvres
against Fatima and against the Council.• V. The great turning point of the Holy
Year. • Waiting for great decisions. • The miracle of Fatima at the
Vatican. • The dogma of the Assumption. • The triple meaning of the
miracle. • The Council: the decisive confrontation; Pius XII gives way
and abandons his project.
Section IV: Pope Pius XII... «Like the King of France»
(1950-1956)
Chapter 7: «THEY FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE
OF THE KING OF FRANCE BY DELAYING THE EXECUTION OF MY REQUEST...» (1950-1953)•
I. Towards the consecration of Russia? The initiative of Russian Catholics. The
closing of the jubilee in Fatima. • The congress on Fatima and the radio
message of Pius XII. • An unjustified optimism. • Towards the
consecration of Russia? • Dhanis. • Sacro vergente anno.
• An incomplete consecration? • Lucy’s disappointment, Fr. Schweigl’s
mission.• II. At Syracuse, Our Lady weeps (1953). • The meaning of the
miracle.Appendix I: The alarming progress of subversion in the Church.• Msgr.
Roncalli rehabilitates Marc Sangnier. • Msgr. Montini protects the
modernists, opposes the Council, dialogues with Moscow, advocates the opening
to the left, protects Fr. Congar, and is denied the cardinalate. •
Evangelii praecones: Rome against Christendom. • The pope of tomorrow?Appendix
II: A sad affair: the fake photographs of the dance of the sun.
Chapter 8: «LIKE THE KING OF
FRANCE, THEY DID NOT WANT TO HEED MY REQUEST...» (1953-1956)• Pius XII, Fatima
and the tempest threatening the Church.• 1953: The controversy over the Secret
of Fatima, the evaluation of Fr. Dhanis.• 1954: The Marian year will not be the
year of Fatima. • Ad coeli Reginam. • «When the darkness
grows thicker» • Syracuse, a miracle for nothing? • Against Mary
Mediatrix. • A double project which God did not accept.• 1955: Pius XII
says no to the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. • Two favourable
briefs. • The refusal. • Cardinal Ottaviani at Coimbra; Sister Lucy
reduced to silence.• 1956: Pius XII and the revelations of Paray-le-Monial and
Fatima: Haurietis aquas.Appendix I: The battle for «the preservation of
the dogmas of the faith» (1953-1956)• The canonisation of Pius X. • Saint
Pius X despised.Appendix II: The miracle of Fatima continues (1953-1956).• The
Portuguese miracle. • An Austrian miracle? • Spain under the sign
of Fatima. • Conversions in the Anglo-Saxon world.Appendix III: Fatima,
Moscow and the Vatican (1953-1956)• I. The USSR at the hour of peaceful
coexistence: Father Reding at Moscow. • Christian democracy in the
service of Ostpolitik. • Towards a Rome-Moscow agreement?• II. A
dangerous illusion: “The conversion of Russia has already begun”.• III.
Decolonization, a new phase in the plan of Bolshevik expansion. • Would
Rome betray Christendom?Appendix IV: A point of history: the “treason” of Msgr.
Montini.
Section V: Pius XII faces the
Third Secret (1957-1958)
Chapter 9: THE THIRD SECRET OF OUR
LADY: «THEY DID NOT WANT TO READ IT!» (1944-1958)• I. The intended recipients
of the Third Secret and the date of its publication. • The immediate
recipient, Bishop da Silva. • Pius XII could have read it in 1944.
• It must be read to the world in 1960. • “Because the Blessed Virgin
wishes it so”.• II. The Third Secret: from Leiria to Rome. • Why did the
Vatican ask for it?• III. Pius XII faced with the Third Secret: the manuscript
in the office of the Pope. • Pius XII did not read it.• IV. The triumph
of the anti-Fatima party. • A long silence. • A manoeuvre of the
anti-Fatima party. • Why Pius XII did not read the Secret.
Chapter 10: «THE BLESSED VIRGIN IS
VERY SAD BECAUSE NOBODY PAYS ATTENTION TO HER MESSAGE...»• Sister Lucy’s
conversation with Father Fuentes (1957).• The reign of Pius XII in the light of
Fatima: review of the pontificate.
PART TWO:THE THIRD SECRET HIDDEN
(1958-1960)
Chapter 1: THE CHURCH’S GREAT HOPE
(1958-1959)• Two discourses by John XXIII. • In the USA, Fatima on
television. • Portugal renews its consecration to the Immaculate Heart of
Mary. • Italy under the sign of Fatima. • Fatima, hope of the
Church.Appendix I: Act of consecration of Portugal to the Most Holy Heart of
Jesus and Mary.
Appendix II: Was the “dance of the
sun” repeated in 1959?
Chapter 2: ROME AGAINST FATIMA?
(1959)• I. An unexpected offensive against Fatima: Fr. Fuentes disavowed.
• The note from the chancery of Coimbra. • Fr. Alonso rehabilitates Fr.
Fuentes.• II. The reading of the Third Secret by Pope John XXIII (August
1959). • John XXIII reads the final Secret. Problematic consultations. In
a deep, dark, dark well.• III. A second disavowal of Fatima: the radio message
of September 13, 1959. • Our Lady of Fatima in Rome. • A derisory
compensation. • Appendix: John XXIII and the Third Secret according to
Msgr. Capovilla.
Chapter 3: «THE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY
SPIRIT»: THE SECRET OF MARY DESPISED (1960)• A unanimous and fervent wait for
the publication.• I. A bewildering decision: the Secret of Fatima will not be
revealed. • The communiqué of the agency A.N.I.• II. The Portuguese
authorities despised. • Cardinal Cerejeira; Bishop Venancio.• III. The
lies of Fr. Caprile (June 1960).• IV. The final attempt of Bishop Venancio (May
17 - October 13, 1960). • Letter to the bishops of the whole world.
• Bishop Venancio at the Vatican. • John XXIII’s letter to Cardinal
Micara. • October 13, 1960: Fatima under the tempest.• V. «The sin
against the Holy Spirit»: the Secret of Mary despised. • Towards a new
and terrible chastisement.
PART THREE:THE THIRD SECRET
UNVEILED
INTRODUCTION: At the heart of the
mystery of Fatima, the final Secret of Our Lady.• It is the Secret of Mary. The
whole of Fatima depends on it. • Since 1960, there are only two
solutions.
Section I: A decipherable Secret
Chapter 1: THE CERTAIN FACTS.• I. A
first vital fact: we know the context of the Third Secret.• II. A second fact:
the circumstances in which it was written down.• III. A very illuminating
enigma: since 1960, the Popes have refused to reveal it.• IV. The prophecy of
the Third Secret is being fulfilled before our eyes since 1960.
Chapter 2: THE FALSE SECRETS.• I.
The false Secret of Neues Europa (1963).• II. False news and false
secrets. • The Third Secret disappeared from the Vatican. • A new
imposture. • Again, the Secret of Neues Europa. • November
1980: the declarations of John Paul II at Fulda. • September 1981: a
declaration of the Bishop of Leiria. • A well-kept Secret.
Chapter 3: THE FALSE HYPOTHESES.• A
simple moral exhortation? No, a true prophecy. • An obscure prophecy? A
prophecy of good things or bad? • The prediction of the end of the
world? • Atomic war? • A chastisement of the spiritual order.
• Finally, the truth triumphs: the Bishop of Fatima indicates the essential
contents of the Third Secret.
Section II: The real contents of
the Third Secret
Chapter 4: THE LOSS OF FAITH.• I.
«In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved.» • The
decisive sentence. A reassuring promise in a dramatic context.• II. Apostasy
will invade the Church. • The rallying of the experts. An unprecedented
apostasy.• III. Since 1960 the prophecy is being fulfilled before our eyes.
Chapter 5: THE DEFICIENCIES OF THE
PASTORS AND THEIR CHASTISEMENT.• I. The role of the Pope in the Secret
revealed. • The Pope, the first one to whom Our Lady’s requests are
addressed. • From the Pope alone will come deliverance. • The Popes
will undergo the chastisement of their disobedience.• II. The Third Secret
announces the deficiencies of the pastors. • The Pope free of
responsibility for the apostasy in the Church? • Parallel
chastisements. • The thesis of Fr. Alonso: grave shortcomings of the
upper hierarchy.• III. Now everything is explained. • Three months of
agony. • Some revealing admissions. • Why the Secret was not
disclosed. • The thought that haunted the three seers: pray for the Holy
Father. • Jacinta’s visions.Appendix I: Cardinal Ottaviani speaks about
the Third Secret of Fatima (February 11, 1967 - July 7, 1977).Appendix II: Fr.
Freire’s hypothesis: the final Secret concerns Portugal.
Chapter 6: THE HOUR OF THE DECISIVE
BATTLE BETWEEN OUR LADY AND THE DEVIL.• I. Sister Lucy’s disclosures to Fr.
Fuentes.• II. «A diabolical wave is sweeping over the world»: Sister Lucy’s
letters from 1969 to 1971. • This disorientation is diabolical. •
The intrepid audacity of the Devil’s supporters. • The Devil has
succeeded in infiltrating evil under cover of good. • The hour of Satan,
the hour of Peter’s great trial.
Chapter 7: THE GREAT APOSTASY OF
THE “LAST TIMES” PREDICTED BY THE SCRIPTURES.The prophecies despised.• I. We
are in the times of the great apostasy. • The prophecies of Our
Lord. • The apostolic preaching. • Fatima and the great apostasy.•
II. We are in the time of the triumph of the antichrist powers. • The
mystery of iniquity according to Saint Paul. • Fatima before the mystery
of iniquity. • A striking prophecy of Saint Pius X.
Chapter 8: THE THREE SECRETS OF
FATIMA: AN APOCALYPSE FOR THE 20th CENTURY.• I. The mystery of the
First Secret: facing the infernal Dragon, the Immaculate. • The Woman and
the Dragon of the Apocalypse. • The Immaculate and the Devil in the
Fatima message.• II. The mystery of the Second Secret: the Beast in the service
of the Dragon. • The first Beast of the Apocalypse. • The first
Beast, Russia and Fatima.• III. The mystery of the Third Secret: the False
Lamb, False Prophet in the service of the Beast. • The False
Prophet. • The false prophets of Modernism. • The False Lamb in the
service of the First Beast. • The red, progressive Christians in the
service of the Beast. • With the power of the Lamb. • The prodigies
of the False Prophet. • The prophetic writings, a source of hope. •
The mystery of the Third Secret.Appendix: Cardinal Ratzinger speaks about the
Third Secret (1984-1985).• Synopsis of the two successive versions.• I. The
reasons for non-publication: two inconsistent pretexts.• II. The contents of
the Third Secret: The truth betrayed.• III. Calculated ambiguities. • A
confirmation of our demonstrations.
CONCLUSION:FROM THE THIRD SECRET TO
THE SECRET OF SECRETS
The contents of the Third
Secret. • If we are right. • And if we are mistaken? • Either
way, it is urgent to reveal it. Beyond the Third Secret, the “Secret of
secrets”.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE THIRD SECRET
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST
INTRODUCTION
SISTER LUCY, HEAVEN’S MESSENGER
To relate the wonderful history of
Fatima, we must always return to the first manifestations of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary at the Cova da Iria, in June and July of 1917. They are like a
divine wellspring, from which this great river of grace and mercy has been
poured out over the world. We must return to the central apparition of July 13,
where Our Lady of Fatima revealed Her great prophetic message to the three
shepherds: the threefold and wonderful Secret of Her Immaculate Heart, the
salvation of souls and nations and the Church’s ultimate recourse before the
unchained forces of evil.
But we must also return to Her
apparition of June 13, 1917, when She revealed to the three seers their
individual vocation, their particular mission in Her service. To Lucy’s prayer,
«I would like to ask You to take us to Heaven», Our Lady had replied: «Yes,
Jacinta and Francisco, I will take them soon, but you Lucy, shall remain here
for a certain time. Jesus wishes to use you to make Me known and loved. He
wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart.» And to
Lucy’s anguished question, «Am I to remain here all alone?» Our Lady had
responded by a solemn promise: «No, My daughter. You suffer a great deal; do
not be discouraged, I will never abandon you! My Immaculate Heart will be
your refuge and the way which will lead you to God.»1
«MY IMMACULATE HEART WILL BE
YOUR REFUGE...»
Over twenty years later, these
words still resounded in Lucy’s heart and formed the whole basis of her
consolation, for the wonderful promise had been entirely fulfilled. Lucy
privately confided this to her former confessor, Father Aparicio:
«The
Immaculate Heart of Mary is my refuge, especially in the most difficult hours.
There I am always secure. It is the heart of the best of mothers; it is always
attentive and it watches over the least of its children. How this certainty
encourages and strengthens me! In Her I find strength and consolation. This
Immaculate Heart is the canal by which God makes the multitude of His graces
gush into my soul. Help me to be grateful to Her and to correspond to such
great mercies.»2
«JESUS WISHES TO USE YOU...»
These choice graces also helped her
fulfil her vocation as Heaven’s messenger. The years of the World War, which
were also her last years spent in the active life — for before long, in 1948,
she went to be buried behind the grilles of Carmel — were a period of very
intense literary activity for her. Along with her usual correspondence with her
confessors and Bishop da Silva, we have seen how she wrote a long letter to
Pope Pius XII in 1940. Then she passed on Our Lord’s requests to Cardinal
Cerejeira. Now we are going to see her speaking to the bishops of Spain. But
above all, this was the period when she wrote down the literal and complete
text of Our Lady’s great Secret: the first two parts in 1941, in her Third and
Fourth Memoirs, and the third part, this final Secret which still has not been
divulged, in January 1944, written in dramatic circumstances which we have yet
to explain. For the exact context of this writing of the text is a very
significant clue in trying to discover the probable content of this text.
Beyond any doubt it is the most important text written by a human hand since the
death of the inspired authors who wrote down the original and total Divine
Revelation of Jesus Christ, Son of God and Saviour of the world.
THE LIFE OF A HUMBLE RELIGIOUS
However, we must not get the wrong
idea: in spite of her role as Heaven’s messenger, in her convent of Tuy Sister
Maria das Dores preserved in ordinary life all her childlike simplicity, all
the spontaneity of a little Portuguese peasant girl. Among her sisters nothing
distinguished her externally except perhaps her humble gaiety and her
enthusiasm. «She was very cheerful and very simple.» This is what one of
her old companions at Tuy, whom I was recently able to question, told me about
her. She added this phrase which underscores how well the Fatima seer had
maintained her humility, steering clear of any originality or excesses which
would have set her apart and drawn attention to her: «She was a holy
religious... like others that were in the community.»
Along with her labours in the
sewing room, where she made clothing for the Sisters, Lucy was often called to
leave the cloister. She remained very natural in her office as seer, and as
Father Alonso reports she became «the best known, most liked and esteemed
person in the whole population of Tuy... The people greeted her with courtesy,
without any appearance of curiosity. Agents of government bureaus and
businesses could even joke with her about having had the honour of speaking
with “the one who saw the Holy Virgin”. But there was a natural respect which
imposed itself on them and which Lucy herself imposed on them. Her conduct was
always dignified and reserved in responding to the affability with which she
was received everywhere.» She also exercised the office of catechist in various
points of the town, with great success among the children.3 «Lucy does much good for the children and
all those who approach her», the superior at Tuy confided to Father Jongen.4
A CHOSEN INSTRUMENT
Canon Galamba, who at this period
had the privilege of visiting her often, has left us a precious testimony
concerning her which we must quote here in full:
«Like her
cousins, Lucy was unlettered. At the moment of the apparitions she did not even
possess a primary education, and it was Our Lady who ordered her to learn how
to read. If possessing nothing else of hers except the photographs from that
time which still exist, many specialists, considering only the photographs,
would make a false judgment on the degree of her intelligence and on her other
qualities. Thanks to God, Lucy is not dead, and as the years pass we can make a
detailed analytical study of her personality.
«The
impression is totally different after one has spent a half hour with her. She
is simple and is not concerned with her manner of being and presenting herself.
There is nothing extraordinary in her appearance, her words, or her glance. She
converses like any other religious and when the opportunity is offered to her,
she is spiritual and light-hearted, but the light-heartedness is moderate,
modest and well-balanced. She does not speak with arrogance and haughtiness but
she simply offers her opinion timidly, if she is obliged.
«She does
not like to speak about the apparitions, and to lead her onto this subject is
always delicate and risks upsetting her. When she feels obliged to do so, she
does it with naturalness, with modesty, but with assurance. She does not
discuss her purely interior motions without accompanying her statements with a
prudent “It seems to me”, “If I am not mistaken”, or similar phrases.
«Her
glance is serene, she speaks with poise, and her whole being is calm. There is
nothing about her which could, even from afar, give us the idea of a neurotic,
excitable person or a visionary.
«She
expresses herself with a great facility and a natural elegance remarkable for a
person deprived of all literary formation. She is endowed with a very faithful,
rapid, extraordinary memory. Facts and words seem to remain engraved in her
memory and imagination. Her intelligence is lucid, brilliant, and she possesses
an admirable faculty for discernment and reasoning.
«In her
life as a young girl, before leaving her family and her native land there was
nothing bizarre or affected about her. One would have said she was like any
other young girl. As a religious, whether understood or not, she has always
been exemplary, and the other novices and professed sisters loved very much
going to her and associating with her intimately, even before knowing who she
was.
«In
physical suffering and moral suffering, she has always known how to remain full
of joy or at least in supernatural conformity with God’s Holy Will. She shows
great docility to the orders of her superiors, in which she always recognizes
the divine authority. She is no less respectful to her spiritual directors as
well as the venerable Bishop of Leiria, His Excellency Don José Alves Correia
da Silva, whose opinion she requests and generally adopts with humility and
trust, even when it is contrary to her own way of seeing and feeling.
«Here is
the unanimous opinion of all those who have approached her or studied her
calmly and impartially... There is really nothing in her personality which
permits us to judge that her declarations are the fruit of her own imagination
or the effect of an action exerted upon her by some other person.»5
Endnotes
(1) Cf.
our Volume I, p. 158-159.(2) Letter to Father Aparicio, September 1, 1940. A.
M. Martins, Documentos de Fatima. p. 491-493.(3) Alonso, Fatima, Espana, Rusia,
p. 46-47.(4) Interviews in February, 1946.(5) Fatima, Altar do mundo, Vol. II,
p. 32-33.
CHAPTER I
THE MESSAGE TO THE BISHOPS OF SPAIN:THE TRUE REFORM
THAT HEAVEN REQUESTS
We have already described how in
Spain, between 1931 and 1939, the terrible prophecies of the great Secret about
Bolshevik Russia’s role as the scourge of God and “rod of the divine wrath’’ in
our twentieth century began to be fulfilled.1
But the very close relationship between Fatima and Spain was not limited to
this terrible prophecy. In 1941, Heaven intervened once more to deliver the
Fatima seer a message directly concerning the Church of Spain, the evils it
suffered from and the means to be employed to remedy them.
Thanks to the decisive work Fatima,
Espana, Rusia, published by Father Alonso in 19762 as a summary of his great critical study,
today we can give a full description of this almost unknown chapter in the
history of Fatima. The author, who does not hide his most ardent love for
Catholic Spain, his dear homeland, was able to show with great skill the
importance of Heaven’s messages concerning Spain. We shall also show how beyond
its immediate application, the wider significance of this grave warning
addressed to the Pastors of the Church can be easily perceived.
I. THE
REVELATION OF JUNE 12, 1941
Once again this divine
communication took place on a Thursday evening, during the holy hour which Lucy
made faithfully each week in conformity with the Sacred Heart’s requests at
Paray-le-Monial.3 But
this was no ordinary Thursday, it was Corpus Christi, and in addition, that
evening Sister Lucy was undoubtedly united in spirit with the pilgrims at the
Cova da Iria who were going to spend the night in prayer to begin the
ceremonies of June 13.
Here is the most complete account
of this divine communication, addressed by the seer to Archbishop Garcia y
Garcia of Valladolid. He was the former Bishop of Tuy, who for this reason had
become one of her spiritual advisors:4
«To
satisfy the desires of Our Good Lord and Your Excellency, with the greatest
clarity possible for me I explain what the Good Lord deigned to communicate to
me so that I could pass it on to you.
THE HOLY
HOURS OF ADORATION AND REPARATION. «With the permission of my superiors, I have
the custom of remaining in prayer in the chapel until midnight from Thursday to
Friday. In these hours of very great recollection, the Good Lord has the habit
of communicating Himself so intensely to my poor soul that I do not doubt His
presence in any way. Ordinarily, after having confounded me in my own
nothingness and my own misery by making me feel what there is in me that displeases
Him, He continues by lamenting other things which, in the poor world, cause
Him such pain.»5
THE EVILS
OF THE CHURCH IN SPAIN. «On June 12, 1941, He complained especially about
the coldness and laxity of the clergy of Spain both secular and regular, and
the indifference of the sinful life of the Christian people.»
THE
REMEDY PROPOSED. «And He continued thus: If the bishops of Spain gathered each
year in a house specially chosen to make their retreat, and if, with a common
accord, they decided on the course to follow in leading the souls confided to
them, they would receive enlightenment and special graces from the Divine
Spirit.
«Make
it known to the Archbishop (of Valladolid) that I ardently desire the
bishops to meet in a retreat to arrange among themselves and determine with a
common accord the means to be employed for the reform of the Christian people
and to remedy the laxity of the clergy and a great part of the religious. The
number of those who serve Me in the practice of sacrifice is very limited. I
have need of souls and of priests who serve Me by sacrificing themselves for Me
and for souls...
«The Good
Lord will make known to Your Excellency the reality of His desires and He
promises to bless the efforts you will deign to make to satisfy them.»6
A MESSAGE FOR THE CHURCH
This divine communication certainly
marks an important date in the gradual revelation of the message of Fatima. It
is not absolutely new because already, a few months earlier, Sister Lucy had
reported similar complaints of Our Lord concerning the world and sometimes
Portugal as well. Still, this message which directly concerns the internal life
of the Church and the evils it suffers from, is expressed here for the first
time with clarity and insistence. Also for the first time, Heaven proposes a
precise remedy for the evil denounced.
THE EVILS
OF THE CHURCH IN SPAIN. What
are the evils of which Our Lord bitterly complains to His confidant? They are
«the coldness and sinful life of the Christian people». They are «the very limited
number of souls in the state of grace, disposed to give up whatever is demanded
of them by the observance of His law.»7
But the indifference of the people
is undoubtedly only the effect of the laxity of consecrated souls. For Our Lord
also complains above all, to repeat Sister Lucy’s most vigorous expressions, of
«the sinful, lax and listless life of a great number of priests and religious,
souls from which He expects reparation and which move Him on the contrary, to
indignation and chastisement.»8
There are few souls who fully correspond to His designs of mercy: «The number
of those who serve Me (He is speaking here about consecrated souls) in the
practice of sacrifice is very limited! I need souls and priests who serve Me by
sacrificing themselves for Me and for souls.»
Once again, we are very much in
line here with the message of the Sacred Heart at Paray-le-Monial. In His great
revelation of June 16, 1675, Our Lord already complained about the infidelity
of consecrated souls. Here we must recall this divine oracle, the last phrases
of which are very often omitted or toned down.
«Behold
this Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, exhausting itself
and consuming itself to give them evidence of its love, and in return I receive
for the most part only ingratitude by their irreverences and their sacrileges,
and by the coldness and scorn they have for Me in this Sacrament of Love. But
what pains Me most is that it is hearts consecrated to Me who treat Me thus.
This is why I ask you...»
The Sacred Heart goes on to ask for
reparation for all these offenses.9
The same complaints and the same
requests which the Sacred Heart once addressed to Saint Margaret-Mary, it now
addresses to His messenger from Fatima. Faced with the unchaining of the forces
of evil and the deluge of sin in a world which is more and more involved in a
satanic revolt against Him, God needs more than ever faithful souls, generous
and fervent souls entirely consecrated to Him, who console His outraged Heart,
and through a life full of duty and sacrifice make reparation for the crimes of
apostate humanity.
THE
BISHOPS’ DUTY: REFORM “IN HEAD AND MEMBERS”. There is another element in this message of June 12, 1941.
Our Lord indicates to the seer the remedy which must be applied to this evil:
this «True reform of the people and the clergy» is to be promoted by the
bishops. Let them remember that they have “charge of souls”! Whether the
faithful and consecrated souls themselves are more or less fervent, more or
less holy – it belongs to the zeal of the bishops to make the necessary
decisions! On them and on them alone it is incumbent to lay down the
disciplinary decrees or courageous measures which will re-establish the good
spirit and fervour in the clergy and religious orders, and good Christian
morals among the Faithful.
The maxim dear to Saint Pius X, «do
your duty and everything will go well», summarizes the spirit of this
request of Our Lord perfectly. Notice here that the revelation is not a
substitute for the ordinary exercise of the episcopal ministry. Heaven simply
and urgently requests the pastors of the flock to fulfil the conditions
necessary to receive the graces of light and strength which will make them take
together the measures adequate for the «true reform» requested: “Each year let
them meet in a retreat to determine by a common accord the road to follow in
leading the souls entrusted to them.” In effect it is certain that in a Church
where true Catholic doctrine and the great traditional discipline impose
themselves on everybody without being disputed by anyone, bishops’ meetings
have always been the most effective means of remedying abuses, and encouraging
and supporting all holy enterprises in the service of God.
Let us retain but one example,
which is closely related to the history of Fatima since it concerns the rebirth
of the Church in Portugal. The latter had fallen very low at the beginning of
this century, victim of a concordat arrangement under a corrupt, liberal and
Masonic monarchy.
AN
ENLIGHTENING PRECEDENT: THE DIRECTIVES OF SAINT PIUS X (1905). Lamentable scandals had taken place at the
major seminary of Lisbon. Without any delay, Saint Pius X reacted vigorously.
On May 5, 1905, he addressed the letter Sollicito vehementer animo to the
Patriarch, Cardinal Neto. It is a brief document but rich in doctrine, and its
conclusion particularly interests us here.
Having examined the «unbelievable
sorrow» which the recent grave disorders had caused him, the holy Pope took
advantage of the occasion to address a vigorous exhortation to the Portuguese
bishops to watch over the good order in their seminaries with greater care:
«We beg
you, do not let your zeal as pastors of souls fail in any way on this point...
If these establishments faithfully preserve their character and their reason
for existence, very great things can be expected of them; on the contrary, if
they depart little by little from this purpose, the greatest evils are to be
feared: this has just been confirmed by sad experience. Therefore, if you have
at heart – and it is a grave duty for you – the vigilance to admit into your
clergy priests who will in no way dishonour the holy ministry by their
ignorance, their laziness, or bad morals, but on the contrary demonstrate their
worthiness by their knowledge, their zeal, their integrity of life, it is
obvious that each of you is bound to ensure good order in your seminary.»
The significant part is that, after
reminding the bishops of «the duties incumbent upon them» and the necessity
that they «not do anything contrary to their conscience as bishops», Saint Pius
X concluded with a formal order corresponding precisely to the request which
Our Lord addressed to the bishops of Spain in 1941 through Sister Lucy:
«In this
whole affair (i.e. the dignity and holiness of clerical life), which touches
each of you in particular as well as all of you in general, since the salvation
of the Church in Portugal depends on it, let it not suffice for you to
exercise your zeal in isolated efforts; rather we desire that you combine your
enlightenment and deliberate together to study the best way of attaining the
goal pursued by all. For this reason, since we have learned that the custom of
having solemn bishops’ meetings has been interrupted in your country, you will
see that it returns in force as early as possible, and especially in view of
the question of which we are speaking.»10
When Our Lord urgently requests the
bishops of Spain to meet to determine together the proper means of effecting
the necessary reform of the Christian people, the clergy and religious orders,
clearly it is not a case of substituting a collective authority for the
inalienable authority of each pastor at the head of his flock. In the case of
the bishops, it is a way of mutually enlightening each other and assisting each
other to make salutary decisions, however painful and sad they might be. These
requests from Heaven refer to the great age-old tradition of the Church, the
tradition of the Council of Trent, the tradition of Saint Pius X.
II. THE
PASSING ON OF THE MESSAGE
A LONG SILENCE
Curiously, the letter we have
quoted, where Sister Lucy explains in detail the divine communication received
on June 12, 1941, was not written until a year and a half after the event.
Later on the seer avowed that she had hesitated a very long time before making
known this warning from Heaven to her directors. The fact must be stressed: she
experienced an extreme reluctance at revealing this kind of message concerning
the disorders of the Church. If there was any need, this reserve, this almost
insurmountable difficulty in passing on revelations which are accusatory of the
clergy and hierarchy of the Church, testifies in her favour.
But perhaps there is something
more. Perhaps another motive might have been at work, encouraging our seer to
maintain silence. If this message to Spain has some relation with the themes of
the third Secret, which Our Lady had not yet permitted her to reveal, we can
easily understand her procrastination and her long delay before she dared to
reveal it. Later on she was to accuse herself of cowardice, where perhaps she
had been paralyzed by doubts and uncertainty on what she could say and what she
had to keep silent on... The hypothesis is very possible.
In any case, months passed and
Sister Lucy continued to keep secret this complaint of Our Lord regarding the
Spanish Church. Fortunately, she was finally led to speak by providential
circumstances and a formal order of her spiritual director.
A PROVIDENTIAL VISIT BY THE
BISHOP OF TUY(AT THE END OF NOVEMBER 1942)
Msgr. Garcia y Garcia, who had been
bishop of the little city of Galicia since 1935, had great esteem for the
Fatima seer. He considered her one of the sheep of his flock, and although he
himself visited her frequently, he had charged his vicar general, Don Angel
Varela, with being her ordinary spiritual director.11 After the death of Maria Rosa, Lucy’s
mother, on July 16, 1942, he showed how great was his paternal affection for
our little seer: in his diocesan bulletin he published a concession of
indulgences in favour of those who would pray for the repose of her mother’s
soul.12
Don Antonio Garcia had his
doctorate in theology, philosophy and canon law from the Gregorian University
of Rome, and was well known in Spain for his numerous writings. At that period,
he enjoyed great authority within the Spanish episcopate.
Appointed recently to the see of
Valladolid, the new Archbishop remained at the same time apostolic
administrator of Tuy while he waited for a successor to be appointed. At the
end of November, 1942, during a visit to the Dorothean convent, he had a long
conversation with Sister Lucy. Shortly afterwards, Sister Lucy received a
written account of this conversation, no doubt from the Bishop of Gurza, Don
Manuel Ferreira, who at the time was her principal spiritual director. Lucy
recalls:
«The
Archbishop of Valladolid spoke to me with great interest about devotion to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary. He told me that he had always been persuaded that the
reign of the Heart of Jesus would not come without being preceded by that of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary, since it is through her that everything comes to
us.»
A
WONDERFUL INTERVENTION OF HEAVEN. «He told me how before making the blueprint
for the construction of a church in honour of the Sacred Heart at Valladolid,
in the very place where this divine Heart had told Father Hoyos that He would
reign in Spain,13 the architect, confused, presented him the
blueprint with a spectacular tower dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
telling him: “I don’t know how this happened, most excellent Lord, it seemed
that an invisible being guided my hand; and without knowing how, without having
thought of it, I found that I had this tower dedicated to the Immaculate Heart
of Mary.” “Very well”, His Excellency answered, “the tower of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary will reign in the temple of the Heart of Jesus. These two Hearts
are inseparable...”»
«IT IS
NOW OVER A YEAR AGO THAT OUR LORD INSISTED...» «It was a consolation to see how
the Good Lord moved hearts (to lead them) to the fulfilment of His designs; but
as always it is I who do the least in this respect: it is now over a year ago
(the first divine communication took place on June 12, 1941), that Our Lord
insisted that I manifest His desires to His Grace the Bishop (of Valladolid).
(He wants) the bishops of Spain to meet in a retreat and discuss together the
means they must employ to remedy the laxity of the clergy and Christian people.
«In
spite of the great opportuneness of this occasion to explain it to him,
timidity closed my mouth; although His Excellency had asked me three times
if I had anything to explain to him or ask him, or if I desired something of
him, etc, etc... His Excellency is a saint, but it is I who am incapable of
anything. Until the present I have not spoken of this desire of Our Lord out
of fear that someone order me to reveal it.»14
In effect that is what happened.
The Bishop of Gurza answered her immediately, assuring her that this
communication certainly came from God and that it must be passed on without
delay to its intended recipient, the Archbishop of Valladolid. So on January
17, 1943, Sister Lucy took up her pen to write to Bishop Garcia y Garcia. But
this first letter, which Father Alonso quotes from,15 was very brief, and the Archbishop asked
her for more ample information. In response to this request, she immediately
wrote the more complete account we have quoted at the beginning of this
chapter.
III. THE
«TRUE PENANCE» HEAVEN REQUIRES
SOME NEW DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS:THE
LETTER OF FEBRUARY 28, 1943
Still encouraged by the Bishop of
Gurza, and perhaps also to answer some of his questions, Sister Lucy wrote a
long letter on February 28, 1943. In his last work Father A. M. Martins gives
the integral text. In this letter she expresses with precision the various
divine communications she had already received months before. But she also
alludes to new divine locutions heard during a holy hour between Thursday
(evening) and Friday, for which she does not give the exact date.
Because of the importance of the
themes it takes up, this text constitutes one of the major documents of the
history of Fatima.
THE
CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART. The Good Lord has already shown me His
contentment with the act, although incomplete according to His desire,
performed by the Holy Father and several bishops. He promises in return to end
the war soon. The conversion of Russia is not for now.»
THE
MESSAGE FOR THE BISHOPS OF SPAIN. «If the bishops of Spain take into account
Our Lord’s desires and undertake a true reform among the people and clergy,
good! If not, (Russia) will again be the enemy through which God will
chastise them once more.»
THE TRUE
PENANCE. «The Good Lord will allow Himself to be appeased, but He complains
bitterly and sadly about the very limited number of souls in the state of
grace, disposed to deny themselves according to what the observance of His law
requires of them.
«Here is
the true penance which the Good Lord requests today: the sacrifice which
everybody must impose on himself to lead a life of justice in the observance of
His law.
«And He
desires that this way be clearly made known to souls, for many give to the word
“penance” the sense of great austerities, and as they feel neither the strength
nor the generosity for that, they get discouraged and let themselves go into a
life of lukewarmness and sin.
«From
Thursday to Friday, being in the chapel with my superiors’ permission, at
midnight, Our Lord told me: “The penance that I request and require now is
the sacrifice demanded of everybody by the accomplishment of his own duty and
the observance of My law.”
«And,
Your Excellency, I have to be the first to submit in all things to the orders
and desires of the Good Lord. And for that purpose, to obey what you told me in
your last letter, I send you this declaration.
«The Good
Lord does not manifest this to me by means of apparitions, it is by means of an
intimate and intense feeling of His presence in my soul.»16
Thanks to the Bishop of Gurza to
whom this letter was addressed, this message rapidly came to have great
repercussions in Portugal, and before long in Spain as well. It was read
publicly on two occasions very favourable to its publication: the first
occasion was on April 20, 1943 at Fatima, during a retreat according to the
“Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius” preached to a group of doctors,
jurists, engineers and other members of the Portuguese elite. During the month
of May it was also read to the Portuguese bishops, who were meeting at the Cova
da Iria for their annual retreat. A copy of the letter, intended for Spain, had
been sent to the Archbishop of Valladolid.17
A LETTER
TO FATHER GONÇALVES: MAY 4, 1943.
Before commenting on this document of capital importance, we must still quote a
letter of Sister Lucy to her old confessor, who had just left the mother
country to return to his mission in Zambia. While developing the same themes,
Sister Lucy provides us with some supplementary information:
«Thank
goodness, I finally received a letter from you. My God, it took so long...! I
can’t even think that you are so far away; but I think about it a lot so that
my sacrifice may be more complete for the conversion of those souls. May the
Good Lord accept it.
«As for
me, I am doing well. The Bishop of Gurza tries to help me, and I always
thank him for his good counsel and prayers. He also shows me what I must make
known, and that is as always the most difficult thing for me to do,18
but obedience gives me strength and I keep going. I had to make known to the
Archbishop of Valladolid, by order of His Excellency, a little request of Our
Lord to the bishops of Spain and another to the bishops of Portugal. May God
grant that all of them hear His voice!
«He
wishes that the bishops of Spain gather together in a retreat and determine
a reform in the people, clergy and religious orders; for some convents! and
many members of others...! do you understand?
«He
wishes that it be made clear to souls that the true penance He now wants and
requires consists first of all in the sacrifice that each one must make to
fulfil his own religious and temporal duties.
«He
promises the end of the war shortly in answer to the act of consecration made
by His Holiness. But since it was incomplete, the conversion of Russia will
take place later. If the bishops of Spain do not attend to His wishes, it
(Russia) will be once more the scourge with which God punishes them.»19
Throughout her life Sister Lucy has
never stopped receiving new revelations and divine communications. However, one
fact is worth noting: these revelations are always closely related to the
message received in 1916-1917. This is the reason for the perfect coherence of
all her writings, in spite of the great diversity of the themes discussed and
the great lapses in time in their date of composition: they always refer to
some phrase in the initial message. The same is true for this revelation, which
our seer returns to with insistence. It concerns «the true penance Our Lord
wants and now demands».
«THE TRUE PENANCE» AND
«THE TRUE REFORM» THAT HEAVEN DEMANDS
We are now at the very heart of the
public message of 1917. From month to month, Our Lady had announced: «In
October, I will tell you who I am and what I want.» During Her final
apparition She had solemnly declared to the children: «People must no longer
offend the Lord our God, for He is already too much offended!» This is the
primordial request. Indeed, when the Blessed Virgin requests prayers and
sacrifices at other times, Sister Lucy insists on making it clear: «Especially
those which it is necessary to make so as to avoid sin.»20
Is not this solemn warning on «the
true penance» more relevant than ever? Heaven does not make pathetic appeals
for the faithful to commit themselves to «take part in the apostolate»! Nor
does it require great austerities. Far from asking us to “pray at least three
hours a day and fast twice a week”, Sister Lucy warns against such requirements
being laid upon everyone. These are excellent ways of immensely nourishing self
love, and before long they leave souls discouraged and desperate, and ready to
relapse «into a life of indifference and sin».
No, the way proposed to us at
Fatima is much more humble, more solid: we are not capable of the extraordinary
mortifications our Fathers imposed on themselves. But with all our hearts let
us at least apply ourselves to pleasing God by giving up sin and fulfilling the
duties of our state as best we can. This demands great sacrifices, great acts
of self-denial, precisely the ones that God expects of us before anything else.
Once more it is the golden rule of Saint Pius X: «do your duty and
everything will go well!»
Finally the context of the letter
of February 28, 1943 underlines the universality of the maxim: it concerns the
simple faithful, but also priests and religious, the bishops of Spain and the
Pope himself: let everyone accomplish his whole duty, following the demands of
his state in life and everything will go well, everything will be so much
better in the Church! This is «the true penance» which will infallibly bring
about «the true reform of the people, the clergy and religious orders»,
urgently requested by Heaven. The future of Spain in 1941 and more generally
the future of the world will depend on it.
IV. A
REPRIMAND FULL OF LOVE
A SEVERE WARNING
This is the great teaching of Our
Lady of Fatima, as well as the teaching of the Gospel and the prophets: our
history is a sacred history which God sovereignly directs as a most kind and
merciful Father. Precisely because of this jealous love and this infinite
mercy, He also acts with justice and rigour. Whether the world has peace or
war, whether our nations and the world have a happy destiny or an unhappy one,
depends in the end on the zeal of Christians and first of all their leaders:
the Pope, the Cardinals, their bishops, their priests, and consecrated souls.
It depends on whether they correspond with faith and docility to God’s holy
will and the great designs of His Heart.
This is why the message to the
Church in Spain is accompanied by a terrible threat, as we have seen: if the
bishops pay attention to Our Lord’s desires and undertake a true reform, it
will be well! If not, Russia will still be the enemy by which God will chastise
them once more.
It could not have been said more
clearly: the terrible civil war had been the great chastisement of the Church
in Spain gravely unfaithful to its age old tradition of integral, conquering
Faith. Already for several generations it had grown indifferent and dangerously
compromised with the liberal, Masonic and antichrist current raging over
Europe. Let the Spanish people at least realize the lesson to be learned from
this terrible trial of purification! Such is the meaning of the message of June
12, 1941.
AN
UNQUESTIONABLE RELIGIOUS RENAISSANCE.
However, such a severe warning addressed to Spain four years after the heroic
Crusade – in the course of which thirteen bishops and over seven thousand
priests, brothers and nuns followed by several hundred thousand of the Faithful
had shed their blood for the Catholic Faith – might be surprising because of
its abrupt nature.
Immediately after the victory of
April 1939, had there not been a wonderful effort of Catholic restoration? This
fact is incontestable. To demonstrate this we can hardly do better than quote
here the enthusiastic words of Pope Pius XII to the new ambassador of Spain.
The Pope spoke on December 17, 1942, at the very moment Sister Lucy decided to
inform the Archbishop of Valladolid of Heaven’s severe warnings:
«Spain is
Catholic, and this tree has so profoundly taken root in its soil, as well as in
the courageous hearts of its children, that the formidable torment itself whose
consequences we still deplore was not capable of uprooting it. And even more,
just as the field grows greener after the storm, so we see (Spain) springing up
once more in spite of an era so unfavourable for recuperation, and recovering,
powerful and conscious of its past, full of its own proper spirit and
confidence in the future.
«As for
ourselves, with a fatherly regard we help it by our prayers, and at the
opportune moment by our words and encouragement as well.21 Day by
day we have followed this beautiful recovery which gives us such great hope for
the good of Spain. We have admired its continual manifestations of piety and
faith in public or in private... We have heard you say that your “way of life
would not be perfect if it was not profoundly Catholic”, that “you affirm the
most absolute orthodoxy a hundred times.” For the great consolation of our soul
we have been informed of the progress of Catholic Action, of the abundance of
good and solid priestly vocations, we have seen Christ triumph in the schools;
we have seen churches rise from their smouldering ruins and the Christian
spirit permeate laws, institutions, and all manifestations of official life.
Finally, we have contemplated God present once more in your history...»
Alluding to the immense cross 165
yards high crowning the memorial basilica of the valley of Los Caidos, where
construction was beginning, the Pope continued:
«We have
only one desire to express concerning Spain: to see her united and glorious,
lifting up a cross in her powerful hands, surrounded by an entire world which,
thanks largely to her, thinks and prays in Spanish; and also to propose her as
the example of a restoring power bringing life and education, and the example
of a faith in which, after all, we will always find the solution of all
problems.»
Then, before making his blessing
descend upon the beloved Spain «of saints and heroes», the Holy Father
mentioned the «most noble head of the Spanish state», who was «so worthily
placed at the head of his dear country».22
In other words, thanks to the
harmonious cooperation of the two powers, much good was already being
accomplished in Spain... just as in Portugal, concerning which, as we remember,
Our Lord had addressed them in these terms in a letter to Cardinal Cerejeira
from Sister Lucy. Writing on December 19, 1940, she said:
«Our Lord
is dissatisfied and grieved with the sins of the world and of Portugal. He
complains about the lack of correspondence, the sinful life of the people, and
especially about the lukewarmness, indifference and extremely comfortable life
of the majority of the priests and members of religious orders. The number of
souls He meets through prayer and sacrifice is extremely limited.»23
THE MARK OF A REAL PREDILECTION
Harsh words indeed! However, let us
be so bold as to say: the culpable life of the people and the laxity of the
clergy and consecrated souls were surely no graver in these two countries,
where an unquestionable religious renaissance was in progress, than in other
nations. Quite the contrary. But Our Lord, who had preserved them as if by a
miracle from the terrible chastisement of the war which was then ravaging the
world, had greater designs of mercy upon them. These two nations had been
chosen by the Queen of Heaven to manifest Her in our century. Without any doubt
they were called to be the first to implement Our Lady’s requests. Thus they
were destined to become for other people the striking showcase of the
incomparable benefits granted by the mediation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Therefore these divine reprimands
and even threats, far from being the sign of some kind of reprobation, were
actually the mark of a real predilection. They remind us of a passage from the
Epistle to the Hebrews:
«And you
have forgotten the exhortation that is addressed to you as sons, saying: “My
son, neglect not the discipline of the Lord, neither be thou weary when thou
art rebuked by Him. For whom the Lord loves, He chastises; and He scourges
every son whom He receives.” (Prov. 3:11) Continue under discipline. God deals
with you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not correct? But
if you are without discipline in which all have had a share, then you are
illegitimate children and not sons.» (Heb. 12:5-8)
It reminds us also of the
reproaches which Our Lady, in Her first apparition to Catherine Labouré on July
18, 1830, asked Catherine to pass on to her superiors. As at Tuy, Heaven
complains of the «great laxity» of certain religious souls. Seated in the
armchair of the director while Catherine knelt next to her, Our Lady said:
«My
child, I love to pour out My graces upon the community especially. I love it a
great deal. (However), I am sad. There are great abuses. The rule is not
observed. Regularity leaves something to be desired. There is a great laxity
among the two communities. Tell this to the person entrusted with you, although
he is not superior. He will be entrusted with the community in a special way.
He must do everything possible to see that the rule returns in vigour. Tell him
on my behalf not to read bad books or lose time visiting. When the rule is
returned to force, a great community will come to be joined to your own... God will
bless them and they will enjoy great peace.»24
Finally, let us recall Our Lord’s
warning to the Church of Laodicea, which was so vehement:
«I know
thy works; that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou wert cold or hot.
But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit
thee out of my mouth... Those whom I love, I rebuke and chastise. Be zealous,
therefore, and do penance. Behold, I stand at the gate, and knock. If any man
shall hear my voice, and open to Me the door, I will come in to him, and will
sup with him, and he with Me.» (Apoc. 3:15-20)
As we have said, the Portuguese
bishops took Heaven’s warning, which was passed on to them by the Fatima seer,
very seriously. On February 2, 1941, they published a “Collective Pastoral
Letter” on “The anguish of the war and the need for expiation”, which was
clearly inspired by the message passed on by Sister Lucy.25 Father Alonso adds that «at this period,
Sister Lucy was behind many initiatives of the Portuguese bishops which obtained
the most excellent and salutary results for the Christian people».26
Before long, the Spanish bishops
were to follow this example. As we will see, their country was saved as if by a
miracle from the terrible Bolshevik menace of the years 1945-1946. But first
their response was awaited...
THE FUTURE OF SPAIN: SISTER
LUCY’S DISQUIET
Don Garcia easily guessed that
there would be an indignant reaction from some of his colleagues, the bishops
and Archbishops. He could not bring himself to immediately pass on the message
he had received. Meanwhile, he interrupted Lucy again: «Could it not have been
the result of some illusion?» he asked her. With her customary humility, the
seer responded that she herself had had some fears, but that «her spiritual
director had assured her that this came from God».
The Archbishop of Valladolid was
convinced. He wrote to Lucy:
«Very
well, my daughter. For your peace of mind I can tell you this: here in Spain
there is a soul to whom Our Lord also communicates Himself, and He revealed
exactly the same thing to her. Now we must pray a great deal to Our Lord to
help me overcome the difficulties which are numerous, especially on the part of
the government.»27
Time passed, and Sister Lucy was
afraid that Heaven’s requests might go unheeded. She complained to Don Antonio:
«... I
ask the Immaculate Heart of Mary to help Your Excellency fulfil the designs of
Our Good Lord. May the Good Lord not say, as He did concerning the Holy Father:
“He will do it, but it will be late.”»
The Archbishop of Valladolid was
intrigued by this last phrase which he did not understand. Lucy explained it to
him in the following letter;
«As far
as what I say about the Holy Father is concerned, I only repeat the words of
Our Lord... These words were spoken to me in reply to an urgent supplication
which I made for His Holiness.»28
No doubt the seer was referring to
a divine communication received in May 1936, where Our Lord tells her, on the
subject of the consecration of Russia: «The Holy Father! Pray a great deal for
the Holy Father. He will do it, but it will be late.»29 This was already the content of the
terrible revelation of Rianjo during the summer of 1931, after Pope Pius XI had
refused to pay attention to the request made of him in the name of Our Lady of
Fatima.30 Sister Lucy wrote to Archbishop Garcia y
Garcia:
«I don’t
know why, I am afraid of hearing the same words concerning Spain. For some time
I have been asking that the moment be hastened when God’s designs shall be
fulfilled in this nation. And the fear of hearing the same response comes back
to me: “They will do it, but it will be late.”»31
In this same year, 1943, at the
moment when Sister Lucy, who was ill, informed the Archbishop of Valladolid of
her grave anxiety over Spain – a prophetic anxiety which the future was to
fully justify32 – she
also spoke with him about an even greater concern. She was preoccupied by an
urgent task that frightened her: Bishop da Silva had asked her to write down
the text of the third Secret...
Endnotes
(1) See
our own Vol. II, p. 607-655.(2) Ed. Publicaciones Claretianas, Centro Mariano,
Victor Pradera 65. Madrid 8; 140 pages.(3) Cf. our own Vol. II, p. 463.(4) This
text was written in January 1943. The subtitles have been added by us. For the
essential message, Father Alonso quotes the original Portuguese text.
Unfortunately, he omitted one passage, marked by the three dots in parentheses.(5)
This precise disclosure of Sister Lucy manifests to what extent «Fatima is the
continuation of Paray-le-Monial», as Cardinal Cerejeira liked to say. Indeed
here are the Sacred Heart’s words to Saint Margaret Mary: «Every night between
Thursday and Friday, I will make you participate in this mortal sadness which I
wanted to feel in the garden of Olives, and this sadness, without you being
able to understand it, will reduce you to a species of agony harsher to bear
than death. And to accompany Me in this humble prayer which I presented then to
My Father amidst all My anguish, you will rise between eleven o’clock and midnight
to prostrate yourself for an hour with Me, with your face to the ground, to
appease the divine wrath while asking mercy for sinners, to mitigate in some
way the bitterness I felt from the desertion of My apostles, which obliged Me
to reproach them for not having been able to watch one hour with Me, and during
this hour you will do what I shall teach you.» (Saint Margaret Mary, Autobiographie,
Vie et oeuvres, Vol. II, p. 73, Paris, 1920). Does not Our Lord speak today
to His messenger from Fatima as He once did to His confidante at
Paray-le-Monial?(6) FER, p. 64-66.(7) Letter of February 28, 1943, soon to be
quoted.(8) Letter of Sister Lucy shortly afterwards, addressed to Archbishop
Garcia y Garcia, quoted by Alonso, FER, p. 81.(9) Saint Margaret Mary,
Autobiography, no. 92. Certain publishers saw fit to correct the abrupt
character of these words: «What is most painful to Me is that often, among
those who offend Me so, are hearts consecrated to Me.» (Father Salgas, Le
message de 1689 du Sacré-Coeur à la France, an otherwise excellent work, p.
24. Résiac, 1982)(10) Actes de saint Pie X, Vol. III, p. 10-15. Already
on April 19, 1904, in an initial letter to Cardinal Neto, Saint Pius X had
complained about the Portuguese bishops’ lack of interest for the “Portuguese
College” of Rome. On December 16, 1907, Pius X accepted Cardinal Neto’s
resignation.(11) Let us note in passing that, without having sought it in the
slightest, Sister Lucy had the privilege of being directed and advised
throughout her life as seer by an impressive series of priests whose
intelligence, supernatural wisdom, spirit of discernment and often even
personal sanctity were unanimously recognized. This fact undoubtedly
corresponded to a design of Providence, for thus all were able to guarantee the
authenticity of her apparitions or divine communications.
At Aljustrel, we recall, after the good and holy Father Cruz, there were Canon
Formigao and the dean of Olival, who both equally enjoyed a great renown for
sanctity (On the uncommon virtues of the dean of Olival, read Canon Galamba’s
testimony in Jacinta, p. 139-140. For Canon Formigao, we have already
cited the voluminous biography by Father Alonso, which concludes with the
request for the opening of his process of beatification).
At Asilo de Vilar, Lucy was directed by two priests, one of whom became later
on titular Bishop of Gurza, then auxiliary Bishop of Lisbon with the title of
Archbishop of Cizico (Bishop Manuel Pereira), and the other became vicar general
of Porto (Msgr. Pereira Lopes). At Pontevedra and Tuy, after Don Lino Garcia,
there were two wise and holy Jesuits, Fathers Aparicio and Gonçalves, who were
entrusted with her soul. When they left for the missions, we find our seer in
continued communications with Bishop Manuel Ferreira and with the Bishop of
Tuy, of whom we will speak later. Now none of these eminent ecclesiastics who
had the privilege of knowing the secrets of her soul, including Bishop da Silva
or Cardinal Cerejeira, ever doubted the authenticity of the divine
communications with which she was favoured. It must be said that few mystics
have received so many marks of esteem and trust from the hierarchical Church.(12)
FER, p. 60.(13) While still a scholastic with the Jesuits at the convent of
Valladolid, Bernard de Hoyos received in 1733 several communications from the
Sacred Heart of Jesus. Ordained a priest, he died a holy death a few months
later (1735). His process of beatification was opened in 1902.(14) Quoted by
Alonso, FER, p. 60.(15) Ibid., p. 53.(16) A. M. Martins, Fatima e o Coraçao
de Maria, p. 104-105, Loyola, 1984. (17) This is the source of numerous
errors concerning this letter, whose date of composition was confused with
various dates when it was read publicly (cf. for example Barthas, VND, p. 81).(18)
Let us point out here that Saint Margaret Mary felt a repugnance analogous to
that expressed by Sister Lucy, when she had to make known the state of her soul
and the divine communications she had received. In her Autobiography, she speaks
of «the violence which must be done to me to overcome the repugnance and
confusion I feel in writing all this», and again, of «this species of martyrdom
which I suffer while doing this writing, every word of which seems like a
sacrifice to me» (no. 79).(19) Doc., p. 445-447.(20) Letter to Father Gonçalves
of August 18, 1940, where Sister Lucy underlines the importance of the message
of October 13. Cf. our Vol. II, p. 462 and Vol. I, p. 293-296. Father Messias
Dias Coelho, with good reason, insists on these words of Our Lady, announced by
her in 1917 as her most express will: «What I want.» (“Nucleo central da
mensagem de Fatima”, in Apelo e resposta, p. 151-165; 1983).(21) Cf. our
Vol. II, p. 493-494.(22) Documents pontificaux de S.S. Pie XII, 1942, p.
321-323.(23) Doc., p. 441-443. Cf. A. M. Martins, Fatima, caminho da Paz,
p. 74-75; 1983.(24) Vie authentique de Catherine Labouré, R. Laurentin,
p. 86, DDB, 1980. Catherine Labouré et la médaille miraculeuse, Vol. I,
p. 354-355, Lethielleux, 1976.(25) Father Martins quotes long excerpts from it
in Fatima, caminho da Paz, p. 82-85; cf. from the same author, Cartas
da Irma Lucia, introduction, p. 26-27.(26) FER, p. 74.(27) Ibid., p. 72.(28)
Ibid., p. 72.(29) Cf. our Vol. II, p. 728.(30) Let us recall from memory this
vitally important yet almost unknown message: «Later on, in an intimate
communication, Our Lord complained to me, saying: “They did not wish to heed My
request. Like the king of France, they will repent and do it, but it will be
late. Russia will have already spread her errors throughout the world,
provoking wars and persecutions of the Church; the Holy Father will have much
to suffer.”» Cf. our Vol. II, p. 530-531; 543-551. (31) FER, p. 71.(32) Cf. infra,
“A Universal Conspiracy Against Spain”, p. 137-142.
CHAPTER II
THE THIRD SECRETPRELIMINARY HISTORICAL FACTS(1943 - 1945)
The mysterious third Secret was
revealed by Our Lady on July 13, 1917, over seventy years ago. The innumerable
errors, falsifications, and lies which have been peddled on this subject, as
well as the decisive importance of this text – whose relevance is more urgent
than ever, since it has certainly been fulfilled before our eyes since 1960 –
are reasons for us doing everything possible to shed a little light upon it.
Thanks to documents published in
the last few years, notably the works of Father Alonso, we now have an
impressive mass of reliable information which we must be careful not to
neglect. In effect, every single detail of this dramatic history, no matter how
insignificant it may appear at first sight, will help us resolve the urgent
question before us: what are the contents of this final message of Our Lady of
Fatima, reserved precisely for our epoch? By reasoning with prudence and
rigorous logic on the greatest number of established facts concerning its
writing down and its history, we can discard erroneous solutions. Finally, with
Father Alonso, we will be able to propose a clear hypothesis which corresponds
perfectly to all the historical evidence as well as the general context of the
message of Fatima.
I. «THE
PART OF THE SECRET I AM NOT PERMITTED TO REVEAL»
When did Sister Lucy receive
Heaven’s authorization to reveal the last part of the Secret? Even before
retracing the circumstances in which it was written down, we must clear up this
preliminary question, for it is not without importance.
(continued
below)
THE GREAT SECRET(MANUSCRIPT OF THE
FOURTH MEMOIR)
To our knowledge, it is in her
Third Memoir, written in July-August, 1941, that Sister Lucy mentions for the
first time the division of the Secret into three distinct parts. She writes: «The
Secret is made up of three distinct parts, two of which I am now going to
reveal.»1 She
then writes down, also for the first time, the integral text of the first two
parts of the Secret.2
In doing this, she had the certainty that she was fulfilling the will of God,
which revealed to her that «the moment had come to reveal the first two
parts of the Secret». She feels «interiorly convinced that this is indeed
the hour God has chosen...»3
However, on the third Secret, she
still had to keep silence because she had not received Heaven’s permission to
reveal it. On this point we have explicit testimony: on October 7, 1941, Bishop
da Silva and Father Galamba came to Valença do Minho for a painstakingly
prepared interrogation. In her Fourth Memoir, which she began writing
immediately (October-December, 1941), Sister Lucy mentions this memorable
conversation and she explains her silence on the final Secret:
«First of
all, Your Excellency has expressly required of me to write about the
Apparitions of the Angel, putting down every circumstance and detail, and even,
as far as possible, their interior effects upon us. Then, along comes Father
Galamba to ask you to command me also to write about the Apparitions of Our
Lady. “Command her, Your Excellency, command her to write everything,
absolutely everything. She’ll have to do the rounds of Purgatory many a
time for having kept silent about so many things!” As for Purgatory, I am not
in the least afraid of it, from this point of view. I have always obeyed, and
obedience deserves neither penalty nor punishment. First, I obeyed the interior
inspirations of the Holy Spirit, and secondly, I obeyed the commands of those
who spoke to me in His name (...).
«Father
Galamba then said: “Your Excellency, command her to say everything, everything,
and to hide nothing.” And Your Excellency, assisted most certainly by the Holy
Spirit, pronounced this judgment: “No, I will not command that! I will have
nothing to do with matters of secrets.”
«Thanks
be to God! Any other order would have been for me a source of endless
perplexities and scruples. Had I received a contrary command, I would have
asked myself, many times: “Whom should I obey? God or His representative?” And
perhaps, being unable to come to a decision, I would have been left in a state
of real inner torment!
«Then
Your Excellency continued speaking in God’s name: “Sister, write down the
Apparitions of the Angel and of Our Lady, because this is for the glory of God
and Our Lady.” How good God is! He is the God of peace, and it is along the
paths of peace that He leads those who trust in Him.
«I shall
begin, then, my new task, and thus fulfil the commands received from Your
Excellency as well as the desires of Dr. Galamba. With the exception of that
part of the Secret which I am not permitted to reveal at present, I shall say
everything.»4
This Fourth Memoir, however,
presents an important new element concerning the third Secret. At the end of
the text of the first two parts, which on all points are identical with the
text of the Second Memoir, Sister Lucy added a sentence which is not found
there: «Em Portugal se conservara sempre o doguema da fé etc.»5
Recall that the year 1942 was marked
by the ceremonies of the Fatima jubilee and the act of consecration of the
world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In the opening months of 1943, we see
Sister Lucy preoccupied with informing people that this act of the Holy Father
was incomplete, while on the other hand she strives to pass on to the bishops
of Spain Our Lord’s warning concerning them. It is precisely in this already
grave and dramatic context that the third Secret enters the picture once more.
II. THE
WRITING DOWN AND PASSING ON OF THE FINAL SECRET(JUNE 1943 - JUNE 17, 1944)
Lucy had always enjoyed good
health. However, she occasionally suffered from bronchial troubles which
constrained her to take some rest periods, which she almost always spent in the
gentle climate of Pontevedra, La Toja, and Rianjo... For the first time, during
the summer and autumn of 1943, a grave pleurisy followed by several relapses
seemed to endanger her life. This was to be the providential occasion which
made Bishop da Silva decide to ask her for the text of the third Secret. But,
as always, things went slowly with the Bishop of Leiria, which prolonged the
seer’s painful trial that much longer. It was a difficult, dramatic period, but
without any doubt one of the most important periods of her life, and one of the
most decisive periods for the Church’s future...
A PROVIDENTIAL ILLNESS
Sister Lucy was thirty-six years
old. At the beginning of June 1943, she was struck with pleurisy which was not
serious at the beginning, but very quickly assumed an alarming character. The
seer wrote to Bishop da Silva: «Perhaps all this is the beginning of the
end, and I am happy. It is good that, as my mission on earth is being
completed, the Good Lord prepares for me the way to Heaven.» These
statements already gave the good bishop reasons for being disturbed, and even
more so his friend Canon Galamba, who was always animated by the holy desire to
make Our Lady’s great message known without delay, in its entirety.
In July, there was a definite
improvement in Sister Lucy’s condition. Perhaps this was the moment when Bishop
da Silva wrote to Lucy to ask her for a few notes in view of an upcoming
edition of Jacinta. Soon, however, and still in July, Sister Lucy had a
relapse due to an infection from a shot that was given improperly. The bishop’s
and the Canon’s fears returned.
However, on August 2, while she
wrote to Father Aparicio, her health seemed to be improving again:
«I am recovering from a sickness which has
kept me in bed for around two months: a pneumonia, which then caused me to have
a liquid pleurisy, and finally, an infection caused by an injection. Now all I
have is a little fever which will go away with time, if God wills.»
After answering various questions
she concluded this way, clearly referring to Bishop da Silva’s recent requests:
«As for
myself, I live here in complete abandonment between the hands of God. I follow
events according as He disposes them, striving to do in all things His most
holy Will manifested directly, or indirectly through the person representing
Him for me. The publication of so many things, which I tried so carefully to
hide, costs me, but if this poor sacrifice serves in some way for His glory and
the good of souls, I am content. I have no other desire. I thank Your Reverence
for your prayers, which I need so much. In my own poor prayers, you are not
forgotten.»6
Is Sister Lucy referring only to
the new notes on Jacinta that had been requested of her? Or did it already
concern something else? We cannot say everything with certainty. But it is
possible that a very important conversation on the third Secret took place at
this moment, precisely during these few days in August when Sister Lucy’s
health was improving.
AT VALENÇA DO MINHO: A MEMORABLE
CONVERSATION
Canon Galamba and Bishop da Silva
(who at this time was at Formiguera, his country home near Braga) came as usual
to Valença do Minho to meet Sister Lucy there. This time Sister Lucy came from
nearby Tuy, passed Spanish customs, crossed the great international bridge
spanning the Minho, then Portuguese customs, and she went to Asilo Fonseca, a
young women’s college run by the Franciscans. There the meeting was scheduled.
In the parlour of the college there
was a large sofa with an armchair on either side. Two separate conversations
took place that day: at one end of the sofa sat Bishop da Silva speaking with
the Mother Superior, while at the other end Canon Galamba questioned Lucy.
Suddenly the Canon asked her: “Why don’t you reveal the third part of the
Secret of Our Lady? Could you perhaps tell it to us now?” Then Lucy
gestured with her head to Bishop da Silva: “Now, if His Grace wants, I can
tell it to you.” The conversation between the Mother Superior and the
bishop was over now and everybody was standing. Canon Galamba said to the bishop:
“Your Grace! Sister Lucy says that if you want, she can now reveal the third
part of the Secret.” Immediately, the bishop answered: “I do not want to do
anything of the kind! I don’t want to meddle in it!” “What a shame!” Canon
Galamba answered. “At least tell her to write it down on a piece of paper
and give it to you in a sealed envelope!”
The idea was launched, and Bishop
da Silva agreed to it in principle. However, it seems that he did not decide to
give Sister Lucy an express order then and there. Likewise Canon Galamba is
doubtless echoing later conversations when, at the end of his account, he
already mentions 1960 as the date the envelope is to be opened. In reality
things went much more slowly, as we shall see.
Nevertheless, this conversation at Valença
had a decisive importance in the history of the third Secret. Had it not been
for this reply of the seer, «now, if His Grace wishes, I can tell it to you»,
Don José, who was always extremely reserved and even timorous when faced with
his responsibilities in this domain, would have never dared to ask her to write
the text. This is why this conversation certainly took place before Bishop da
Silva’s first initiative in this sense, on September 15, 1943. But on what
precise date? Unfortunately, it is impossible to answer with any certainty.
Father Alonso does not mention it in his account. Canon Galamba, whom I had
questioned on this point, recently wrote to me: «I do not remember the date
exactly. I am certain that this celebrated and important conversation took
place during the summer vacation, and while Sister Lucy was in good health.
Moreover, I did not go to Tuy during the visit of His Grace the bishop during
Sister Lucy’s illness (December 15, 1943).»7
BISHOP DA SILVA’S FIRST APPROACHTUY,
SEPTEMBER 15, 19438
It was soon learned at Leiria that
Sister Lucy was gravely sick once more. Once again she suffered from an
infection produced from a badly done vaccination. Bishop da Silva and Canon
Galamba were soon seized with disquiet: was Lucy going to leave this world and
take the Secret with her? Bishop da Silva decided to visit her.
He came to Tuy alone on Wednesday,
September 15. But Lucy was not even able to leave her bed to receive him, and
the conversation took place at the infirmary. The bishop undoubtedly had come
to ask her to write down the third Secret. However, he did not dare to give her
the formal order. He was unwilling to take upon himself this responsibility.
Lucy had recorded his hesitant statements for us, words which were to become the
occasion of a terrible spiritual trial for her: «... If I wanted, if I
thought it good to write the part of the Secret still missing, it would not be
to publish it now, but so that it would be written.»9 These words were soon to plunge our seer in
a terrible anguish. They did not express an order given in the name of God but
only a vague desire. They left Lucy to bear the whole weight of the decision to
be made. In effect, although Bishop da Silva clearly wished her to write down
the text, in the final analysis he left Sister Lucy free to obey her own
inspirations. Heaven, mysteriously, was now silent.
A TERRIBLE NIGHT
(SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1943)
Meanwhile, Lucy had still not
recovered. However, the infection which forced her to stay in bed was actually
a blessing in disguise; for her pleurisy, which resisted all treatment,
disappeared precisely because of the purulence it caused in her leg. It was
necessary to operate. She arrived at Pontevedra on September 21, and on the
22nd she was hospitalized in Dr. Marescot’s clinic. The operation was
completely successful, and on the 26th she was able to leave the clinic to
return to the Dorothean Sisters’ house, where she had already spent several
years. Finally, in the beginning of October she returned to Tuy, although it
took her several more months to completely recuperate.
Concerning the writing down of the
final Secret, her interior torment had still not been dispelled. No doubt she
opened up to Archbishop Garcia y Garcia, and surely also to Bishop da Silva
himself. Granted, it was understood that the text would not be divulged right
away. Yet this reservation was not enough to settle her doubts, as she
explained:
«It seems
to me that to write it down is already in a way to disclose it, and I do not
yet have Our Lord’s permission to do that. In any case, as I am used to seeing
the Will of God in the wishes of my superiors, I am thinking of obedience, and
I don’t know what to do. I prefer an express command which I can rely on before
God, so that I can say in all security, “They ordered me that, Lord.” But those
words “if you wish” disturb me and leave me perplexed.»10
Thus Sister Lucy decided not to
write the Secret without an express order, through which her bishop, in the
name of God, would command her to do so. The reason, she adds, is that «although
it is sealed, (writing it) is still revealing it».
BISHOP DA SILVA’S DECISION AND
SISTER LUCY’S LONG AGONY
In response to this request, and no
doubt encouraged by Canon Galamba, Bishop da Silva made his decision: «Finally,
by a letter written in mid-October, Don José gave the formal order Lucy had
requested.»11 She
confided to the Archbishop of Valladolid: «They have ordered me to write
down the part of the Secret that Our Lady revealed in 1917, and which I still
keep hidden, by command of the Lord. They tell me either to write it in the
notebooks in which I’ve been told to keep my spiritual diary, or if I wish, to
write it on a sheet of paper, put it in an envelope, and then close it and seal
it up.»12
As always, of course, Sister Lucy
was convinced that by obeying her superiors she was obeying God. She was
prepared to obey in a filial spirit and submissively. However, from October to
the end of December, she continued to experience unspeakable anguish. «She was
often accustomed, however, to receive, as we have seen, clear confirmation from
Heaven itself of such orders, and when on this occasion no such confirmation
was forthcoming, Lucy suffered acutely. “Yet Heaven is now keeping silent”, she
write. “Is God wishing to test my obedience?”»13
A MYSTERIOUS IMPEDIMENT
Having received the formal order to
write down the Secret in mid-October, two months later Sister Lucy still had
not done so. This shows how much the writing of this text made her tremble.
Indeed as she took up her pen, she found herself incapable of writing. For, as
she added in her letter to Don Garcia asking for his advice, she had wanted
to obey several times, and she had sat down to write, without being able to.14 This mysterious impediment still existed on
December 24, 1943, where she makes it clear in a letter to Don Garcia «that
this phenomenon was not due to natural causes.»15
A question now comes to mind. Was
not this writing of the Secret contrary to the will of God? Was it not due
solely to the anxious curiosity of the hierarchical authority? This hypothesis
must be discarded immediately, for as we will see, there is nothing in the
subsequent facts to sustain it, quite the contrary.
The long agony Sister Lucy had to
face before finally being able to write this message reminds us instead of her
first crisis of doubt and anguish, which she already had to go through before
the revelation of this same Secret on July 13, 1917. Undoubtedly we should see
it as Satan’s final outburst against the messenger of the Immaculate One,
guessing what a great weapon this prophecy would be, once it was set down in
black and white, against his domination and his claim of being able to
infiltrate the very heart of the Church... thus the seer’s great trial was the
measure of how great was the event about to be accomplished.
During several conversations at
Tuy, Sister Lucy had confided her anguish to Don Garcia y Garcia, who advised
her to bide her time instead. He wrote as much to her: this trouble will
vanish; in the meantime she should write to Don José da Silva and explain her
difficulties in obeying the order given her; above all she should stay calm,
she was not disobeying Our Lord in any respect.16
In spite of their kindness, these
directives, which went contrary to the formal order given by Bishop da Silva,
undoubtedly did nothing but increase Lucy’s interior trial. Fortunately, these
letters of mid-December 1943 did not reach her until the second week of January
1944, when the text had already been written. Father Alonso thinks that this
delay was due no doubt to the intervention of the superior of Tuy, Mother do
Carmo Cunha Matos, who after having read them preferred not to communicate them
to the seer right away.17
All things considered, it was a wise precaution: since Heaven’s will was that
the message be written, delaying its writing even more would only have
prolonged the poor seer’s inner martyrdom.
FINALLY, SISTER LUCY WRITES THE
SECRET(JANUARY 2-9, 1944)
On Christmas eve, Sister Lucy wrote
to Don Antonio «that although she had tried several times, she was unable to
write what had been commanded her, and that this phenomenon was not due to
natural causes...» Through another communication we know that by Christmas day
she still had not been able to write what had been asked of her.18
Finally, however, on a date we do
not know, Sister Lucy managed to overcome the interior obstacle that for two
and a half months had prevented her from writing the text of the famous Secret.
On January 9, 1944, she wrote to Bishop da Silva:
«I have
written what you asked me; God willed to try me a little, but finally, this was
indeed His will: (the text) is sealed in an envelope and the latter is in the
notebooks...»19
So the final Secret was written
before January 9, 1944. And, wonder of wonders, Sister Lucy regained her light
and peace with the certainty that Bishop da Silva’s order indeed corresponded
to God’s will. How did she know? Father Alonso does not tell us.
JANUARY 2, 1944: AN APPARITION
OF OUR LADY
At this point we must follow the
account of Canon Martins dos Reis. He informs us of an immensely significant
event: it was the Virgin Mary Herself who came in an apparition, to finally
dispel the seer’s darkness and put an end to her painful trial. Our author
writes:
«Before
this apparition of the Mother of God, at the infirmary of Tuy, three times the
seer had attempted to write the Secret in order to obey the order of Don José
Alves Correia da Silva, but she was never capable. Only after this vision was
she able to do so without the slightest difficulty, and at the same time was
liberated from the great perplexity she found herself in, due to the different
attitudes of the two prelates (Bishop da Silva and Archbishop Garcia y Garcia.»20
In another one of his works, Father
Martins dos Reis reproduces a photograph of the room where this apparition took
place, with this caption: «Infirmary of Tuy. The bedroom where Sister Lucy was
staying: at the bottom, her modest iron bed against the wall, before which Our
Lady appeared to her to tell her to write the famous Secret... in conformity
with what had been asked of her.»21
Although Father Alonso adds no
additional details, he too makes a veiled allusion to the event. He writes:
«Moreover,
how are we to understand Sister Lucy’s great difficulty in writing the final
part of the Secret when she had already written other things that were
extremely difficult to put down? Had it been merely a matter of prophesying new
and severe punishments, Sister Lucy would not have experienced difficulties so
great that a special intervention from Heaven was needed to overcome them.»22
Let us mention one final detail,
pointed out by Father Alonso: it was in the Chapel of Tuy, where Sister Lucy
had received such important divine communications since the spectacular
trinitarian theophany of June 13, 1929, that the third Secret was written.23
THE PASSING ON OF THE SECRET:TUY,
VALENÇA, LA FORMIGUERA, LEIRIA
As we have said, once the text was
written Sister Lucy recovered her usual peace. However, the extreme care she
takes to pass it on safely to its recipient is a new indication of the
exceptional importance she attaches to this document. Bishop da Silva, no doubt
at Canon Galamba’s request, had proposed that she either write the text in her
notebook containing her spiritual notes – somewhat like the way she had done
for the first two parts of the Secret, inserted in her Third and Fourth Memoirs
– or put it in an envelope sealed with wax. She chose this second solution.
THE
MEMORABLE DAY OF JUNE 17, 1944.
Sister Lucy would entrust this envelope neither to the Post Office nor to any
messenger. She waited several months for the opportune occasion to see that it
reached Bishop da Silva in all dignity and safety. Finally, Archbishop Manuel
Maria Ferreira da Silva, Superior of the Missionary Society of Cucujaes and
titular Archbishop of Gurza, came to Valença do Minho on Saturday, June 17,
1944, on behalf of Bishop da Silva. He was accompanied by his brother, Msgr.
José Manuel Ferreira da Silva and Father Vernocchi. For her part, on this
Saturday morning in the octave of the Feast of the Sacred Heart, Sister Lucy
had left Tuy. She was accompanied by one of her sisters, who of course was
ignorant of the true purpose of the meeting (as were the priests accompanying
the Bishop of Gurza). They crossed the Minho and arrived at Asilo Fonseca
around noon. The seer discreetly handed the Bishop of Gurza the notebook in
which she had slipped the envelope containing the Secret.
That same evening, the bishop
placed the envelope into the hands of Bishop da Silva, who was then at his
country home of “La Formiguera”, not far from Braga. The bishop then
transferred it to his episcopal palace of Leiria.24
III. THE
THIRD SECRET AND THE CHURCH
June 1943 - June 17, 1944. One year
had gone by, during which the Hand of God had been the sovereign director of
events. Now that we have recorded the various episodes of this drama at length,
we can better perceive its providential meaning.
A
PRECIOUS TREASURE. God willed
this writing down of the great Secret. But rather than ask it of the seer
directly, He desired that the initiative come from a representative of His
Church. This explains Lucy’s grave illness, where her life suddenly seemed
threatened. Bishop da Silva then had the merit of faith and trust in Our Lady
of Fatima. Sure that Her final message would some day be a source of
inestimable benefits for the Church, he realized that he was responsible for
the future of this precious treasure. During the conversation at Valença,
Sister Lucy, who was surely speaking under God’s inspiration, confirmed him in
this thought: yes, it would be a great shame if she died without having been
able to pass on to the Church the great “Secret of Mary” in its integral tenor.
This is the meaning of her reply to Canon Galamba: «Now, if His Grace wishes, I
can tell it to you.»
THE
AUTHORIZATION AND THE ORDER TO WRITE DOWN THE SECRET. When Sister Lucy’s life was in danger once
more, Bishop da Silva took a step in the path opened before him. On September
15, 1943, he authorized Lucy to write the third Secret: “If she wants
to”, she can do so.
But Heaven required something more
of her, and knew how to lead Its servant to the very end of the path It had
marked out. It permitted that after her physical illness, Its messenger, who
was «completely abandoned into its hands», would be plunged into a terrible
spiritual darkness and assailed by doubts, fears and anguish concerning the
writing of this Secret. Surely frightened by the very content of such a
message, of herself Sister Lucy could not resolve to put such a prophecy onto
paper. Since Heaven inexorably kept silent, in her dark night Sister Lucy had
only one recourse: she implored Bishop da Silva insistently for a formal order.
In mid-October, the bishop gave way before her urgent requests, making a
decision which was to have such great importance for the future: in the name of
God, he ordered the Fatima seer to write down this final Secret of Our Lady.
This was precisely what God willed.
A
MYSTERIOUS IMPEDIMENT. This is
the final phase of the drama which now opens: Satan is unchained to oppose the
great design of God, which was about to be fulfilled. Sister Lucy, who thought
that with a formal order of her bishop her soul would have recovered its peace
and that it would be easy for her to obey, then found herself mysteriously
prevented from doing so. Her internal agony was to be prolonged for two more
months.
OUR
LADY’S INTERVENTION. But this
failure to carry out the order and this impotence were also permitted, willed
by God, so that soon He would be able to manifest His will more strikingly.
Already, through this long agony of the seer, He allows us to perceive the
extreme gravity of the message she had to pass on. Finally, on Sunday, January
2, 1944, Our Lady appeared to her, giving her light and the strength to
accomplish the writing requested of her. So, on a date we shall undoubtedly
know some day, she wrote down Our Lady’s final prophetic words. To show that it
really does concern a message of considerable importance, she expends the
greatest care in passing it on.
A
TREASURE OF GRACES ENTRUSTED TO THE CHURCH.
Finally, on June 17, 1944, the precious document is officially, solemnly placed
in the hands of the hierarchical authority that had the singular merit of
asking for it. There is a very remarkable fact here: Sister Lucy revealed that
Our Lady had given her a Secret. And Heaven willed that with trust and love,
the leaders of the Church desire to know this Maternal warning, and themselves
decide to divulge it to the world. Our Lady never ordered Sister Lucy to write
or disclose this or that part of the Secret... No, She willed that the
initiative come from the Church: confessors, bishop or Pope. Such was the case
already in 1927, in 1929, in 1940 and 1941.25 In other words, the writing down and disclosure of the great
Secret are placed entirely at the discretion of the hierarchy, like a
supernatural treasure to be exploited and brought to fruition, for the
salvation of the Church and the world.
Unfortunately, after his courageous
decision of October, 1943, it seems that the Bishop of Leiria suddenly became
frightened by the extent of the responsibilities he had taken upon himself...
and he promptly sought to be relieved of them.
IN BISHOP DA SILVA’S SAFE
«At the time the Bishop of Leiria
received the sealed document (Father Alonso writes), he was also given a letter
from Sister Lucy in which she made a few suggestions. One was that the document
should be kept in his own possession until his death, when it was to be given
to the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon.»26 Receiving Sister Lucy’s suggestions like an order from Heaven,
Don José told Cardinal Cerejeira about them without delay. Was he already
trying to entrust «the precious document» to the Cardinal Patriarch? It is quite
possible. In that case, he surely suffered the same refusal as when further
steps were taken for this purpose a few years later.
What is certain is that in his
desire to be relieved of a document whose extraordinary importance he had
guessed in 1944, Bishop da Silva had the idea of sending it on to Rome. Father
Alonso writes: «Cardinal Ottaviani has told us that in 1944, when the Secret of
Fatima was committed to writing, there was some suggestion that it be taken to
Rome, but that Vatican officials judged it more opportune to keep it in the
episcopal chancery of Leiria.»27
Bishop da Silva, who was forced to
remain the caretaker of the Secret himself, on December 8, 1945, placed the
envelope sealed by Sister Lucy in a larger envelope, also sealed with wax, on
which he wrote in his own hand:
«This
envelope with its contents is to be given to His Eminence Don Manuel, Patriarch
of Lisbon, after my death. Leiria, December 8, 1945. José, Bishop of Leiria.»28
Then the envelope was placed in the
safe of the episcopal curia, from which it never emerged except on very rare
occasions, to be shown to a few privileged souls. Thus it was photographed by
M. Pazen, the reporter from Life magazine, which published it in its
edition of January 3, 1949. We have reproduced this striking photograph where
the aging Bishop of Leiria can be seen seated before a table on which the
envelope containing the Secret was placed.29 Let us add that, in spite of himself, Bishop da Silva remained
the caretaker of the Secret until March 1957, a few months before his death.
Thus concludes the almost
exhaustive ac-count of everything known at present concerning the writing down
of the third Secret. We must still answer several questions which are as
important as they are controversial:
For whom was the third Secret
directly intended?
Could Bishop da Silva have read it?
Could he have published it in 1944?
In what circumstances and for what
purpose was it transferred from Leiria to Rome?
Finally, the principal question:
had Our Lady really requested that it be revealed to the world in 1960?
All these questions are very
closely connected with each other. After retracing the history of Pius XII’s
pontificate to the very end, considering it in its relationship to Fatima, we
shall be able to answer them better.
|
Bishop
da Silva, from 1944 to 1957, was entrusted with keeping the third Secret. On
the envelope containing the Secret – seen at the bottom of this photograph –
he wrote with his own hand: Este
envelope com o seu conteúdo será entregue a Sua Eminencia O Sr. Cardeal D.
Manuel, Patriarca de Lisboa, depois da minha morte.Leiria, 8 de Dezembro de
1945†
José, Bispo de Leiria.
This
envelope with its contents shall be entrusted to His Eminence Cardinal D.
Manuel (Cerejeira), Patriarch of Lisbon, after my death.Leiria, December 8,
1945†
José, Bishop of Leiria. |
Endnotes
(1) Cf.
our Vol. N, p. 753-754; 762-763.(2) In her letter to Pope Pius XII of October
24, 1940, she had omitted the vision of hell and had not mentioned the
existence of a final Secret, contenting herself with explaining the contents of
the second part, while «leaving to God the opportunity for a more favourable
moment» to say more about it (cf. our Vol. II, p. 737-738, 743-744.).(3) Cf.
our Vol. II, p. 762-763.(4) IV, p. 153-154.(5) Doc., p. 340.(6) Doc., p. 497.(7)
Letter of March 19, 1984. In addition to this letter, from which I have
borrowed the essential part of the reconstruction of the Valença conversation,
I have used several accounts of this interview which mutually complete each
other: Mensagem de Fatima, September-October 1976, p. 4-5; Jaime Vilalta
Berbel, Los Secretos de Fatima, p. 132; Apio Garcia, (Bodas de oro de
Fatima, p. 73-74) reports the testimony of Bishop Venancio, who knew Bishop
da Silva and Canon Galamba very well; Finally, Father Caillon, who reports to
us the more detailed testimony furnished by Canon Galamba, L’épopée mariale
en notre temps (distributed by Téqui).(8) For the rest of our account, we
borrow almost all the facts of our exposition from Father Alonso, in La
verdad sobre el Secreto de Fatima, p. 36. The English translation is
entitled, The Secret of Fatima: Fact and Legend, Ravengate books, 1979.(9)
Quoted by Alonso, “O Segredo de Fatima”, Fatima 50, October 13, 1967, p.
11.(10) VSF, p. 37-38 (our references to this work are to the English version
which we have followed, occasionally correcting it according to the original).(11)
Ibid., p. 38.(12) Ibid., p. 39.(13) VSF, p. 38.(14) Ibid., p. 39.(15) P. 41.(16)
P. 40.(17) Father Sebastiao Martins dos Reis has accused Don Garcia of being
opposed to the writing down of the third part of the Secret, giving Sister Lucy
orders contrary to those which she had received from Bishop da Silva (O
Milagre do sol e o Segredo de Fatima, p. 121, Salesianas, Porto, 1966). In
his desire to defend the reputation of the venerable Spanish prelate who, in
fact, surely does not merit this accusation, Father Alonso, it seems to us,
shows himself for his part much too severe on Mother Maria do Carmo. He goes so
far as to say that it would have been much better had Lucy known and followed
Don Antonio’s directives: «Although this correspondence would certainly have
delayed the moment for writing the Secret, it would have guaranteed an
atmosphere of inner peace and calm.» (p. 41) What does that mean? Since Lucy
finally wrote the Secret in all peace and tranquillity of soul, this reserve is
not justified.(18) Alonso, VSF, p. 41.(19) Quoted by Alonso, Fatima 50,
October 13, 1967, p. 11. It is a shame that Father Alonso does not quote this
sentence in his book on the Secret!(20) O Milagre do Sol e o Segredo de
Fatima, p. 121.(21) Sintese critica de Fatima, p. 153. In his Novos
Documentos (September 1984), Father A.M. Martins confirms his information:
«According to the written declarations of Mother Cunha Matos, Lucy’s superior
at Tuy, Our Lady appeared to the seer on January 2, 1944, and told her to write
the third part of the Secret.» (p. XXV).(22) VSF, p. 82.(23) Ibid., (Spanish
edition), p. 81. As for saying that the text was written down «in less than
an hour», as Father Laurentin states (article in Le Figaro, May 12,
1982), we are unaware of where this information came from. Perhaps, quite
simply, it came from a faulty translation of Father Alonso’s article, quoted by
our over-hasty journalist. Here is what Father Alonso writes: «El documento
esta escrito en una hoja, metida dentro de un sobre, que a su vez fue
lacrado por Lucia.» (“De nuevo el Secreto de Fatima”, p. 86, Ephemerides
Mariologicae, 1982, vol. 32, fasc. 1) «En una hoja» means «in one
page”, not «in one hour»!(24) Regarding this memorable day, Father Alonso
quotes the testimony of Msgr. José Manuel Ferreira da Silva (Fatima 50,
October 1967, p. 11).(25) Cf. our Vol. II, respectively, p. 514-515; 463, 730,
762-763.(26) VSF, p. 44.(27) VSF, p. 60.(28) José Geraldo Freire, O Segredo
de Fatima, a terceira parte é sobre Portugal?, p. 27, Sant. Fatima, 1978.(29)
This photograph is exhibited in Fatima, at the museum of the vice-postulation
for Jacinta and Francisco.
INTRODUCTION
THE
DISPARATE EFFECTS OF AN INCOMPLETE ACT
On the evening of October 31, 1942,
for the closing of the jubilee of the Fatima apparitions, in all the cities and
towns of the Land of Holy Mary, the Portuguese people, moved by a holy
enthusiasm, had gathered in the churches and public places to listen to the
Sovereign Pontiff’s radio message. Everybody was awaiting it like a national
event. What emotion it brought to hear him describe the miracle of grace
already accomplished by the Queen of Heaven, Mediatrix of mercy, in favour of
Her “faithful nation”! The Pope had also evoked «the immense tragedy» of the
war then afflicting the world. At the end of our second volume we quoted this
magnificent discourse in its entirety, a discourse full of fine allusions to
Our Lady of Fatima’s message, and in such perfect harmony with all its major
themes.
Let us recall only the essential
part of this discourse: the formula of consecration of the Church and the world
to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Addressing Our Lady under the title She had
given Herself at the Cova da Iria on October 13, 1917, the Pope addressed this
solemn supplication to Her:
«Queen of
the Most Holy Rosary, Help of Christians, and Refuge of the human race,
conqueror in all the great battles of God, we humbly prostrate ourselves as
supplicants before Thy throne, certain of obtaining mercy and finding grace and
opportune help in the present calamity... to You, to Your Immaculate Heart in
this tragic hour of human history, we confide, we consecrate, we deliver, not
only Holy Church, the Mystical Body of Your Jesus which bleeds and suffers in
so many parts and is in so much tribulation, but also the whole world, torn by
mortal discord, burning in the fires of hate, victim of its own iniquity.»1
At Tuy, where she was living at the
time, Sister Lucy did not have the happiness of hearing the Holy Father
pronounce this consecration, the original inspiration for which had come from
her. She had not even been informed of the event. When her Superior, Mother
Corte Real, informed her of it shortly after November 8, she felt a very great
joy…2
THE DECISIVE QUESTION
Soon it was necessary to answer a
very delicate question, although a question of capital importance: to what
extent did this act of consecration of the Church and the world correspond to
the exact requests of Our Lady? To what extent would it be acceptable to
Heaven? What would its supernatural consequences be? According to her custom,
Sister Lucy no doubt had to implore enlightenment from on high during her hours
of nocturnal adoration before the Most Holy Sacrament.
On February 28, 1943, without
further delay, and while certain people inflamed by too facile an enthusiasm
were already announcing Russia’s imminent conversion, Sister Lucy passed on
Heaven’s response. She wrote it to His Grace the Bishop of Gurza:
«The Good
Lord has already shown me His contentment with the act performed by the Holy
Father and several bishops, although it was incomplete according to His desire.
In return, He promises to end the war soon. The conversion of Russia is not for
now.»3
In these few words, everything is
said. If this text of the seer had been disclosed immediately, it would have
dispelled a good many illusions. It also would have spared commentators on the
message of Fatima the disturbing error which made them state that the Pope had
fully obeyed Our Lady’s requests, and that the world need only wait for the
imminent fulfilment of Her promises...
«AN INCOMPLETE ACT»
Four months after the event, Sister
Lucy spoke clearly. Granted, the Pope had just fulfilled one of Heaven’s
requests, but only one request, and the least of them. We recall that this
consecration of the world with a special mention of Russia was finally
requested by Our Lord on October 22, 1940, as by an act of condescendence,
temporarily limiting His demands according to the cooperation of His
hierarchical representatives.4
But the great requests that constituted the essence of the message of Fatima,
and which Sister Lucy had made known to Pope Pius XII in the opening months of
1940, and again on December 2 of the same year,5 remained unanswered. The Pope had made no
reference to the reparatory devotion of the five first Saturdays of the month.
And he had not accomplished the solemn and public act of reparation and
consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, ordering all the
bishops of the Catholic world to join with him. This would have been a really
extraordinary initiative, but according to the promise of the Virgin most
powerful, it would have obtained from the Divine Mercy the incomparable miracle
of grace which the conversion of Russia will be.6
CONSEQUENCES IN TWO PARTS
What fruits could be expected from
this act of October 31, 1942? One might have thought that in response to this
initial obedience to Heaven’s requests on the hierarchy’s part, there would
correspond an initial fulfilment of the promises. Sister Lucy, however, is
categorical. She does not say: “Russia will begin to be converted, the persecutions
will grow weaker”... No, in this domain it is all or nothing: «The conversion
of Russia is not for now.» So the chastisement prophesied by the great Secret
will continue to be fulfilled. Bolshevik Russia will be the instrument of the
Divine Wrath, the instrument of chastisement for the entire world, nation after
nation.
Then did the consecration of 1942
serve no purpose? It would be a grave error to think so. The seer states that
«the good Lord has already shown His contentment at the act accomplished by the
Holy Father and by several bishops.» Although no doubt the special mention of
Russia was undoubtedly discreet, Our Lord keeps His promise: «In return He
promises to end the war soon.» We shall see that the months following this act
did in fact mark the turning point of the war, whose end was in sight before
long.
More profoundly, the act of Pius
XII corresponded well to the great divine design for our century. «God wishes
to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart». It contributed to this
design in a powerful way, and consequently drew down «special graces of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary» upon the Church and the world.7 Sister Lucy underlines this fact again,
shortly after October 31, 1942, writing: «I hope that the Immaculate Heart will
not delay to show how pleasing such an act was to Her. I ask this (of the
Immaculate Heart) with the confident certitude that my hope will not be
disappointed.»8
She will not be disappointed and a
long chapter will be needed to give even a concise account of the marvels of
grace poured out upon the Church in response to its fervent devotion to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary. But we must also retrace simultaneously the frightful
progress of Bolshevism, which now became unstoppable. What a dramatic contrast!
This too is the subject of another chapter; the material for this chapter,
alas, is no less abundant.
In this growing opposition between
the two cities, which both seem to make progress, each in their own domain
before reaching the paroxysm of their power before the supreme confrontation,
we have the key to the years 1942 - 1948. In the face of Moscow, capital of
antichrist, Fatima rises higher and higher as the holy city of the Kingdom of
Mary; its message stands out as the charter for the reconquest of immense
territories, and multitudes of souls who have fallen into slavery of the
adversary.
In this striking contrast between
the Cova da Iria, its humble Capelinha and its white basilica, and Moscow’s Red
Square, disfigured by the gigantic portraits of the bloody executioners, the
heroes of the Revolution,9
we recognize the age old antagonism: the city of God faced with the empire of
the prince of this world, the «mystery of iniquity» faced with the mystery of
«grace and mercy», the «decisive battle between Our Lady and the devil», as
Sister Lucy was to say soon.
If God permits Evil to progress to
the point where it seems that before long it will be utterly triumphant, it is
for the chastisement of guilty humanity, but also in a design of mercy: that
the frightful menace open the eyes of the pastors of the Church, and lead them
finally to enter into His ways, fulfilling the repeated requests of His most
Holy Mother with exactness and fervour. For the lesson to be complete, God
allows Evil to produce all its devastating effects within its own sphere, and
the errors of the Revolution to produce all their poisoned fruits. But already
God also manifests, with great splendour, the miraculous effectiveness of the
remedy He proposes to the Church for the world’s salvation: to the exact extent
that Her cult and Her authentic message is proclaimed, the Immaculate Heart of
Mary pours out a wonderful shower of graces of conversion and peace over souls
and over nations...
Thus there are two pictures: the
Revolution, invading fresh parts of the world, reducing them to slavery,
persecuting religion – and the gentle, invincible, conquering radiance of Our
Lady of Fatima. For the head of the Church, these two pictures constitute the
most pressing invitation to correspond zealously and without delay to God’s
great design over the world, such as the Queen of prophets had revealed it at
the dawn of our century, in the Cova da Iria. Would Pius XII become, finally,
“the Pope of Fatima” in full, the Pope who would fulfil all its demands and see
the fulfilment of the miracles promised?
APPENDIX
SISTER
LUCY’S SENTIMENTSAFTER THE CONSECRATION OF OCTOBER 31, 1942
The
Bishop of Gurza had been Sister Lucy’s spokesman with the Portuguese bishops.
It was he who got them, in July 1942, to decide to send a new petition to the
Holy Father. Thus he had contributed very effectively to the fulfilment of the
divine designs. Shortly after November 8, 1942, Sister Lucy expressed to him
the joy she felt on learning the happy news. However, in her closing, she
already discreetly pointed out to her director that still not everything had
been done!
Here is
this letter, which in a special way shows our seer’s simplicity and humility of
heart:
«Most
excellent and reverend Lord Bishop,
«I have
here two letters from Your Excellency. I gratefully thank you for them. Your
Excellency’s letters were the first to bring me the good news. After that,
several other letters came from their Excellencies the Lord Bishops and the
Reverend Mother Provincial. They all share my intense joy, and give thanks with
me to our good Lord, to the Holy Father, and to the Immaculate Heart of our
dear Heavenly Mother.
«I did
not have the sweet consolation of hearing His Holiness’ voice. In this sense it
is necessary that my sacrifice be complete; and thanks to God it is! These days
of very great tribulation are going by here, at the house, in the greatest
obscurity. Nothing, absolutely nothing, distinguishes them from the ordinary
course of life; they even try to carefully hide from me all news of what is
happening; but that is good. I am happy because in this way the good Lord and
the Immaculate Heart of Mary are more for me and I for Them, and Them alone!
«As I
read Your Excellency’s letter, I interrupted my reading to go and thank the good
Lord and the Immaculate Heart of Mary for so great a grace. I examined myself
to see if I have something to offer to thank Them, but I didn’t find anything.
I offered my own poverty, and I asked the good Lord to accept my nothingness
and supply for my incapacity. How good is God...! As I continued reading your
letter, I found that Your Excellency said: “In fifteen days I will be free to
say some Masses for you in thanksgiving.”
«O my
God, how good You are...! It is You Who offers Yourself, to immolate Yourself
as a victim in gratitude, through His Excellency’s hands. Oh, how true is the
sentiment engraved at the bottom of my heart: “It is God Who does everything.”
A thousand thanks to Your Excellency. May the good Lord recompense you for such
goodness.
«With
anguish I await His Holiness’ order to the bishops, and then the grace of peace
for the poor world.
«I ask
you to be so good as to bless me.
Maria Lucia of Jesus.»1
While
filled with joy over what had been done, Sister Lucy still did not forget Our
Lady’s exact request: the solemn consecration of Russia by the Pope and all the
bishops of the world, the sole means of obtaining the conversion of this nation
whose salvation is entrusted to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and through this
miraculous conversion, «peace for the poor world».
Endnotes
(1) Cf.
our Vol. II, p. 802-803.(2) FER, p. 45-46. Cf. the letter quoted in the
appendix.(3) Cf. the complete text of this letter (supra, p. 19) and
that of May 4, 1943, to Father Gonçalves (p. 20-21).(4) Cf. our Vol. II, p.
731-733, 805-806.(5) Ibid., p. 724-725, 740.(6) Cf. our Vol. II, p. 465. «I
await, with anxiety, His Holiness’ order to the bishops», wrote Sister Lucy in
November 1942.(7) Cf. Lucy’s letter to Cardinal Cerejeira, December 1, 1940
(quoted in our Vol. II, p. 476).(8) Alonso, FER, p. 46.(9) Cf. the very
evocative photographs reproduced by Alonso in Fatima ante la Esfinge.
Appendix
(1) A. M.
Martins, Fatima e o Coraçao de Maria, p. 103-104, Loyola, 1984.
CHAPTER III
THE MIRACLE OF FATIMA:A SHOWER OF GRACES OVER THE
WORLD(1942
- 1948)
In 1963, Father René Laurentin
observed: «The Blessed Virgin Mary has come to have an extraordinary position
in the Catholic Church of today, reaching its culmination with the Marian Years
at the end of Pius XII’s pontificate: definition of the dogma of the Assumption
in 1950, centennial of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1954,
centennial of Lourdes in 1958.»1
The fact is undeniable! But what our author does not say is that this ardent
devotion to Our Lady was engendered and developed in close relation with the
message of Fatima, especially from 1942 to 1948.
In effect, although the majority of
historians of Pius XII pass over the event in silence, or grant it a
ludicrously minor place in the history of the pontificate, the consecration of
the Church and the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on October 31, 1942
was behind this great movement of Marian devotion. From year to year, this
movement was to grow almost until the very end of the pontificate, going hand
in hand with a wonderful expansion of the Catholic Faith.
1942: THE
DAWN OF A MARIAN ERA
Must we recall very briefly the
most noteworthy events marking the jubilee year of Fatima?
April 8-13: Marian Congress at
Lisbon with the first “tour of Our Lady”, whose statue is triumphantly carried
from the Cova da Iria to the capital of the Empire.
April 18: Cardinal Schuster reveals
the major themes of the great Secret.
April-May: Appearance at Rome of
the works of Father da Fonseca and Father Moresco. With one shot, these works
will make the message of Fatima known in the entire world.
May 13: At Fatima, spectacular
ceremonies of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first apparition. At Rome,
the episcopal jubilee of Pius XII.
October 13: Blessing of the crown
of gold offered to Our Lady of Fatima. Appearance of Canon Galamba’s work, Jacinta,
which reveals the exact text of the first two parts of the Secret.
October 31: Closing of the Fatima
jubilee. Radio message of Pius XII to the Portuguese nation and consecration of
the Church and the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.2
It must be made clear that this
consecration was in no way a mere formality without any consequences, something
the Pope resigned himself to so as to satisfy the pressing requests of the
faithful. In the spirit of Pius XII, this act, which was a first official
response to the requests of Fatima, was to orient and inspire the whole Church’s
devotion in the future. Later on, the Pope applied himself to recalling this
act and underlining its importance.3
THE
CEREMONY OF DECEMBER 8. To
stress the relationship of this act of consecration with Fatima, the Pope had
wanted to accomplish this consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the
occasion of the closing of the jubilee of the apparitions in 1917. But because
the discourse was pronounced in Portuguese, there was the risk that it would
pass almost unnoticed in the rest of the world. Pius XII decided to renew it
very shortly after, so that it would have greater repercussions. On December 8,
feast of the Immaculate Conception, «a ceremony of expiation and supplication»
took place in Saint Peter’s basilica. In the presence of forty Cardinals, many
bishops, the diplomatic corps, the clergy of Rome and a great crowd of
pilgrims, the Holy Father read once more the consecration of the world to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Responding to the most formal
divine decree revealed at Fatima – «God wishes to establish in the world
devotion to My Immaculate Heart» – he urgently invited the entire Christian
people to unite themselves to the devotional act he had just accomplished
towards Our Lady: bishops were to consecrate their dioceses to Her, parish priests
were to consecrate their parishes, and the Faithful were to consecrate
themselves.4
This simple invitation from the
Holy Father did not remain a dead letter. With beautiful enthusiasm, in the
final days of 1942, many parishes of Italy consecrated themselves to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary. Some French dioceses followed this example: Annecy on
December 13, Gap and Arras on Christmas day, Tulle on December 27, etc. In
Spain as well, the dioceses of Cordoba, Coria, Astorga, Avila and Seville were
consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary before the end of 1942. Some
religious orders followed suit: the Franciscans, the Capuchins, the Servites.5
TOWARDS
THE DEFINITION OF THE DOGMA OF THE ASSUMPTION. The year 1942 had also witnessed the Sovereign Pontiff’s
first public decision in view of the proclamation of the dogma of the
Assumption of the Most Holy Virgin. To manifest the consensus of the Church,
Pius XII confided to two Jesuits, Fathers Hentrich and de Moos, the task of
reviewing and publishing all the petitions concerning the Assumption sent to
the Holy See since the last century.
THE
APOSTLE OF MARY HONOURED.
Another important decision was made for the increase of devotion to Our Lady:
on January 11, 1942, Pius XII had signed the decree “De miraculis”, reopening
the canonization process of Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort. Moreover,
on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the discovery of the
manuscript, “Treatise on True Devotion to the Holy Virgin”, the Montfort
Fathers published a photographic edition of it. Pius XII granted them the
favour of a manuscript presentation of the document.6
All these actions and gestures
committed the Church along the path of a more perfect response to Our Lady of
Fatima’s requests. The fact is remarkable: from 1942 until 1948 – to stay
within the period we are covering here – there is not a single year which isn’t
singled out by several decisive events for the development of devotion to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary.
1943: THE
BEGINNING OF THE “GREAT RETURN”
On February 12, Pius XII published
the decree introducing the cause for beatification of Pope Pius X. This
decision was incomparably effective for the defence of the Catholic Faith.
THE PROGRESS OF DEVOTION TO THE
IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
On April 15, the Pope once more
ordered public prayers to the Most Holy Virgin to obtain peace. Repeating in
his turn one of the themes of the Secret of Fatima, he invited the Faithful
before all else to learn the lessons of the war:
«It is
necessary first of all that everyone reflect and recognize that such a war,
perhaps the greatest one since the creation of the world, in the final analysis
is simply the well deserved chastisement from the outraged Divine Justice...»7
The Pope then recalled the solemn
act accomplished a few months earlier:
«In the
month of October last, we devoted, entrusted and consecrated to the Immaculate
Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary the Holy Church, Mystical Body of Jesus
Christ, torn by so many wounds, and at the same time the entire universe which,
consumed by hatred and embittered by divisions, is paying the penalty for its
own iniquities. We have learned, with great consolation for our paternal
heart, that this act of devotion had been renewed almost everywhere by bishops,
priests, and the multitude of Christian people. But if almost all
Christians have spontaneously and gladly devoted themselves to the Immaculate
Heart of the Virgin Mary, they must also willingly and resolutely conform
themselves to it, if they really desire that the Mother of God receive their
prayers with kindness.»8
While at Rome and in all Italy, the
recent works of Father da Fonseca and Father Luigi Moresco, making known the
message of Fatima, spread with wonderful speed,9 Pius XII multiplied gestures that
manifested his personal devotion. In March 1943, he himself blessed a
reproduction of Our Lady of Fatima destined for the church of Saint James of
Udine. In June, he accepted the request which Portugal had officially addressed
to him, to construct at Portugal’s own expense a chapel dedicated to Our Lady
of Fatima in the new church of Saint Eugene, built at Rome in remembrance of
his episcopal jubilee. This chapel was made entirely of Portuguese marble.10
On June 29, in his encyclical Mystici
Corporis, the epilogue of which was entirely devoted to «the Blessed
Virgin Mary, Mother of the members of Christ», the Pope concluded by
recalling the new act of consecration to Her Immaculate Heart.11 Finally, on November 25, he ordered that on
the following December 8, for the first anniversary of this consecration in St.
Peter’s Basilica, public prayers would once more be addressed to Our Lady,
accompanied by works of penance accomplished in the spirit of expiation.12
During the entire year, the
movement of consecrations to the Immaculate Heart of Mary had continued to
grow. In Spain, for example, not only dioceses but parishes and all sorts of
religious, military or civil associations had performed this act of devotion to
Our Lady. Father Alonso gives a list of 41 Spanish dioceses that made their
consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1943, usually after publication
of a pastoral letter where the bishop explained its meaning and close
relationship with the Fatima message.13
In France, also, the consecration
performed by Pius XII bore wonderful fruits of grace: it inspired the “Great
Return”, «this extraordinary mystical event, undoubtedly the vastest homage
given to the Mother of God on our land of France». The expression comes from
Father Devineau, who after having been one of its principal organizers became
its enthusiastic historian.14
THE GREAT RETURN IN THE ROUTE OF
OUR LADY
Everything had begun in 1938, on
the occasion of the third centennial of the consecration of France to Our Lady
by King Louis XIII. Four reproductions of the statue of Our Lady of Boulogne,
sitting on its barque, had visited several hundred parishes in the north of
France that year. Four years later, on August 15, 1942, one of these statues
was at Puy-en-Velay for the pilgrimage that brought together 60,000 young
people at the feet of the “Madonna of France”. On September 7, it was received
at Lourdes with honour. Then Our Lady of Boulogne was returned once more and
everything seemed finished.
Shortly after December 8, 1942,
Cardinal Suhard, Archbishop of Paris, made his ad limina visit. Pius XII
surely spoke to him about the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary that
he had just performed. On the Cardinal’s return, the assembly of Cardinals and
Archbishops of France fixed the date Sunday, March 28, 1943, for the
consecration of every diocese in France to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Father
Ranson, S.J., who had already been behind the first itinerant mission of Our
Lady of Boulogne, decided to make a return journey. Father Devineau writes:
«This
consecration was the charter for the Great Return. When on March 28, 1943, the
Church in France, through the mouth of its spiritual heads made the Pope’s act
its own, Our Lady of Boulogne – who from now on was to be called Our Lady of
the Great Return – left the rock of Massabielle for Her first stage on the
roads of France: Lourdes-Bartrès. The prodigious journey began. It was to last
six months, and by osmosis it spread to several countries of Europe, and from
there to the rest of the world.»15
I have before my eyes one of the
images distributed by the thousands as a souvenir. The date March 28, 1943, is
printed in large characters, recalling the point of departure for the Great
Return. On the other side is the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
pronounced by Pius XII in his radio message to the Portuguese people for the
closing of the Fatima jubilee. It is followed by a brief formula of personal
consecration.
This new kind of Marian mission,
completely centred on consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, was to
visit over 16,000 parishes in 83 dioceses of France within five years. The
program was simple:
«During
the day there were long marches on foot from one parish to another, often
involving immense processions in all seasons, in summer as in winter, under the
sun, the frost, the snow... The nights were spent in the pulpit and the
confessional. A few hours of sleep, and in the morning everybody left. It was
Lourdes every day in several parishes of France: waves of grace were flowing.»16
On the road, there was non-stop
singing and praying for hours. Many walked barefoot.
In the
evening, «around 10:30 p.m., there was a great prayer vigil in a packed church,
in deep fervour. The people meditated on the mysteries of the Rosary,
especially the Sorrowful ones... At midnight, there was a Mass of Communion16a
with a consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary».17 «And the
signed formulas of consecration to Our Lady were gathered: “to show my will to
be more and more faithful to my God and my country, I consecrate myself to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary”...»18
After the Mass, compact groups
remained in the church for a vigil of adoration lasting the entire night, until
the departure for another parish the following day.
Everywhere the crowds ran to
welcome the Pilgrim Virgin «in an outburst of fervour and a demonstration of
faith difficult to imagine today. During sixty months, between forty to fifty
missionaries accompanied the fourfold Marian path, which went from the shores
of the Gave to the coasts of Boulogne.»19 Father Devineau wrote in 1963:
«It is difficult, after twenty years, to
realize to what extent an entire people rose up in enthusiasm and fervour...
Under the fragile appearance of statues which were passing by, the presence of
the Mother of God was hidden. She was the great converter, the great
missionary.»20
Msgr. Théas wrote:
«From
April 26 to July 4, 1943, the statue of Our Lady of Boulogne went all over the
little diocese of Montauban. Night and day, Our Lady of the Great Return was
honoured and acclaimed in the most unexpected and beneficent way... The
confessionals and communion rails were besieged during these sacred nocturns,
while recitation of the mysteries of the Rosary occupied the praying multitudes
in the churches. In certain parishes there were striking conversions that had
not been worked during the missions.»21
The unexpected effectiveness of
this Marian mission especially surprised the directors of Catholic Action. The
Director of Public Works wrote, «The Great Return at Rheims reached social
circles that Catholic Action had never reached. It causes a good many problems
for us (sic!).»22
In effect, «The great journey of
Mary, Queen and Patroness of France, across her fair domain», as Pius XII said
shortly after, was also and above all, the great return of souls to Jesus
through Mary, by means of the consecration to Her Immaculate Heart. Father
Devineau writes, «The missionaries who followed Our Lady over the roads of
France can testify that in the paths of Mary they heard the most sincere and
loyal avowals.»23
In the atmosphere of Marshal
Pétain’s “National Revolution”, the success of the Great Return was complete.
The civil authorities clearly showed their favour, and in spite of the
patriotic character of this movement of popular piety, the German occupiers
created no obstacle.
One of the images of the Great
Return which was very widespread bore on the reverse side Saint Pius X’s
celebrated prophecy, which he uttered during the consistory of November 29,
1911:
«A day
will come, and we hope it is not far off, when France, like Saul on the road to
Damascus, etc.» The text continued, «On this day it is in our power to hasten
the event, doing what the Holy Virgin has so expressly requested: 1. By
amending our life; 2. By reciting the Rosary; 3. By consecrating ourselves to
the Immaculate Heart of Mary.»
In a few words, the essence of the
Fatima message had been proposed as the means of hastening this hour of
France’s complete conversion. This was also the period when the events of
Fatima, which were almost totally unknown in France, suddenly aroused «a pious
and avid curiosity» in the Christian people. The press broke its obstinate
silence. Preachers mentioned it. In a few months the very important new edition
of Canon Barthas’ book, entitled Fatima, merveille inouie was sold out.24
Before long, with the “Liberation”,
the Great Return encountered fierce opposition from the communists and
freemasons, who had returned to power in force, but also from their
accomplices, the Christian Democrats. We shall supply the proof of this
opposition. The Christian Democrats were exasperated by this religion of the
plain man and this Catholic nationalism, which they rightly perceived as a
threat to the sacrosanct secular democracy... But we must not get ahead of
ourselves.
Be that as it may, the Great Return
made a powerful contribution to the very real Catholic renaissance that took
place under Marshal Pétain’s government, with his benevolent and effective
help. If this movement was not entirely successful, at least it saved France
during the years 1944-1947 from a complete communist takeover, which very
nearly turned France over to the Bolshevik camp... Then also, for souls, the
innumerable graces of conversion and all the merits they obtained at this
period are supernatural treasures which have an eternal value.
1944: THE
FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
In her letter to Pope Pius XII of
December 2, 1940, at the end of her exposition, Sister Lucy wrote:
«Now,
Most Holy Father, allow me to make one more request, which is but an ardent
wish of my humble heart; that the feast in honour of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary be extended throughout the whole world as one of the principal feasts of
Holy Church.»25
She confided the same vehement
desire to Father Aparicio:
«Oh! Who
will grant to me... that His Holiness may elevate the feast in honour of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary to the rank of a principal feast of the first class,
for the Universal Church! Pray for that, for the glory of our Good Lord and our
Good Heavenly Mother.»26
On May 27, 1943, she insisted once
more, in a letter to the Bishop of Gurza: «In truth, this desire (for a feast
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary) is not just my own. Someone has put it in me.
It comes from the most Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary.»27
On May 4, 1944, this desire was
partially granted: the Pope instituted the feast of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary, to preserve, as he said, the memory of the consecration of the human race
to this same Heart, accomplished by the Pope on December 8, 1942.
Here is the text of the decree of
the Sacred Congregation of Rites, published in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis:
«The
liturgical cult of the Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, of which the
commentaries of the Fathers on the Spouse in the Canticle of Canticles show
remote vestiges, and which was prepared more immediately by more numerous and
holy persons, men and women of the Middle Ages and the modern period, was
approved by the Apostolic See at the dawn of the nineteenth century. Pope Pius
VII established that the feast of the most pure Heart of Mary was to be
celebrated piously and in a holy manner on the Sunday after the octave of the
Assumption, by all the dioceses and religious families which would request the
faculty of celebrating this feast.
«But
during this same century, the feast of the most pure Heart of the Blessed
Virgin Mary – which over the years spread more widely over the Catholic world –
was enriched with a proper Office and Mass by order of Pius IX and the care of
the Sacred Congregation of Rites.
«Through
this cult, the Church renders the honour due to the Immaculate Heart of the
Blessed Virgin Mary. Under the symbol of this Heart, in effect it venerates
most devoutly the eminent and unique sanctity of the soul of the Mother of God,
especially Her most ardent love towards Her God and Son Jesus Christ, and Her
maternal tenderness towards men, redeemed by His Divine Blood.
«Meanwhile,
a zealous and ardent desire grew stronger in the souls of both the Faithful and
their Pastors that the feast of the most pure Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
be extended to the whole Church.
«Therefore,
having compassion on such painful trials which afflict the Christian peoples
because of the cruel war that overwhelms them, our Most Holy Father, Pope Pius
XII, in the year 1942, on the blessed day of the Immaculate Conception,
consecrated the holy universal Church and the entire human race for all times
to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, just as Pope Leo XIII had
once dedicated them to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
«And to
preserve the memory of this consecration (consecrationis) he decided to
extend the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to the universal Church. It is
to be celebrated each year with its proper Office and Mass on August 22, in
place of the octave day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, under the rite
of double of the second class: so that with the help of the Blessed Mother of
God, peace be granted to all nations and liberty to the Church of Christ, that
sinners be delivered from their faults, and finally so that all the Faithful be
strengthened in the love of purity and the practice of the virtues... May 4,
1944. Cardinal Salotti, Prefect.»28
«God wishes to establish in the
world devotion to My Immaculate Heart.» The establishment of this feast marked
new progress in the fulfilment of His designs of mercy for our century.
THE WARNING TO THE BISHOPS OF
SPAIN
It was also in 1944 that the
message of June 12, 1941, was finally passed on to many of the Spanish bishops.
The first initiatives of Don Antonio Garcia y Garcia had been rather badly
received, especially by the Cardinals of Toledo and Seville.
In the face of this failure of the
Spanish prelate, Bishop da Silva decided to act. On February 10, 1944, he wrote
the following letter to each of the bishops of Spain:
«I am the
unworthy bishop of the smallest diocese in Portugal, but the diocese chosen by
Our Lady for the apparitions of Fatima.
«Sister
Lucy, one of the seers, still lives in a religious house in Spain. I have
spoken to her and I have often corresponded with her. Not long ago, she wrote
to the Most Excellent Lord Manuel, Bishop of Gurza, Superior of the Society of
Portuguese Catholic missions, her former spiritual director, a letter, the
contents of which I communicate to you.29
«Father
Moran, S.J., who came to Fatima several times to preach the Spiritual Exercises
presided over by His Eminence Cardinal Cerejeira, Patriarch of Lisbon, insisted
with me that I make known these words of Sister Lucy to Your Excellency.»30
This intervention, which was so
surprising coming from the Bishop of Leiria, was soon to have the happiest
results.
THE
RESPONSE OF THE BISHOPS. The
Bishop of Badajoz, who was the first to respond to this circular letter, said
to Don José:
«The
words of Sister Lucy, the seer of Fatima, could not be more expressive and they
express with all exactitude what is taking place among us. Consequently, to the
extent my feeble strength allows, I will strive to follow Our Lord’s warning to
appease His justice, so offended by so many souls who live without fulfilling
His holy law.»
Cardinal Segura, Archbishop of
Seville, revised his opinion:
«How many
truths these statements contain! We see it every day, and we unceasingly repeat
it to our Faithful. May the Lord, through the mediation of Our Lady of Fatima,
to whom the people of Spain profess such a tender devotion, deign to grant us
the change of morals indispensable for the divine designs to be fulfilled among
our people! A few months from now, a special chapel of Our Lady of Fatima will
be erected here, near the diocesan monument of the Sacred Heart, in response to
the desires of Sevillian piety. I thank Father Moran very much for his
intervention on this subject. I have known him since my childhood, and I
greatly esteem his virtues and his good qualities, his talent, his knowledge
and his prudence.»31
After that, the Cardinal was so
convinced of the supernatural origin of the message communicated by Lucy that
he dared to read it publicly in his cathedral, in the course of one of his
celebrated Lenten conferences, which resounded throughout all of Spain.32
The text was also published in the
Spanish-English edition of Voz da Fatima, then reproduced by several
popular reviews. Some bishops gave signs of a certain irritation but the
majority received this severe warning with the greatest respect. Although some
opposition created an obstacle to the bishops’ meetings requested, Our Lord’s
message was widely diffused and on the whole the bishops made efforts to take
it into account. Indeed, in 1947-1948, when the Virgin of the Cova da Iria
began crossing the world as a missionary, it was in Catholic Spain that She
experienced Her greatest triumph. There too, with greater generosity, She
poured out Her miracles of grace, Her miracles of healing and conversion.
1945: THE
PROGRESS OF DEVOTION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
On March 2, 1945, Sister Lucy wrote
to Father Aparicio: «I rejoice at the progress that devotion to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary is making everywhere. In the present time, it is this
devotion that will save us.»33 As for the Pope, he lost no occasion to invite the Christian
people to walk along this path.
On January 21, for the fiftieth
anniversary of his consecration to the Most Holy Virgin in the Marian
congregation of the Capranica college, the Pope explained to the members of the
Marian congregations of Rome what their role was, and the nature of true
consecration to Mary.34
On April 8, he alluded to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary once more. On April 15, he published the encyclical Communium
interpretes, ordering public prayers to Our Lady to obtain peace. Once more
he insisted on the necessary reform of public and private morals which must
accompany acts of devotion, coinciding with the themes of Our Lord’s warning to
the bishops of Spain:
«Since it
is our sins which we commit before God (Baruch 6:1) that turn us away from Him
and cast us into the throes of misfortune and ruin, it is not enough, as you
are well aware, Venerable Brethren, to address ardent prayers to Heaven; it is
not enough to come on foot in very great numbers to the foot of the altar of
the Blessed Virgin Mary to bring offerings, flowers, and supplications there;
but it is absolutely necessary to renew both private and public life through
Christian morals....»35
On October 8, Pius XII wrote to
Father Cruvillier, Superior General of the Missionaries of La Salette, on the
occasion of the upcoming centennial of the apparition of Our Lady:
«Our
devotion towards the Most Holy Virgin, to the Immaculate Heart to whom we have
consecrated the Church and the world, can only increase before the gentle
perspectives, opened up to us by your letter, of the upcoming hundredth
anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of La Salette, whose canonical
process, instituted by the diocesan authority in its time, proved to be
favourable.»36
On December 8, in his allocution
for the closing of the Spiritual Exercises at the Vatican, he made this
disclosure:
«If, at
times, we feel ourselves bending under the weight of the cross, if the
incomprehension or injustices of the world fill our heart with bitterness, if
the assaults of the enemies of God submit our courage and our perseverance to a
severe trial, on this day devoted to the Immaculate Virgin we know where to
find consolation and security: in our devotion to Mary, the Heavenly Queen, the
Mother of God and our Mother. Trusting in Her intercession, we will walk
confidently under the divine protection.»37
1946: THE
WHITE DOVES OF THE IMMACULATE ONE, QUEEN OF PORTUGAL
After the jubilee year of 1942, in
1946 we reach a new summit of devotion to the Most Holy Virgin, and especially
to Our Lady of Fatima.
TOWARDS
THE DEFINITION OF THE DOGMA OF THE ASSUMPTION. On May 1, 1946, the Pope sent confidentially to all bishops
of the world the encyclical Deiparae Virginis, in which he asked each of
them to give his opinion on the definition of the dogma of the Assumption of
the Most Holy Virgin and its opportuneness.38
On June 30, speaking to the
faithful in Belgium, he mentioned «the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother and
Mediatrix».39 On July 16, he addressed a magnificent
radio message to the faithful of Colombia, on the occasion of their national
Marian Congress. The intense devotion to the Blessed Virgin, he explained, is
what preserved the faith «in the regions colonized by the mother country,
Spain». Because Our Lady of Carmel was to be crowned during the Congress, the
Pope developed in his conclusion a theme which is the very essence of the
message of Fatima. The Blessed Virgin Mary, and She alone, can gain the
decisive victory over the unchained forces of evil:
«Our Lady
of Carmel is the patroness of the seafaring people who every day risk their
lives before the waves and the unstable wind! From our post as pilot of the
barque of Peter, when we hear the tempest raging and before our eyes we see a
furious sea leaping up as if to swallow our ship, we raise a trusting and
serene glance towards Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Respice stellam, voca
Mariam – and we pray to Her not to abandon us. And although hell never
ceases to assail us and the fury of the forces of evil is ever increasing,
counting on Her powerful protection we will never doubt that victory will be
ours.»40
On July 31, the Pope wrote a letter
on the Rosary to the Archbishop of Manila for the Marian Congress of the
Philippines. On August 30 and September 4, he once again alluded to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary.41
On November 22, he addressed an allocution to a group of directors of the Great
Return.42 He encouraged them to continue their work:
«Walk on always, but in the way you have committed yourselves to: this is the
good road. It is the road of prayer and penance, the royal road of the cross.»
Then he added:
«The most
difficult thing is not the bursts of fervour in the nocturnal vigils, barefoot
processions under a burning sun or in the snow, if they are only a passing
episode. The most difficult thing is constant fidelity to even the irksome
duties of the Christian, to pious practices, to the manifold sacrifices of
daily life in the spirit of reparation, humility and love.»
After recalling the consecration of
the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the millions of individual
consecrations accomplished on the roads of the Great Return, the Pope recalled
their seriousness and importance:
«We can
only recall here what we said on this subject on an anniversary dear to our
heart: “The consecration to the Mother of God... is a total gift of self, for
one’s whole life and for eternity; not a gift of pure form or pure sentiment,
but an effective gift realized in the intensity of the Christian and Marian
life.” (Disclosure of January 21, 1945 to members of the Congregations of the
Holy Virgin).»43
The year 1946 was also the year of
Poland’s consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.44 But it is also and especially the great
year of Our Lady of Fatima’s triumph in the “Land of Holy Mary”.
MAY 13, 1946: THE CROWNING OF
OUR LADY OF FATIMA
We have mentioned how for the
jubilee of the apparitions, the women of Portugal had offered Our Lady of
Fatima a massive crown of gold decorated with pearls and precious stones, which
Cardinal Cerejeira had solemnly blessed on October 13, 1942. The ceremony of
coronation, however, had been reserved for better times.
As the third centennial of
Portugal’s consecration to the Blessed Virgin was approaching, the bishops of
the country decided to solemnize this national anniversary by the crowning of
the statue of Our Lady of Fatima. They addressed themselves to the Pope and asked
him to send a papal legate. This favour was granted, and on January 18, a
collective pastoral letter announced the program of celebrations for the
tricentennial and invited all Portugal to the great national pilgrimage of May
13.
On the evening of May 10, before
taking the plane put at his disposal by the Portuguese government, Aloysius
Cardinal Masella, the legate a latere, had gone to ask the Holy Father
for a final blessing. «Think of the greatness of the mission you are about
to fulfil», Pius XII declared to him. «You are going to crown Our Lady
Queen of the world.»
The welcome given to the legate at
Lisbon and then Batalha by all the bishops of the country was already the
occasion for spectacular demonstrations. On May 13, after the communion Mass,
there was a parade of banners followed by the solemn procession of the Statue,
which was carried from the Capelinha to the square before the basilica, where
it was to be crowned. In spite of the wind and the rain, eight hundred thousand
pilgrims were there, acclaiming their Queen with indescribable enthusiasm. The
entire nation was organically represented. The litter for the procession was
carried by the cadets of the military school, accompanied by their officers.
For the coronation, the president of the League of Catholic Women who had
offered the crown, presented it to the Interior Minister, the delegate of
General Carmona, head of state. The general in turn handed it to the legate,
who in the name of the Sovereign Pontiff placed it on the head of the venerated
Image.
As Father
da Fonseca recalls, «At that moment there was an irrepressible overflowing of
the sentiments filling everyone’s heart: applause, hurrahs, hosannas,
supplications, tears of love, of devotion, of enthusiasm... Only a person who
saw and lived through such exceptional moments in the history of Portugal and
the world can have an idea of it.45 The consecration of Portugal to
the Immaculate Heart of Mary was renewed. Then the chants, hosannas, and
invocations to the Queen and Patroness broke out once more... But before long,
at exactly 11:30 a.m., as if by magic, a profound silence returned to the vast
square and the Pope’s voice began to resonate.»46
RADIO
MESSAGE TO THE FAITHFUL OF PORTUGAL ON THE OCCASION OF THE CROWNING OF OUR LADY
OF FATIMA47
«Venerable
Brethren, and dear children!
«“Blessed
be the Lord, the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies
and God of all consolation, Who consoles us in all our tribulations!” (2 Cor.
1:3-4) And together with the Lord, blessed be Her whom He has constituted the
Mother of Mercy, our Queen and our most loving Advocate, Mediatrix of all
graces, Dispensatrix of all His treasures!»
FROM THE CONSECRATION OF OCTOBER
31, 1942 TO THE CROWNING OF MAY 13, 1946
«When,
four years ago, in the midst of the conflict and the most deadly war history
has ever known, we found ourselves in your midst for the first time, going up
in spirit even to this holy mountain, together with you we thanked Our Lady of
Fatima for the immense benefits She had recently granted you, while all hearts
joined in a Magnificat. At that time we had added a cry of filial
confidence, that the Immaculate Queen and Patroness of Portugal complete the
work She had so wonderfully begun.48
«Your
presence today in this sanctuary, in such an immense multitude that nobody can
count it, bears witness that the Sovereign Virgin, the Immaculate Queen whose
motherly and compassionate Heart brought about the prodigy of Fatima, has heard
your supplications in a superabundant manner. An ardent and grateful love has
led you here, and you have wanted to give it visible expression, giving it
tangible form and symbolizing it through this precious crown, the fruit of so
many acts of generosity and sacrifice. By this crown, through the hands of our
Cardinal Legate, we have just crowned the wonder-working image of Our Lady of
Fatima.»
I. THE IMMACULATE VIRGIN, QUEEN OF
PORTUGAL
«If, in
the eyes of the Heavenly Queen, this expressive symbol bears witness to your
filial love and your gratitude, it reminds us first of the immense love
manifested by the innumerable benefits which the Virgin Mother has poured out
over Her “Land of Holy Mary.”»
FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE
KINGDOM TO ITS SOLEMN CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE ONE
«Eight
centuries of benefits! The first five centuries went by under the sign of Saint
Mary of Alcobaça, Saint Mary of Victory, and Saint Mary of Belem, in the epic
struggles against the Crescent for the foundation of the Nation, and in those
which were necessary to consolidate its independence; and finally in all the
heroic adventures, the discovery of new islands and new continents by which
your ancestors distinguished themselves, everywhere planting the Cross of
Christ along with the national coat-of-arms.»49
«The last
three centuries went by under the special protection of the Immaculate One,
whom the monarch, restorer of Portugal’s independence,50 along with
the entire nation gathered together in the Legislature, proclaimed Patroness of
his kingdoms and domains, consecrating to Her his crown in tribute as Her
vassal, and making the oath to defend even to the death the privilege of Her
Immaculate Conception.51 “With a great confidence in the infinite
mercy of Our Lord”, he declared, “and through the mediation of Our Lady, Patroness
and Protectress of our kingdoms and domains, of whom we have the honour to
declare ourselves vassals and tributaries, we hope to be upheld and defended
against our enemies and to obtain a great increase of our realms, for the glory
of Christ our God, the exaltation of our holy Roman Catholic Faith, the
conversion of pagans and the submission of heretics.”»52
THE MIRACLE OF FATIMA
«And the
Most Faithful Virgin has not disappointed those who have placed their hope in
Her. It is enough to consider the last three decades,53 which in the
crises passed through and the benefits received are equal to centuries. It is
enough to open the eyes and to see this Cova da Iria, transformed into a
wellspring gushing forth with graces, with physical prodigies and even more,
with miracles of the moral order, which have been poured out in torrents all
over Portugal, and from there, crossing its frontiers, are extending over the
entire Church and the whole world.
«How
could we not thank Her? Or rather, how can we thank Her worthily?
«Three
hundred years ago, the monarch of national restoration, as a sign of love and
gratitude for him and for his people, laid down his royal crown at the feet of
the Immaculate One, who was proclaimed Queen and Patroness of his kingdom.
Today it is all of you, the entire people of the “Land of Holy Mary”, along
with the Pastors of your souls and your Government, who, with ardent prayers,
with generous sacrifices, with eucharistic solemnities, with a thousand forms
of homage dictated to you by filial and grateful love, have wanted to put
together this precious crown to adorn the brow of Our Lady of Fatima, here in
this blessed oasis imbued with the supernatural, where Her wonderful protection
is felt more visibly, and where all of you feel closer to Her Immaculate Heart,
which beats with an immense tenderness, a motherly solicitude for you and for
the whole world.
«How
precious is this crown, a symbol expressing love and gratitude!»
II. THE IMMACULATE VIRGIN, QUEEN OF
THE UNIVERSE
THE ASSUMPTION AND CROWNING OF
OUR LADY IN HEAVEN
«However,
this immense concourse of people, the fervour of your prayers, the echoes of
your acclamations, all the holy enthusiasm stirring in you, and also the sacred
rite which has just been performed in this hour of incomparable triumph of the
Most Holy Mother, evokes for our mind other much more innumerable multitudes,
other much more ardent acclamations, other triumphs much more divine: the hour
eternally solemn, on that unfading day in eternity, when the glorious Virgin,
entering triumphally into the heavenly Homeland, was lifted up through the
blessed hierarchies of the choirs of angels even to the throne of the Blessed
Trinity, which adorned Her head with a triple crown of glory, and presented Her
to the heavenly court, seated at the right hand of the immortal King of the
ages, and crowned Queen of the universe.»
THE TITLES OF MARY IMMACULATE TO
UNIVERSAL QUEENSHIP
«And the
Heavenly Father saw that She was really worthy to receive honour, glory and
empire; because She was more full of grace, more holy, more beautiful, and
incomparably more divinized than the greatest saints and the most sublime
angels, taken separately or all together; because She is mysteriously
connected, in the order of the hypostatic union, with the entire Blessed
Trinity, with Him Who alone is, by His essence, the infinite Majesty, the King
of kings and Lord of lords, as eldest Daughter of the Father and most tender
Mother of the Word, beloved Spouse of the Holy Spirit; because She is Mother of
the Divine King, of Him to Whom the Lord gave, in His Mother’s womb, the throne
of David and eternal kingship over the house of Jacob; because He who
proclaimed that all power has been given to Him in Heaven and on earth, the Son
of God, caused the glory, the majesty and empire of His own Kingship to rebound
upon His Heavenly Mother; and because, being associated as Mother and Assistant
of the King of martyrs in the ineffable work of the Redemption of men, She
remains associated with Him for all time, with an almost infinite power in the
distribution of the graces flowing from the Redemption.54
«Jesus is
the King of eternal ages, by nature and by conquest. Through Him, with Him, in
dependence on Him, Mary is Queen, by grace, by divine association, by conquest,
by singular election. And Her Kingdom is as vast as that of Her Son, Who is
God, since nothing is excluded from His domain.
«This is
why the Church greets Her as Sovereign and Queen of angels and saints, of
patriarchs and prophets, of apostles and martyrs, of confessors and virgins.
This is why it proclaims Her “Queen of Heaven and earth”, “glorious and most
worthy Queen of the universe”, Regina coelorum, gloriosa Regina mundi,
Regina mundi dignissima. This is why the Church teaches us to invoke Her,
day and night, in the midst of the laments and tears of our exile: “Hail Holy
Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope!” For Her
Queenship is essentially maternal, essentially beneficent.»
QUEEN OF PEACE, PROTECTRESS OF
PORTUGAL AND QUEEN OF THE WORLD
«Is it
not precisely this Queenship which you have experienced? Have you not just
proclaimed and recognized, today, the outstanding benefits, the innumerable
testimonies of tenderness which the maternal Heart of your august Queen has
graciously granted you?
«The most
terrible war that ever desolated the world, for four long years gnawed around
your borders but never crossed them, thanks especially to Our Lady, who from
Her throne of mercy, which has been raised up here like a sublime watchtower in
the centre of the country, watched over you and over your rulers; She did not
allow the war to touch you, only allowing you to suspect the unprecedented
calamities from which Her protection preserved you.
«Yes,
crown Her Queen of peace and Queen of the world, that She may help the world to
find peace once more and rise up from its ruins! In this way this crown, a
symbol of love and gratitude for the past, symbol of faith and vassalship for
the present, will be, for the future, a crown of fidelity and hope.»
ENGAGEMENT IN THE SERVICE OF THE
QUEEN OF THE WORLD...
«In
crowning the Image of Our Lady, you have signed and attested your faith in Her
Queenship, your loyal submission to Her authority, your filial and constant
correspondence to Her love. You have done more: you have committed yourselves,
as Crusaders, for the conquest or the reconquest of Her kingdom, which is the
Kingdom of God; that is, you have bound yourselves before Heaven and earth to
love Her, to venerate Her, to serve Her, to imitate Her, so as to better serve
the Divine King; and at the same time you have bound yourselves to make Her
loved, served and venerated among you, in the family, in society and in the
whole world.»
… IN AN APOCALYPTIC BATTLE
«In this
decisive hour of history, just as the kingdom of evil, deploying an infernal
strategy, uses every means and unleashes all its forces to destroy faith,
morals, and the kingdom of God; so also the children of light, the children of
God must make use of everything, and all be employed in defending them, if we
do not want to witness a ruin infinitely more grave and more disastrous than
all the material ruins accumulated by the war.
«In this
battle, there can be neither the neutral nor the undecided. What is needed is a
Catholicism which is enlightened, convinced, without fear, a Catholicism of
faith and action, of feelings and works, in private as well as in public, which
can be summed up in the formula proclaimed four years ago at Fatima by the
valiant Catholic youth: “Catholics one hundred percent!”
«In the
hope that our wishes will be favourably received by the Immaculate Heart of
Mary, and will hasten the hour of Her triumph and the triumph of the Kingdom of
God, as a pledge of heavenly favours, to you, Venerable Brethren, and to all your
clergy, to the most excellent President of the Republic, to the illustrious
Head and members of the government, to the other civil and military
authorities, to all of you, dear sons and daughters, pious pilgrims of Our Lady
of Fatima, and to all those who are united to you in spirit in continental
Portugal, and its isles and overseas possessions, with all our love and all our
paternal affection we give the Apostolic Blessing.»
After the discourse of October 31,
1942, this radio message marked a new progress in official recognition of the
Queen of Heaven’s apparitions at Fatima. Indeed, Pius XII had not been afraid
to use the strongest expressions, which no longer left any room for doubt: he
dared to speak of the «prodigy of Fatima» and attribute to Our Lady of Fatima
the miracle of peace with which Portugal was blessed. He evoked the place of
the apparitions with enthusiasm: «This blessed oasis, impregnated with the
supernatural», where people experience in a more tangible way the wonderful
protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, «this Cova da Iria transformed into
a well gushing forth graces, physical prodigies, and even more, miracles of the
moral order», not only for Portugal, but for the entire Church and the entire
world.
THE DOVES OF OUR LADYNOVEMBER 22
- DECEMBER 25, 1946
For the official closing of the
tricentennial, planned at Lisbon for December 8, feast of the Immaculate
Conception, a procession of over 250 miles was organized. The statue of Our
Lady of Fatima, which left the Capelinha on November 22, did not return there
solemnly until a month later, on Christmas evening.
During the entire triumphal
journey, men vied with each other for the honour of carrying the heavy pavilion
as well as the dais of the bishop accompanying the statue. «The crowd occupied
several miles of the road. There were never less than ten thousand pilgrims
praying and singing; the number went as high as fifteen thousand.» The streets
were strewn with flowers, decorated with triumphal arches, torches, and the light
of Venetian lanterns. «In the churches there was nocturnal adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament, morning Communion Masses before the Mass on the public
square or at the stadium before immense crowds, presided over by the local
authorities. Such was the case at Leiria, Batalha, Porto de Mos, Caldas de
Rainha, Peniche, Bombarral...»55
During this triumphal journey
towards the capital for the tricentennial of Portugal’s consecration to the
Immaculate Virgin by King John IV and its solemn renewal, the famous “miracle
of the doves” took place for the first time.
Before long, the wonderful event
had such great repercussions that the Patriarch of Lisbon alluded to it in his
homily of December 8, 1946. The same year, he also devoted his entire Christmas
radio allocution to the doves of Saint Mary. Later on he commissioned Father
Domingos Fernandes to conduct a careful investigation, the results of which
appear in an appendix to his “Pastoral Works”. The following lines are borrowed
from this document:
«On
December 1, 1946, in the city of Bombarral, at the moment when the statue of
Our Lady of Fatima left for Cadaval, six doves were released by two young
women.
«They had
been bought at Lisbon on November 28, at the Square of the Fig Tree by Mrs.
Candida Ponces de Carvalho, who lives at 84 rua Braancamp, at the request of
Mrs. Maria Emilia Martins Coimbra of Bombarral. On the 29th, they were brought
to Bombarral by a truck belonging to Capristano Enterprises.
«Of the
six doves released by the young women, five came to place themselves at Our
Lady’s pedestal and remained there. At the exit of the city, three remained
there, while the other two flew away. They were caught and placed back on the
pedestal, and they did not budge until the city of Lousa. There they flapped their
wings, and went to look for refuge under the weather vane of a roof-top.
«The
others were seen by several thousand people from December 2nd through the 5th
at Cadaval, at Torres Vedras, at Mafra, and at Loures. Each day, a torchlight
procession was organized at nightfall to accompany the statue on its entrance
into the localities. During the night the Image remained in the church, always
accompanied by a multitude of believers. The doves remained on the pedestal,
always nestled against the statue.
«On the
night of December 4, the procession leading Our Lady’s statue arrived in the
rain at the church of Loures. Although they were wet, the doves were still
nestled against the statue and did not budge.»56
Here is Cardinal Cerejeira’s
beautiful commentary:
«A strange
event for our myopic view as carnal creatures, is that of the doves who
recently made their home at the feet of the white Image of Our Lady of Fatima,
almost hidden under Her dress among the flowers. Many tens of thousands of
people saw them there, pressed one against the other, turned towards the sweet
Image with their little beaks touching the bottom of the dress, as if they
wanted to kiss the feet of the Madonna. Sometimes they go away for a short
flight. But they so like to abide in that place that neither the noise of the
crowd, nor the sound of the music, nor the explosion of the fireworks, nor the
rain, or wind, or cold, or day or night, or the petals or bouquets thrown there
– nothing makes them come down from there.»57
Now there is priceless testimony!
Canon Barthas reports,
«At Lisbon, Our Lady was supposed to stay
three days, December 5-7, in the very vast and recently built church of Our
Lady of Fatima.
«On the
square before the church, before entering, as if to prove to the huge crowd that
they were not attached there, the doves went up into the air and then returned
to their post. Turning towards Cardinal Cerejeira, they seemed to listen to the
welcome address he pronounced on the threshold of the church. Then, to enter,
they turned back again, so as not to turn their backs on the altar.
«The
following day, which was the first Friday of the month, one of them went to
perch himself on the crown as well, and turning towards the Holy Table from
there, it opened its wings for the entire length of the communion of 3,000
Faithful.»58
On the evening of December 7, the
statue was to return to the cathedral. Two doves remained in the church, and
only one followed the Madonna. A huge torchlight procession was organized, this
one for men only: one hundred thousand of them! The procession was over three
and a half miles.
On December 8, the pontifical Mass
took place at the cathedral. Then, in the afternoon, there was «the official
consecration of the country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary»,59 in the presence of the Head of State,
Marshal Carmona, Salazar, and all the members of the government. Finally,
events closed with a solemn Te Deum.
Then began the return to Fatima,
with the same wonderful events happening. The same dove remained faithful at
the feet of Our Lady until December 9, and then disappeared.
«On the
10th, at Seixal, other doves were released, one of which parked herself on the
pedestal. The procession of Our Lady’s statue continued through Barreiro,
Moita, Setubal, Montijo, Alcochete, Benavente, Salvaterra, on December 11, 12,
13, 14, 15, 16 and 17. All these days and nights a dove could be seen by
thousands of persons, curled up at the feet of Our Lady. At nightfall, on the
17th, at Benfica, near Almeirim, the dove flew away.
«As the
procession made its way through Alpiarça, Chamusca and Colega, from December
19-21, nobody heard any more talk of doves until late afternoon on the 21st.
«On the
21st, while the procession entered the district of Torres Novas, before the
“quinta” of Carvalhais, from the parish of Riachos, little Bernardino, the
youngest son of José Raposo, released four doves in the direction of the
pedestal; three were white and one black. This last one flew away, while the
white ones made a niche for themselves at the feet of the statue. Thus to the
surprise of everybody, the Image made its entry into Torres Novas decorated
with three doves.»60
On December 24, some time in the
afternoon, the journey back to the Cova da Iria began. It was eleven in the
evening when the procession entered the basilica of Fatima for the Christmas
midnight Mass. The three doves, ever faithful since December 21, remained at
the feet of Our Lady until three o’clock in the morning, when the statue was
taken off the pedestal to be returned to its place in the Capelinha.61
1947:
“THE WORLD TOUR”THE IMMACULATE MEDIATRIX, MISSIONARY ALL OVER THE WORLD
THE “GREAT RETURN” OF SOULS TO
JESUS THROUGH MARY
The “Great Return” had enjoyed such
beautiful success in France that its methods were soon adopted by all of Europe
and in the whole world.
IN ITALY:
THE “PEREGRINATIO MARIAE”. It
was Cardinal Schuster, whom we have already seen so eager to make known Our
Lady of Fatima’s message,62
who had the merit of organizing the first Marian tours in the peninsula. A plaque
entitled “Peregrinatio Mariae”, of which millions of copies were made, defined
its spirit:
«It is
the triumphal passage from parish to parish of an image of the Madonna, in an
uninterrupted succession of religious demonstrations, for the purpose of stirring
the mass of the faithful in a salutary way, and to lead them through luminous
paths to a renewal of Eucharistic and Marian piety, to a sincere and open
practice of a real Christian life. More briefly: it is a spiritual movement of
masses of people proposing a Great Return of souls to Jesus through Mary. The
Marian tour now has a famous and unforgettable precedent in the Great Return
such as it was done in France: the greatest contemporary event in the religious
life of this country. It has assumed such importance that it requires the
admiration and the desire of a holy emulation on the part of the Catholic
world.»63
The Marian tours criss-crossed
Italy, from Umbria to Calabria, from the foothills of the Alps to Sardinia. The
popular piety was indescribable. At Milan, in the episcopal city of Cardinal
Schuster, there was an explosion of uncontrollable joy. As one witness reports:
«Unbelievable
is the enthusiasm created by Mary’s passage. On May 11, 1947, thousands of
pilgrims flowed from the ten gates of the old city of Milan. They had come to
the cathedral square to acclaim the Madonna who entered in procession, escorted
by the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre on a triumphal car reminiscent of the
“carroccio”. Trumpets sounded at the passage of the Queen of Milan. Over one
hundred thousand people had gathered in the square. Never had such a crowd been
seen in that place. His Eminence Cardinal Schuster gave an historic discourse.»64
It is remarkable that it was the
Cardinal of Milan, this erudite Benedictine, such a holy and wise liturgist,
who became the promoter of this method of popular apostolate.
IN
CANADA: THE PASSAGE OF “THE ARK OF THE COVENANT”. A great national Marian Congress had been planned at Ottawa
for mid-June, 1947. To prepare the faithful for it, a “Great Return” was
organized with the statue of Our Lady of the Cape, patroness of Canada. This
Marian tour of “the Ark of the Covenant”, as She was so happily designated,
created a vast movement of fervour, just as in Europe.
On June 19, Pius XII addressed a
magnificent radio message to the participants of the Marian Congress, where he
recalled the wonderful devotion to the Immaculate One which had flourished
since the beginning of “New France”. The Pope recalled the name of the
Chaplain, and also Saint Isaac Jogues and his companions, «consecrating to
Mary, on December 8, 1635, all the present and future missions of Canada».65
THE
MARIAN YEAR IN HUNGARY. In
Spite of all sorts of shenanigans on the part of the Russians, Cardinal
Mindszenty had been able to participate in the Marian Congress of Ottawa.66 He returned with a spectacular project in
mind: a Marian Year extended to all Hungary. The bishops of Hungary welcomed
the idea enthusiastically. The Cardinal recalls in his Memoirs, «I opened this
Holy Year at Esztergom, on August 15, 1947. All the bishops of Hungary and
60,000 pilgrims participated in the ceremony.»67 All over the country on the same day a
million and a half of the faithful crowded various pilgrimage sites and
sanctuaries dedicated to Our Lady.
During the entire year, the
congresses and solemnities which followed each other almost uninterruptedly
drew crowds of several hundred thousand of the faithful. With an ardent
devotion to Mary, the indefatigable Cardinal Primate shored up the faith and
courage of his people everywhere in the face of the menacing persecutions.
«The
communists attempted in every way to impede the peaceful progress of the
ceremonies and gatherings and to disturb the sermons and allocutions,
especially those of the Cardinal. In the train stations, they no longer gave
railway tickets to pilgrims; they confiscated the buses and trucks; on the
pretext of an infectious epidemic the districts were put under quarantine.
Claiming the necessity of assuring traffic safety, they dispersed groups of
pilgrims; to disturb the open air ceremonies they turned on tractor motors; the
use of loudspeakers and microphones were forbidden; water and electricity were
cut off, etc.»68
A few months later, on June 13,
1948, in Budapest, the police dispersed the procession in honour of Our Lady of
Fatima.69 In spite of all this, 4,600,000 believers
took part in the festivities and pilgrimages of the Marian Year.70
PIUS XII BLESSES AND ENCOURAGES
THE PROGRESS OF DEVOTION TO THE MOST HOLY VIRGIN
After his message of June 19 to the
Canadian Marian Congress, on October 12, Pius XII addressed a radio message on
the Blessed Virgin Mary to the Argentine Marian Congress, meeting in the
sanctuary of Lujan.71
On December 7, there was a new radio message to the members of the
International Congress of Marian Congregations, meeting at Barcelona.72 But in this year 1947, his two most
effective interventions in this domain were undoubtedly two particularly
significant canonizations.
CANONIZATION
OF SAINT LOUIS-MARIE GRIGNION DE MONTFORT.
On July 20, «under the inspiration of divine grace», Pius XII granted the
supreme honours of sanctity to the incomparable apostle of devotion to Mary.
The following day, in a discourse to pilgrims who had come to Rome for this canonization,
he reviewed the life of the great Breton saint of whom it could be said, he
recalled, «that the Vendée72a
of 1793 was the work of his hands». Then the Pope recalled:
«The
great strength of his entire apostolic ministry, his great secret for drawing
souls and giving them to Jesus, was devotion to Mary.» «On Her he
founded all his action; in Her is all his assurance, and he could find no more
effective weapon at the time. To the joyless austerity, the sombre terror, the
proud depression of Jansenism he opposed the filial, trusting, ardent,
affective and effective love of the devout servant of Mary towards Her who is
the refuge of sinners, the Mother of Divine Grace, our life, our sweetness and
our hope. Our advocate also...»73
Like the canonization of Saint Pius
X, this doctor of the Church for our twentieth century, the canonization of
Saint Louis-Marie, prophet of the final triumph and reign of the Immaculate One
preparing the reign of Her Son, was a decision of the highest importance.
CANONIZATION
OF SAINT CATHERINE LABOURÉ. One
week later, on July 27, Pius XII canonized the seer of Rue du Bac, «the
messenger of the Immaculate One». While exalting her outstanding virtues
and the merits of her hidden life, in his discourse to the pilgrims he highlighted
«the unique and wonderful mission which the Most Holy Virgin entrusted to
her», «the extraordinary favours of Mary who made her Her confidante and
messenger». Then the Pope recalled the threefold request which Our Lady had
ordered her to pass on: «To reawaken the fervour of charity grown cold in the
two Societies of the saint; to submerge the entire world in a deluge of
little medals, carrying all the spiritual and corporal mercies of the
Immaculate One; to found a pious association of “Children of Mary” for the
protection and sanctification of young women.»74
A FIRM
WARNING. While he encouraged
true devotion to Mary indefatigably, Pius XII also firmly defended it, when
occasion demanded, against its adversaries. On November 20, 1947, in his
masterly encyclical Mediator Dei, on the sacred liturgy he insists on
the pre-eminent cult due to the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, who «gives us
Her Son, and with Him all the help we need, for God has willed that we have
everything through Mary». Among other pastoral directives he put the bishops on
guard:
«Above
all, Venerable Brethren, do not allow – as some do, who are deceived under the
pretext of restoring the Liturgy, or who idly claim that only liturgical rites
are of any real value and dignity (...) – that devotion to the Virgin Mother of
God, a sign of predestination according to the opinion of the Saints, be so
neglected, especially among the young, as to fade away and gradually vanish.»
The Pope went on to give a lively
recommendation of the traditional pious exercises, especially the Rosary and
the month of Mary, adding:
«Hence he
would do something pernicious and full of deceit, who would dare to take it
upon himself to reform all these exercises of piety and reduce them completely
to the methods and norms of liturgical rites.»75
OUR LADY OF FATIMA, A MISSIONARY
ALL OVER THE WORLD
Finally, 1947 is the year when the
“World Tour of Our Lady of Fatima” began. After this date, May 13, 1947, the
Immaculate Mediatrix who appeared at the Cova da Iria criss-crossed the world
almost uninterruptedly, adorned with white doves nestled against Her feet, to
accomplish «a pilgrimage of miracles», as Pius XII said a little later on.
THE
EUROPEAN TOUR (MAY 13 - DECEMBER 1947).76 The idea of a “Great Return” of Our Lady
across all of Europe had gradually made the rounds. Finally, it became a
reality as the project of an Oblate of Mary Immaculate, Father Demoutiez. Our
Lady of Fatima would go to Maastricht in Holland, to preside over the great
Marian Congress of the three countries later called Benelux.77
«The very
night before departure, the directors of the Tour (Mrs. Teresa Pereira da Cunha78
and her committee) and Father Demoutiez went to present to Sister Lucy (then at
Vila Nova de Gaia) the beautiful statue they had specially bought for the Tour.
She advised them to go ask His Grace the Bishop of Leiria for the one in his
living room, for which she herself had guided the hand of the artist (Mr. José
Ferreira Thedim), and propose that it be exchanged for the one they had bought.
Lucy added: “This (Pilgrim) Virgin will reach the very confines of Russia,
and we must pray a great deal so that it arrives at Moscow. And after it
completes its journey, it will be good to offer it to the Holy Father.”
«With his
customary goodness, Bishop da Silva gave up his beautiful statue. The following
day, May 13, it was crowned at the Cova da Iria before the huge crowd of
pilgrims by His Grace the Archbishop of Evora.»79
In the afternoon, the procession
took to the road. Although Father Demoutiez’s program had planned only very
brief stops in Portugal, there was the same enthusiasm, the same fervour as six
months earlier during the Marian tour from Fatima to Lisbon.80
As for the welcome Spain reserved
for Our Lady of Fatima, it surpassed all expectations. Father Alonso writes,
«The first passage of the Pilgrim Virgin into Spain was, without any
exaggeration, an apotheosis... (There was) one month of enthusiastic receptions
during which the ecclesiastical and civil authorities, and innumerable
multitudes of the faithful, gave their filial homage of love and veneration to
Our Lady of Fatima.»81
At Valladolid, the episcopal city of Archbishop Garcia y Garcia, there was a
magnificent triumph with over 100,000 believers! Canon Barthas reports:
«In all
of Spain, the aldermen of the villages She was passing through piously laid
down at Our Lady’s feet the baton which is the symbol of their authority; every
two hundred yards two “civil guards” presented arms; the bishops received Our
Lady upon Her entrance into their diocese and went to present Her to the bishop
of the next diocese; the movies and theatres were closed during Our Lady’s
stay; everybody was given the day off; the newspapers gave a great deal of
space to the event, etc.»82
Confessions and communions,
processions, Rosaries, holy hours of reparation, consecrations to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary followed one after the other. «The graces of
miraculous healings multiplied prodigiously, Father Alonso states.82a
Finally, the procession arrived at
San Sebastian, and on June 18, at Hendaye. Because of the scandalous blockade
decided on after the Yalta and Potsdam accords by our Christian Democrats,
friends of Stalin but implacable adversaries of Franco, the border of the
Pyrenees was still closed. It had been closed for eleven years!
The welcome which France reserved
for Our Lady of Fatima, unfortunately, was not as warm as Spain’s. The press
had not announced Her arrival, «and the witnesses had the impression that the
French police had orders not to let Her enter». But with the attitude of Bishop
Ballester of Vittoria and Bishop Terrier of Bayonne, who gave a fraternal
accolade before the unanimous crowds who were singing the same canticles to Our
Lady from both sides of the white line, «the police commissioner found a
subterfuge to let Her enter, as an ordinary parcel to be “cleared through
customs for Belgium”».83
We shall come back to this
underhanded opposition and this wall of silence, which deprived Our Lady of
Fatima of the filial homage to which She had a right in the “kingdom of Mary”,
and deprived France of the choice graces which her Queen surely would have
heaped upon her.
On August 2, She arrived at the
Belgian border. Tournai, Charleroi, Namur, Beauraing, Liege, Verviers, all
welcomed Her in their turn with great fervour. On September 1, She entered Holland
to preside over the Marian Congress at Maastricht as planned. On this occasion,
Pius XII once again delivered a radio message.84 In Luxembourg, the welcome was even
more fervent: 100,000 Communions for a population of 250,000 inhabitants! After
a brief passage at Paris on October 15, which we shall return to later,
Our Lady of Fatima returned to Her itinerant mission in Belgium, always
with the same success: Malines, Louvain, and Brussels, where 300,000 of the
Faithful had gathered. After a round in Flanders, where the papers gave great
prominence to the ceremonies in Her honour, the Pilgrim Virgin embarked for
Anvers to return to Portugal.85
Within a few months, what a shower
of graces had been poured out upon all those who had deigned to honour Her.
Bishop da Silva declared: «None of us had foreseen the wonderful things which
began happening as soon as the statue left the Cova da Iria.»86
Canon Barthas notes that «the news
agencies in Spain and the Benelux countries (except our AFP), had everywhere
publicized Our Lady’s route and Her marvellous works. The bishop’s palace of
Leiria began receiving letters from all parts requesting a visit from Her.»87
On October 13, 1947, a statue of Our
Lady of Fatima left the Cova da Iria for the Lisbon airport where it was
installed in a place of honour on a plane departing... for America.
THE
AMERICAN TOUR. The statue was
solemnly received at the sanctuary of Our Lady of the Cape. It was blessed there
by Archbishop Vachon of Ottawa before 100,000 faithful. There was a ceremony of
crowning the statue; consecration to Her Immaculate Heart; a vigil of prayers;
at midnight, Mass in the cathedral and in 124 churches of the diocese!
On December 8, on the spectacular
site of Niagara Falls, the statue crossed the border between Canada and the
United States. The Bishop of Buffalo received the venerated Image from the
hands of the Bishop of Hamilton. It was welcomed at the cathedral, where
200,000 people came to pray although the city numbered only 50,000 Catholics!
The same thing happened in all the dioceses and parishes of the United States
that received Her.88
After this Marian tour in the
U.S.A., and still in the same year, 1947, Msgr. Harold Colgan, parish priest of
Saint Mary’s in Plainsfield, N.J., seconded by John Haffert, a young journalist
full of drive and enthusiasm, founded the “Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima” to
spread Her message and work to put it in practice. The program was simple: the
daily Rosary; devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary with its two components,
reparation and consecration; wearing of the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount
Carmel; accomplishment of the duties of one’s state in the spirit of penance.
These were done with the intention of obtaining peace in the world through the
conversion of Russia.89
In other words, at that period, the Blue Army promoted the authentic message of
Fatima, without omission, dilution or contamination through suspect revelations
completely foreign to the message passed on by Lucy. The movement enjoyed such
rapid success that by 1950 it already counted a million members!
THE
SECOND PORTUGUESE TOUR (OCTOBER-DECEMBER 1947).90
Meanwhile, in Portugal, the missionary Virgin had left Her Capelinha to return
to the road. This time She went through the southern part of the country,
Alentejo and Algarve, which are the most dechristianized regions of Portugal.
Even there, the white Image of the Immaculate One was received with moving
enthusiasm and She dispensed innumerable graces of every kind.
Although during the preceding
months, in spite of the size and fervour of the crowds, the astonishing miracle
of the doves had not been repeated – neither in Spain, France, the Benelux
countries nor in America –,91
here in the Land of Holy Mary, it was renewed in a striking manner. The pages
written by the witnesses read like a golden legend.92 We give just one account:
«In the
village of Gafanheiros, a man protested that the pigeons were attached to the
litter and that he would believe they were free only if his own went there. He
was asked to let them fly. He gave several to a lady and told her to free them
only when he would tell her. Thus was it done when the litter was a dozen yards
away. They all went and placed themselves on the litter and remained there the
whole day.»93
At Vila Viçosa, the royal city
where John IV, king and restorer of national independence, had offered his
crown and consecrated his kingdom to the Immaculate One, there were thirteen
doves.94 When the triumphal procession returned to
the Cova da Iria on January 13, 1948, four ordinary doves and a turtle dove
were still nestled at the feet of the Heavenly Padroeira.
1948: «IN
THE DARK NIGHT WEIGHING HEAVILY UPON THE WORLD»
What an incomparable outpouring of
graces! Was it not already the dawn of the Immaculate Heart of Mary’s triumph?
Especially since this movement seemed to keep on growing stronger and
developing...
The year 1948 witnessed the
wonderful events of Our Lady of Fatima’s tour in Angola and Mozambique, and
then in all of Africa. There was also the apotheosis of Her arrival in Madrid,
where the workers of the city’s outskirts gave Her a triumph, while a few days
later She was received as the greatest of queens by the Caudillo, his family
and his government.
Before long, Pope Pius XII himself
observed with joy: «From day to day the cult of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
assumes a wonderful development.»95 Speaking to the parish priests of Rome and Lenten preachers,
he uttered these significant words:
«In the
dark night weighing heavily upon the world... the most encouraging sign of our
times is the ever increasing demonstration, to the point of sometimes attaining
spectacles of wonderful grandeur, of trust and filial love which leads souls to
the most pure and Immaculate Virgin Mary.»96
The richest text, however, the text
which gives the best picture of Pius XII’s sentiments at that period – when he
was already announcing the upcoming celebration of a Holy Year for 195097 – is undoubtedly his letter of July 2,
1948, to Father Ranson, director of the Great Return. This was about to close a
few weeks later with the return of four images of Our Lady to the city of
Boulogne. Pius XII wrote:
«So have
you understood and practiced our order: “Persevere! Persevere!” This is proven
by the numerous public or private demonstrations, whose panorama ravishes us,
through which the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is developed and
intensifies in all sectors of society. Besides, have we not given the signal
ourselves, like a providential complement of the consecration of the human race
to the Sacred Heart of Jesus?
«We have
said and we love to repeat it: in the dark night weighing heavily upon the
world, we see the dawn breaking, infallibly announcing the coming of the Sun of
truth, justice and love. Indeed, not the least sign of hope and consolation is
this extraordinary eagerness, in this tortured and troubled generation, to
return to the fountains of living water gushing forth in great waves from the
Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
«We also
congratulate you for taking this salvific Marian devotion to heart, propagating
it around you, and making it the springboard of your apostolate. We would like
to see in it the assured pledge of the conversion of sinners, the perseverance
and progress of the Faithful, and the re-establishment of a true peace of all
nations among themselves and with God.»98
Endnotes
(1) La
question mariale, p. 15, Seuil, 1963.(2) Cf. our Vol. II, p. 782-805.(3)
Again quite recently, Jean Chelini, in L’Église sous Pie XII, La tourmente,
1939-1945 (Fayard, 1983), manages to write 355 pages on «the tragic
beginning of the pontificate., without saying a single word about this solemn
act which Pius XII considered one of the most important of his pontificate. All
the same, this is an astonishing omission in a work presented as a “History of
the Church”! (cf. the review by Joel Pottier, which highlights the fact. Lecture
et Tradition, November-December 1983, p. 48.)(4) So as to encourage them
more strongly, on November 17, 1942, he had granted an indulgence of three
years to all those who would piously recite this same act of consecration
slightly modified, and a plenary indulgence to be gained once a month on the
usual conditions, to the faithful who would recite it each day of the month (Documents
pontificaux de S.S. Pie XII, 1942, p. 286-287). (5) F. Carret-Petit, Notre-Dame
du Rosaire de Fatima, p. 164-165; La Bonne Presse, 1943. Alonso, FER, p.
111.(6) Oeuvres complètes de saint Louis-Marie, p. 484, Seuil.(7) Pius
XII took up the same theme again in his Letter of November 25, 1943 (Doc.
pont., 1943, p. 273).(8) Doc. pont., 1943, p. 95.(9) Cf. our Vol. II, p.
791-792. Father da Fonseca’s work, which had had three editions up until 1941,
had two others in 1942, and five in 1943! On February 12, F. Carret-Petit
reports, Father da Fonseca gave a conference on Fatima at the Vatican. In
March, it was Father Luigi Moresco who spoke on Fatima in the great hall of the
Gregorian University. Because of the turnout, he had to repeat the same
conference two other times (p. 178-179). These are all so many indications
proving that the sudden interest aroused by Fatima surpassed all expectations.(10)
Father Luciano Guerra, “Fatima e o romano Pontifice”, p. 92 (in Apelo e
resposta, semana de estudos sobre a mensagem de Fatima, Convento dos
Capuchinhos, Fatima, July 1983). F. Carret-Petit, p. 133.(11) Doc. pont., 1943,
p. 206.(12) Ibid., p. 274.(13) FER, p. 111, 114.(14) Father Louis Devineau,
O.M.I., Une extraordinaire odyssée dans le sillage de la Vierge,
Apostolat de la Presse, 1963, 200 pages. Cf. Msgr. Guerry, L’Église
catholique en France sous l’Occupation, p. 228-234, 1947, Flammarion. (15)
Devineau, p. 13-18; cf. p. 32, 37.(16) Ibid., p. 27-28.(16a) EDITOR’S NOTE: A
Mass of Communion is a Mass in certain European countries at the time about
which this passage describes, in which the faithful were particularly
encouraged to receive Holy Communion.(17) Devineau, p. 104.(18) Les
catholiques français sous l’Occupation, Jacques Duquesne, p. 25. Grasset,
1966.(19) Devineau, p. 31. Very quickly, in effect, a search was made for the
three copies of Our Lady of Boulogne which had served for the Marian Congress
of 1938. Four routes were organized by Father Ranson: the east route, the west
route, the centre route and the maritime route. Thus over seventy thousand
miles were traversed on foot by the itinerant teams.(20) Ibid., p. 35. We would
like to be able to quote long excerpts from documents of the time. Let us
mention only the pamphlet published at Troyes in 1945: “Le Grand Retour,
Notre-Dame de Boulogne dans l’Aube, November 5, 1944 - January 30, 1945”, with
a preface by Msgr. Le Couedic, bishop of the diocese.
What emotion in reading the brief account established for each of the 177
parishes visited by Our Lady! During these three winter months, in our diocese,
dechristianized as it was, the Virgin of Boulogne drew after Her, on the roads
and in the freezing churches, over 100,000 of the Faithful.
Are some examples needed of this beautiful fervour? Here are a few which will
astonish readers familiar with these villages or towns: here, at
Saint-Parres-lès-Vaudes, the parish priest wanted all the streets to profit
from the passage of the Holy Virgin, and, to create no jealousies in anyone,
even to the last house. At Clérey, 500 people participated in the nocturnal
vigil. At Bar-sur-Seine, 250 of the faithful made their consecration to the
Immaculate Heart. At Villemaur, for the vigil 300 faithful were counted! At
Estissac, the penitents were so numerous that the missionaries had to remain in
the confessional until two o’clock in the morning. At Faux-Villecerf, the
passage of the Virgin was prepared by an eight day retreat, etc. At Troyes, seven
to eight thousand of the faithful escorted Our Lady’s car right up to the
cathedral.(21) Devineau, p. 35-36.(22) Quoted by Devineau, p. 119. Another
leader of Catholic Action avowed, «For years we tried to raise the problem of
religion in the most dechristianized circles. Our efforts were in vain. Our
Lady of the Great Return passes through – it is not to be believed – and in a
few days, She becomes the only object of conversations, not only among
Christians, but also among men and women whom one would have thought far from
our faith. Everybody works, makes garlands, raises triumphal arches.» (ibid.)(23)
Ibid., p. 145.(24) Foreword for the second edition, p. 9, 1943; cf. La Croix
of November 19, 1942.(25) Cf. our Vol. II, p. 741-742.(26) Ibid., p. 729.(27)
FCM, p. 63. Further on we will quote the integral text of this admirable letter
(infra, p. 222-223).(28) Acta apostolicae Sedis, 1945, p. 37-52.(29)
In question is the letter of February 28, 1943, quoted earlier, p. 18-19.(30)
FER, p. 74-75. Already in 1936, it was Father Moran who, being aware of the
request for the consecration of Russia, and judging after mature examination
that it came very certainly from God, had incited Bishop da Silva to write to
Pope Pius XI (cf. Nov. Doc., p. 174-175).(31) FER, p. 75-76.(32) FER, p. 73.(33)
Doc., p. 497.(34) Doc. pont., 1945, p. 31-38.(35) Doc. pont., 1945, p. 94.
Already the preceding year, he had insisted on this necessary reform: «Whoever
would like to implore the Blessed Virgin to stop the scourges, without this
firm resolution to reform public or private life, would simply be asking for
impunity for his faults, the right to regulate his own conduct not according to
God’s law, but according to unbridled passions. Such a supplication would be the
negation and the opposite of Christian prayer; it would be an injury done to
God, a provocation of His just wrath, obstinacy in sin, which is the world’s
only real evil.» (Doc. Pont., June 11, 1944, p. 97). (36) Doc. pont., 1945, p.
239.(37) Ibid., p. 357-358.(38) Doc. cath., 1950, col. 1521-1522.(39) Doc.
pont., 1946, p. 209.(40) Doc. pont., 1946, p. 234-246.(41) Ibid., p. 251; 268;
272.(42) La Documentation catholique, which in its thousands of pages
from the years 1944 to 1948 systematically ignores the Great Return, does not
quote this text. The Documents pontificaux de S.S. Pie XII also omit it.(43)
Quoted by Devineau, p. 191-195.(44) Doc. pont., 1946, p. 374.(45) Father da
Fonseca, a professor at the Biblical Institute in Rome, assisted at the
ceremonies as a member of the Cardinal legate’s train. Let us note that he had
undoubtedly contributed to preparing the discourse which the Holy Father would
pronounce, as well as the one for October 31, 1942.(46) Father da Fonseca, Nossa
Senhora da Fatima, p. 205.(47) As on October 31, 1942, Pius XII pronounced
his discourse in Portuguese. The subtitles have been added by us.(48) Cf. our
Vol. II, p. 796-805.(49) Cf. our Vol. I, p. 4-12.(50) This is in reference to
the Duke of Bragance, acclaimed king under the name of John IV on December 1,
1640. Cf. our Vol. I, p. 13.(51) Ibid., p. 111-113.(52) Act of acclamation of
Our Lady of the Conception, patroness of Portugal, by the Cortes of Lisbon in
1646.(53) «The Angel Guardian of Portugal» had appeared at Aljustrel exactly
thirty years earlier, as precursor of Our Lady.(54) Cf. Leo XIII, encyclical Adjutricem,
of September 5, 1895.(55) Barthas, Les colombes de la Vierge, p. 14-15.
Résiac, 1977. This work is the French adaptation of A pombas da Virgem de
Fatima by Father Martins dos Reis (1963).(56) Obras pastorais, Vol.
III, p. 231-233.(57) Ibid., p. 222-223.(58) CLV, p. 17.(59) Barthas, Fatima
1917-1968, p. 338.(60) Report of Father Domingos da Apresentaçâo Fernandes,
Obras pastorais, Vol. III, p. 233.(61) Ibid. We will have the
opportunity to cite other examples of the “miracle of the doves”. But what also
have to be read, in Barthas, are the many testimonies and demonstration of the
supernatural character of this phenomenon. (Les colombes de la Vierge,
passim).(62) Cf. our Vol. II, p. 790-791.(63) Quoted by Devineau, p. 163.(64)
Ibid., p. 163-164.(65) Doc. pont., 1947, p. 169-174.(66) Named by Pius XII
Archbishop of Esztergom and prince primate of Hungary on September 16, 1945, he
had been created Cardinal during the first consistory of the pontificate,
February 16, 1946.(67) Mémoirs, p. 75-76, Diane Books, 1974.(68) Jazsef
Kozi Horvath, Cardinal Mindszenty, un confesseur et martyr de notre temps,
p. 23, Aid to the Church in Need, 1977.(69) Cardinal Mindszenty, Mémoirs,
p. 77. From that time on, the prince primate was very devoted to Our Lady of
Fatima. According to an article in the review Fatima 50, the Marian Year
(1947-1948) was apparently placed entirely under the sign of Fatima, on the
occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the apparitions (no. 11, March 1968,
p. 15-16).(70) Horvath, p. 23.(71) Doc. pont., 1947, p. 306-309.(72) Ibid., p.
443-445.(72a) EDITOR’S NOTE: During the French Revolution, an uprising in
favour of the King and the Catholic Faith was brutally suppressed, resulting in
the slaughter of men, women and children. This occurred in the Vendée region of
France.(73) Ibid., p. 219-228.(74) Doc. pont., 1947, p. 229-237.(75) Ibid., p.
410-415.(76) Cf. da Fonseca, Nossa Senhora de Fatima, chap. 25: “Atraves
da Europa”, p. 329-344.(77) On the various projects which prepared the carrying
out of the “World Tour of Fatima”, cf. Merv. XXe s., p. 272-276. Let us merely
make clear the bond attaching it to the Great Return: as Father Devineau
recently wrote to me, «What is certain is that the World Tour of Fatima was
born of the Great Return. Father Ranson and myself had designated Father
Demoutiez to go to Portugal to study the modalities of such a voyage across
Europe, and from there, all over the world.» (letter of July 29, 1984).(78)
Later on, Mrs. Teresa Pereira da Cunha published the journal of the World Tour
of Our Lady of Fatima in the four volumes of Nossa Senhora de Fatima
peregrina do mundo (Lisbon, Livraria Sampedro).(79) Merv. XXe s., p.
275-276.(80) Ibid., p. 277.(81) FER, p. 105.(82) Merv. XXe s., p. 278.(83)
Merv. XXe s., p. 278-279; Fatima 1917-1968, p. 304.(84) Doc. pont.,
1947, p. 261-263.(85) Merv. XXe s., p. 282.(86) Ibid., p. 276.(87) Fatima 1917-1968,
p. 305.(88) Merv. XXe s., p. 287-288; Devineau, p. 165.(89) We borrow this
brief synthesis from the excellent pamphlet by M. Dias Coelho, “Exercito Azul
de Nossa Senhora de Fatima”, published in 1956, and which traces well the
spirit of the movement to its origins (ed. da Sede internacional, 60 p.) Cf.
also J. Haffert, Dear Bishop!(90) Cf. da Fonseca, p. 317-319.(91) CLV,
p. 59-60.(92) Cf. for example Barthas, CLV, p. 24-30.(93) Ibid., p. 27.(94)
Ibid., p. 27.(95) Letter of Father Janssens concerning the Apostolate of
Prayer, September 19, 1948; Doc. pont., p. 324.(96) March 10, 1948, Doc. pont.,
1948, p. 120.(97) He made the announcement to the bishops of the world in a
discourse to the Sacred College on June 2, 1948. Doc. pont., p. 219.(98) Letter
“To our dear son G. Ranson, S.J., director of the Great Return”, quoted by
Devineau, p. 6-8.
CHAPTER IV
THE RED PERIL:«RUSSIA WILL SPREAD ITS ERRORS,
CAUSING WARS AND PERSECUTIONS»(1939 - 1948)
«In the light of Fatima, we have
the deeper explanation of the history of our times such as God sees it, and
such as it really is.»1
Thus spoke Cardinal Cerejeira. Now in 1917, when She predicted the Second World
War, Our Lady of Fatima willed to speak only of Russia:
«If My requests are heeded,
Russia will be converted and there wilt be peace. If My requests are not
granted, Russia will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and
persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will
have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated.»
These prophetic words must open our
eyes on the true, supernatural meaning of the Second World War, on its
determining causes and its most decisive consequences for the future.
«THE HISTORY OF OUR TIMES SUCH
AS GOD SEES IT»
First of all, as we have shown,
because Stalin’s Russia was not converted, it was able to pursue its game of
political double-dealing with diabolical machiavellianism. For this reason,
after the Germano-Soviet pact of August 23, 1939, Europe was once more involved
in war.2
Once more the prophecy of Fatima
draws our attention to an unquestionable fact, although the official history
ignores it with obstinate blindness. By a series of shameless lies and
abominable massacres cynically planned – for in this domain Hitler himself was
preceded and surpassed by the tyrant of the Kremlin! – Stalin managed to
conclude this war to the sole profit of the USSR and its Bolshevism.
This is true in many respects:
1. Inside the country, the Party’s
hold was notably strengthened. Solzhenitsyn made this sad observation: «In this
unfortunate war, our victory only strengthened the yoke weighing upon us.»3
2. Outside the country, the war was
Stalin’s opportunity to effect a formidable expansion of communism in Europe
and before long in the Far East as well.
3. In the other nations, the
so-called free world, after five years of war the forces of Marxist subversion
had increased dangerously.
4. Finally, in the Catholic Church
herself this war had the deadliest effects: it allowed the “Red Christians” to
regain a power and influence which Pius XII never succeeded in taking away from
them. This allowed them to actively prepare, albeit behind the scenes, the
revolution of the sixties and throw the papacy onto the course of Ostpolitik
desired by Moscow.
In hindsight, the truth of the
Fatima prophecy appears more and more strikingly; no, the Second World War was
not the just war, the heroic crusade of Good, Liberty and Right against Fascist
and Nazi totalitarianism, which alone was responsible for all our evils and the
only peril for humanity. As our sketchy demonstration will show, it was the
great war of Bolshevism, consenting to a frightful slaughter – 55 million
victims! – for the sole victory of atheistic, world enslaving and bloody communism.
Sister Lucy had already announced
as much in December 1940, writing down the essential part of Our Lady’s Secret
for the benefit of Pope Pius XII.4
She repeated it the day after the incomplete consecration of October 31, 1942.
No, she said at that time, the conversion of Russia is not for now, implying
that instead of promises, the chastisements predicted would continue to fall
upon humanity. She said it over again in February 1946, summarizing in one
sentence the true meaning of the war and post-war events, according to the
Fatima message. She explained to Father Jongen:
«I
think that now Our Lady’s words are being fulfilled: “If this is not done
(she had just recalled ‘the exact request’ of the Blessed Virgin), Russia
will spread her errors throughout the world”.»5
Four months later, in her interview
with William Thomas Walsh, she insisted again. The American writer reports:
«Sister Lucy said more than once,
and with deliberate emphasis: “What Our Lady wants is that the Pope and all the
bishops in the world shall consecrate Russia to Her Immaculate Heart on one
special day. If this is done, She will convert Russia and there will be peace. If
it is not done, the errors of Russia will spread through every country in the
world.” “Does this mean, in your opinion, that every country, without
exception, will be overcome by Communism?” “Yes.” It was plain that she
felt that Our Lady’s wishes had not yet been carried out.»6
In effect, this poignant drama
revealed to us by Fatima is that this frightful war and its disastrous
conclusion could have been avoided... Through a miracle of mercy, God was ready
to spare humanity these things, if the Sovereign Pontiff had been willing to
firmly commit the entire Church to the fulfilment of His Most Holy Mother’s
humble requests.
Here we must make a brief flashback
to underline how docile trust in Our Lady’s prophetic message and filial
obedience to her requests would have been the supernatural light the Pope
needed to discern right away the grave perils threatening the Church. It would
have been a miraculous means of salvation to obtain from the divine mercy the
grace of preserving Christendom from these dangers through the all-powerful
mediation of the Immaculate Virgin.
We recall that after Pope Pius XI’s
first refusal in 1931, chastisement had struck Catholic Spain. After his second
refusal in 1937, Europe had foolishly hurled itself into a world war. And the
blood-red glow that turned the night sky a deep purple on January 25-26, 1938
had been the tragic sign of the imminent catastrophe. In September 1939, the
war was officially declared.
I. A NEW
OPPORTUNITY LOST(SEPTEMBER 1939
- JUNE 1941)
It is important to point out at the
outset how, during this first phase of the conflict, the hour of God had struck
once more, and how favourable the moment was for the fulfilment of Heaven’s
designs. True, the world was at war. But under the sign of the Germano-Soviet
pact: the two anti-Christian powers, Bolshevism and Nazism, had divided Poland
between themselves, and on all the newly annexed territories both powers
unleashed the most atrocious persecutions against Catholics.
THE NAZI
PERSECUTION. German troops had
invaded Poland on September 1. Immediately a merciless struggle against the
Catholic Church had begun. Saint Maximilian Kolbe and thirty of his Brothers
who had remained with him at the “City of the Immaculata” were arrested on
September 19 for their first imprisonment. Let us cite only a few figures which
are sufficient to demonstrate the atrocity of the anti-Catholic persecution in
Poland: 4 bishops, 2,700 priests, and 200 religious, making up almost one third
of the country’s clergy, were eliminated by the Nazis.7
THE
COMMUNIST PERSECUTION. The Red
Army had entered Poland on September 17, 1939. On November 1 and 2, Ukraine and
Byelorussia had been annexed to the USSR, and immediately the persecution
against the Church had been unleashed. Pius XII was quickly alerted:
«On the
development of the persecution, the testimony sent to Rome by the metropolitan
of the Ruthenians (in other words, the Catholics of Eastern Rite in union with
Rome), Archbishop Sheptytsky of Lvov,8 and Bishop Chomyszin of
Stanislavov are particularly eloquent: monasteries confiscated and religious
communities dispersed, religious associations dispersed, seminaries and
theology faculties suppressed. At Stanislavov, the Bolsheviks tried to poison
the bishop, they killed several priests and deported others. Many of them hid
in the forests to escape the general persecution which befell the entire
population. The prelates describe well this atmosphere of informants,
insecurity, hatred and violence instituted everywhere since the arrival of the
Red Army... Archbishop Sheptytsky estimates that at least 500,000 Ukrainians
were deported to Siberia during this period. The atrocities committed are such
that the bishops considered the Bolsheviks “beasts inspired by the spirit of
the demon” and ask that they be exorcised at a distance! In spite of the
persecution and forced incorporation of seminarians, the clergy resists and
continues to take care of the Faithful, and Archbishop Sheptytsky, with the
permission of the Holy See, secretly consecrates Archbishop Joseph Slipyj as
his coadjutor (on December 21, 1939).»9
After annexing Bessarabia and North
Bukovnia in June 1940, in July the USSR seized the Baltic states: Latvia,
Estonia and Lithuania. Now it was the turn of the flourishing Lithuanian Church
– at that time the country numbered 2,500,000 Catholics, representing 80% of
the population – to suffer an atrocious persecution just as in Latvia and
Estonia, although Catholics were only a feeble minority in those two countries.
In Lithuania there were the same massive deportations to Siberia.10
At the same time, Stalin, who was
already preparing the Sovietization of Poland, also deported 1,200,000 Poles
from Ukraine and Byelorussia to Siberia.
This was the moment when he ordered
the savage massacre of 15,000 imprisoned Polish officers, in the forest of
Katyn. This abominable crime, committed in April 1940, was not discovered by
the Germans until three years later, in February 1943.11
THE HOUR
OF FATIMA. Meanwhile, Heaven
became more pressing. On January 21, 1940, Sister Lucy insisted that Father
Gonçalves once more urgently request from the Holy Father the consecration of Russia
to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The request actually reached the Pope between
February and April 1940. Since nothing was done, new requests were addressed to
him in June. We have described how finally, in December of 1940. Sister Lucy
herself wrote the Sovereign Pontiff a letter which was a remarkable synthesis
of the prophecies and requests of Our Lady of Fatima.12 In his last work, Father Martins tells us
that it was passed on to the Pope through Msgr. Tardini’s mediation.13 Pius XII undoubtedly read it with a certain
benevolence, but nothing more.
Alas, how can we not regret this
reserve! The publication of the Secret of Fatima, the solemn act of
consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and reparation for
Bolshevik crimes, if performed during this first phase of the war, would have
been infinitely more effective for the salvation of Christendom than all the
diplomatic efforts of the Holy See. These diplomatic efforts were doomed to
certain failure since out of the leaders responsible for transactions, Stalin,
Roosevelt, Churchill, Hitler and before long de Gaulle, none of them were any
more Christian than the others.
Pius XII has been reproached for
his silence regarding Nazi atrocities. Many historians have underlined the
extreme difficulties the Pope was faced with, and refuted the odious calumnies
of the Judeo-Masonic and Resistentialist authors. However, it is interesting to
imagine the attitude he could have taken had he been willing, in 1940, to pay
attention to Our Lady’s message. The Secret of Our Lady would have offered him
the means of speaking out strongly at the most opportune moment.
Echoing the Secret of Fatima, and
the extremely damning letters of the holy Ukrainian Bishop, Metropolitan
Sheptytsky, the Pope could have continued denouncing first and foremost the
persecutions and danger of Russian Bolshevism. At the same time, he could have
condemned Nazism in the most just and effective manner: as the criminal
accomplice of atheistic, bloodthirsty communism, against which Hitler had
pretended to lead Germany and all of Europe for ten years! Even more than in
1937, the joint condemnations found in Divini Redemptoris and Mit
brennender Sorge13a
were relevant in 1940. Meanwhile, Rome was receiving accounts of the atrocious
sufferings inflicted on the Catholic clergy and the Faithful, both in
territories occupied by the Red Army and those occupied by Germany. In response
to the urgent requests of the Ukrainian bishops on the one hand, and the Polish
bishops on the other, could not the Pope have vigorously denounced the odious
violation of the sacred rights of the Church committed both by the Russian
communists and their Nazi accomplices?
Months passed... but Pius XII still
was not ready to recognize in Our Lady of Fatima’s prophetic words and
requests, an extraordinary divine light which Heaven mercifully offered him.
Yet Our Lady’s words could have given light in the dark night of the world
conflagration, and allowed him to direct the Church by avoiding the gravest
pitfalls while contributing most effectively to world peace.
During the first few months of 1941
the Bishop of Gurza, who at the time was Sister Lucy’s principal director,
tried once more to draw the Sovereign Pontiff’s attention to the importance of
the Fatima message. We know this through a letter of the seer to Father
Gonçalves, written on June 20, 1941:
«I have
here two letters from His Grace the Bishop of Gurza. In the first one he tells
me he knows nothing about the letter to the Holy Father. (But that it must have
been given to him.) In the second one he tells me that the book A Jacinta
has been sent to His Holiness along with the express request to read it.
«What
would I not give to make His Holiness decide to take this step! By this act
(the consecration of Russia) he would perhaps obtain from the Heart of Jesus,
through the mediation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, peace for the world
which is so troubled. But we have to wait a little longer still. Patience!»14
Unfortunately, it was already
late... two days after this letter was written, on the morning of June 22,
1941, German tanks invaded Russian soil. The war entered its decisive phase,
during which Our Lady of Fatima’s requests became more difficult to fulfil,
while the chastisements predicted continued to fall, even more tragically, on
the Church and the world...
II.
RUSSIA DELIVERED OVER TO COMMUNISM FOR GOOD
THE GREAT HOPE OF THE PEOPLES OF
RUSSIA
«After
the thunderbolt of June 22, 1941 (writes Solzhenitsyn), the entire hard-working
people (with the exception of the young people, who had been turned into
imbeciles by Marxism), began to breathe once more, in impatient expectation:
“here it comes, the end of our parasites! Soon we will be free! This cursed
communism is over!” Byelorussia, the western Ukraine, and then the initial
Russian provinces welcomed the Germans with joy. But it was the Red Army which
showed the feelings of the people most openly... At the beginning of the first
three months, nearly three million soldiers and officers had surrendered. There
you have the sentiments of the people (or peoples) who had experience under
communism, the one for twenty-five years and the other for just one year. For
all of them, the war represented the opportunity to rid themselves of the
communist pest.»15
Alas, the double error or rather
the double crime of the Germans and the Allies was, on the contrary, going to
reinforce the inhuman yoke which had overwhelmed them since 1917.
THE
GERMAN CRIME. Instead of
entering the USSR as liberators, the Germans conducted themselves as merciless
enemies. They were eager to oppress in their turn, and just as savagely, these
Slavic peoples whom they despised in their stupid racism. Here is the testimony
of Metropolitan Sheptytsky, writing to Pope Pius XII:
«After
being liberated by the German army from the Bolshevik yoke, we felt a certain
relief which lasted no more than one or two months. Little by little, the
government instituted a really unbelievable regime of terror and corruption,
which becomes more onerous and unbearable each day. Today the entire country
agrees that the German regime, perhaps even more than the Bolshevik regime, is
evil, almost diabolical. For at least the last year, there has not been a day
when the most horrible crimes have not been committed, assassinations, thefts,
rapes... The Jews are the first victims.» They were not the only ones: «Crowds
of young people are shot without any plausible reason, a regime of servitude
applied to the rural population... It is as if a band of madmen or fierce
wolves had swooped down over this poor people…»16
Solzhenitsyn notes for his part:
«To
exploit the peasantry better, one of the first measures adopted by the Germans
was to reinstate the collective farms, which had broken up on their own. Thus
our people found themselves between the hammer and the anvil. Out of two
ferocious enemies, it chose the one that spoke its own language. In this way
communism succeeded in being carried along by our nationalism. For several
years it pretended to be deaf to its own slogans and theories, to forget them,
to forget Marxism. It began boasting about the merits of “glorious Russia” even
going so far as to set up the (Russian) Church once more.»17
THE CRIME
OF THE ALLIES. The attitude of
England and the USA vis-à-vis Stalin’s Russia was no less criminal than
that of Hitler. In the autumn of 1940, Churchill and Roosevelt had taken care
to let the Soviets know that in case of a German attack against the USSR, they
would immediately come to its aid. This promise was repeated many times in the
opening months of 1941.18
Secure in this assurance, the
clever tyrant of the Kremlin was able to profit from this to the utmost. He did
not allow the destruction of the Red Army, which would not have served him very
effectively.19
Indeed, the British and the Americans were panicking from the Soviet defeats.
Through a series of accords passed in the summer and autumn of 1941, without
any return or conditions they granted him formidable military and technological
aid.20 Stalin was welcomed with open arms into the
camp of the western democracies, without the slightest hesitation. He was going
to make them pay dearly for his contribution to the victory.
«The
enthusiasm of the West was unanimous (Solzhenitsyn notes), it then pardoned
Russia for its bad-sounding name, it forgot all the bad memories of the past;
for the first time the West became enamoured of her (paradoxically, on the day
that Russia had ceased to be herself).»21
With consummate hypocrisy, our
Anglo-American democrats pretended to accept Stalin’s propaganda, with its lies
and vain promises, at face value.
“HOLY
RUSSIA” ENROLLED IN THE SERVICE OF COMMUNIST POWER. In the war against Germany, the high-level
Orthodox hierarchy, which had long been reduced to servitude vis-à-vis the
Kremlin, proved itself to be the Kremlin’s most precious asset in reawakening
the ancient patriotism of the Russian people.
On June 22, the very day of the
invasion, Metropolitan Sergius addressed a message to the members of the clergy
and the faithful, urgently requesting that they all take part in the struggle.
Before long, he organized collections which allowed the Dimitri Donskoi
division to be equipped with tanks and airplanes. During the first two years of
the war, Sergius published twenty-three pastoral letters preaching a sacred
union behind the Bolshevik leaders.22
Stalin now multiplied gestures of
tolerance and even favours towards this church, which he had under complete
control:
«The
league of the Godless, which had planned to distribute over three million books
and pamphlets against religion in 1942, was suppressed and its print shop was
given... to the Patriarchate of Moscow, so that its journal could appear once
more...! Everywhere offices began being celebrated, and schools of theology
could be reopened.»23
Stalin was now an ally of the
Western democracies. Clearly, his goal was to do everything he could to gain
their trust, in order to obtain maximum advantages from them. This relative
liberty granted only to the Orthodox religion became a master-stroke of
his political game. For his propaganda purposes, Stalin had decided to do even
more. With tireless patience, from 1941 to 1947 he returned to the policy of
the outstretched hand towards the Vatican, which had served communist interests
so brilliantly from 1917 to 1927! In this manoeuvre of détente and opening to
the Vatican, he had an intermediary completely devoted to his cause. That
person was Franklin Roosevelt, who for Stalin had the superb advantage of
loudly proclaiming himself a «democrat» and a «Christian»!
III. PIUS
XII BETWEEN FATIMA AND MOSCOW(JUNE
1941 - FEBRUARY 1943)
ROOSEVELT ASKS ROME NOT TO
OPPOSE THE ALLIANCE WITH MOSCOW
In the beginning of July 1941,
Roosevelt asked his permanent delegate at the Vatican, Harold Tittman, to
approach Cardinal Maglione, Secretary of State, and the Pope himself. The
purpose was to get Rome to abstain from any declaration favourable to the war
against the USSR undertaken by Hitler.24 In fact, Pius XII had no need of Roosevelt’s “good advice” to
firmly resist the continuous pressure of the Germans, who were trying to get
him to publicly support their “anti-Bolshevik crusade”. «The crooked cross
(i.e., the Swastika) is not precisely the cross of the Crusades», Msgr. Tardini
said at the time. On February 25, 1946, Pius XII summarized his line of
political conduct during the war, caught between the various belligerents:
«On no
occasion did We wish to say a single word which was unjust, or fail in our duty
to reprove all iniquity, every act worthy of condemnation. Nevertheless We
avoided, even when the facts would have justified them, certain expressions
which by their nature would have done more harm than good, especially for
innocent populations under the yoke of the oppressor. Our constant
preoccupation was to moderate a conflict with such deadly effects for poor
humanity. For this reason in particular, in spite of certain tendentious
pressures, we did not allow our lips or our pen to pronounce a single word, a
single indication of approval or encouragement in favour of the war undertaken
against Russia in 1941.»25
Roosevelt, however, could not be
content with this reserve. He expected much more from Rome. He had resolved to
bring the USA into the war as early as possible on England’s side, and in close
cooperation with Stalin. But Roosevelt was encountering very strong opposition
in public opinion, the great majority of which was isolationist. Catholics in
particular were for the most part hostile to all American support for the USSR.
Several bishops had made declarations in this sense. Like President Hoover,
they thought that «if we go further and join the war and we win, then we
have won for Stalin the grip of Communism on Russia and more opportunity for it
to extend over the world».26
To justify this lucid position, they recalled the position laid down by Pius XI
in Divini Redemptoris: «Communism is intrinsically perverse, and no
one who would save Christian civilization and the social order may collaborate
with it in any undertaking whatsoever.»27
How can we fail to see that they
were right? It was impossible to contribute to saving Christendom by making an
alliance with its most implacable adversary. Was it not foolish, and criminal,
to help the communist power, which for twenty years had been the incarnation of
Satan’s grip over the world, in order to throw off the German yoke more
quickly? Did not supernatural faith and hope command a completely different
attitude for Catholics? Would it not have been better to suffer the rigours of
an unjust aggressor as chastisement, to profit from it to be converted, and
await deliverance from God? That could have been done without neglecting to use
all legitimate diplomatic and military means apt to hasten the end of the
trial. But whatever the cost, whatever the pretext, it was not permitted to
contribute to strengthening satanic Bolshevism’s domination over the world.
THE
MISSION OF MYRON TAYLOR (SEPTEMBER 1941).
Unfortunately, on this point, Pius XII gave way to American pressure.28 In effect, Roosevelt decided to complain to
the apostolic delegate about the intransigent attitude of the Archbishops of
Boston, Dubuque, Baltimore and Cincinnati. Archbishop Cicognani sent a report
to Rome. Other bishops, such as Archbishops Hurley or Spellman, were supporters
of Roosevelt, and they wished that the Holy See would authorize a wider
interpretation of Divini Redemptoris. In September, Roosevelt decided to
send Myron Taylor to Rome once more, to plead for his policy with the Pope.29 A long memorandum of Cardinal Spellman, an
autographed letter of Roosevelt, promises of all sorts – everything was
attempted to put pressure on Pius XII. Myron Taylor was received on several
occasions by the Pope and Cardinal Maglione, and promised in the name of the
United States that the Holy See would be included in the building of peace.
Taylor spoke with the secretary for extraordinary affairs, Msgr. Tardini. He
also wanted to meet Msgr. Montini, substitute (undersecretary) for ordinary
affairs.30
In his letter of September 3, 1941,
Roosevelt reminded the Pope that «the Soviet constitution proclaimed religious
liberty, and that Roosevelt himself had personally intervened with Stalin to
obtain complete freedom of worship in the USSR after victory was won». Msgr.
Roche relates that «Pius XII, with a certain humour, asked Myron Taylor if
Stalin had responded. “Not yet, but undoubtedly he will respond”.»31 Roosevelt affirmed: «The churches in Russia
are open. I really believe it is possible that, because of the present
conflict, Russia will recognize religious liberty on its territory...»32
Myron Taylor then asked for a
response from the Pope on the subject of Divini Redemptoris. Msgr.
Tardini, with great farsightedness, considered it inopportune to make any
declaration to settle such a burning question as sending military assistance to
Russia. But the other party, that of Cardinal Maglione and Msgr. Montini,
carried the day, and Pius XII agreed to give a response in the sense Roosevelt
was asking for. On September 20, Cardinal Maglione sent the apostolic delegate
in Washington an instruction which lifted all objections in principle against
American aid to Russia. Without any scruple Catholics could support Roosevelt
when he aided Stalin against Hitler.33
Meanwhile, the American ambassador
to Moscow, Averell Harriman, wrote in a report to the President: «In spite of
all the commentaries and all the requests, I leave with the impression that
what the Soviets intend is to repay us with words and furnish a few examples to
give the impression of détente, without making real changes in their present
practices.»34 Roosevelt nevertheless continued to place
complete trust in Stalin.
In December 1941, the destruction
of the American Pacific fleet by the Japanese – six great battleships were
sunk, and over 3,200 officers and soldiers killed – was Roosevelt’s opportune
and even desired (?) occasion for involving the USA in the war.35
THE SECRET OF FATIMA CENSORED
In this political context – when at
Rome there was strong American pressure to get the Pope to refrain from all condemnation
or criticism of Russia – the Secret of Fatima was divulged for the first time.
The two works published at Rome in the beginning of 1942 by Father da Fonseca36 and Don Luigi Moresco37 gave a lamentably mutilated and deformed
text of the Secret.
Three audacious corrections had
been introduced in Our Lady’s words: 1. There was no longer any mention of the
consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but only the
consecration of the world. 2. Even more grave: it was no longer a question of «errors»
which Russia would spread throughout the world, causing wars and
persecutions, but only «great errors» which would spread in the world (Father
Moresco), and an impious propaganda which would spread its errors throughout
the world, causing wars and persecutions (Father da Fonseca). These vague and
ambiguous formulas were intended to include both Germany and Russia. 3.
Finally, by a grave indiscretion, the wonderful promise of Russia’s conversion
was maintained, but in a context absolutely foreign to the authentic Secret: «I
will come to ask for the consecration of the world (No! Our Lady had
said: “of Russia”!) to My Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of reparation on
the first Saturdays of the month. If My request is heeded, Russia will be
converted and there will be peace.»
Distorted in this way, Our Lady’s
words were able to be used by the Allies – especially in England – in a sense
absolutely opposed to the authentic message of Our Lady of Fatima. If Our Lady
did not denounce the Bolshevik danger and if She promised the conversion of
Russia on the sole condition that the world be consecrated to Her Immaculate
Heart, collaboration with the Soviets no longer presented any danger...38
Later on, Father da Fonseca tried
to justify this inadmissible watering down of Our Lady’s words. Because the two
works were printed at the Vatican, he explained, there had to be nothing in the
text which could give any of the parties in the conflict the slightest pretext
for criticizing the Holy See: «The only dangerous phrase was perhaps the part
of the Secret that spoke about the atheistic and warlike activity of Russia,
and that is why its name is suppressed, substituting the anonymous phrase
“impious propaganda”...» Portugal’s ambassador to the Holy See, who had been
requested to write a preface, showed that he was satisfied with these changes.
Father da Fonseca adds: «We know with direct certainty that when His Holiness
received Meraviglie di Fatima in homage, and was informed of the small
alteration of the text (sic), he too fully approved it.»39
Once again it was politics – or at
least a certain policy of ingratiating the liberal democracies, who themselves
were accomplices of communism – which stood in the way of the publication and
exact fulfilment of Our Lady of Fatima’s requests.40
1942: THE DECISIVE CHOICE –
FATIMA OR OSTPOLITIK?
To what extent did the policy of
ingratiating the democracies, allies of Stalin, prevent the Pope from
fulfilling Our Lady of Fatima’s requests? It is difficult to say. What is
certain is that, during the year 1942, Sister Lucy, on Heaven’s behalf, once
more insistently requested the solemn act of consecration of Russia and
world-wide reparation for all the crimes of Bolshevism. On the other hand,
Stalin – as though he were mysteriously aware of the supernatural danger
threatening the future of communism! – multiplied his attempts to obtain a
concordat or at least a modus vivendi with the Holy See. All his
interests were riding on it. What would the Pope do faced with these two series
of requests, which came from contrary Spirits and were mutually exclusive?
TOWARDS A
ROME-MOSCOW ACCORD? The “Acts
and Documents of the Holy See related to the Second World War” as well as
Hansjakob Stehle’s vitally important book, Die Ostpolitik des Vatikans
1917-1975, reveal the Kremlin’s numerous diplomatic efforts to gain Pius
XII’s favour.41
In the summer or autumn of 1941,
Father Braun, the American Assumptionist who took care of worship in the parish
of Saint-Louis-des-Français at Moscow (the only one remaining in the capital),
let himself be convinced by Soviet propaganda. The moment had come, he
explained, for the Vatican to establish direct contact with the Kremlin to
reach the signing of a modus vivendi.42
In mid-December 1941, a French
Dominican, Father Michel Florent, wanted to establish himself at Moscow as
“General de Gaulle’s representative”. Fortunately, the Vatican prevented him.
«The good people will be offended to see a priest accredited with Stalin»,
Msgr. Tardini explained to him. «Adversaries in Moscow will blame the Holy See
and make it bear the consequences.»43 Were the scandal of the “good people” and the risk of German
reprisals the only obstacles to an accommodation between Rome and Moscow?! Do
we not have the impression that Rome was beginning to give way to the combined
Anglo-American and Gaullist pressure in favour of Stalin?
HEAVEN
INSISTS. Meanwhile, in the
beginning of March 1942, Sister Lucy felt interiorly moved to write a second
time to the Holy Father. She told her director, the Bishop of Gurza, about this
desire. The bishop responded that it was useless, unless she had something new
to communicate to the Pope. In a very important letter – which unfortunately
remained unpublished until September 1984 – the seer explained to the Bishop of
Gurza where this idea of insisting with the Holy Father came from:
«With the
permission of my superiors, I have the custom of remaining in the chapel with
Our Lord until midnight, from Thursday to Friday. In these hours of greater and
more prolonged intimacy with Him, with greater insistence I implore peace for
the poor world.
«During
this night of March 5, 1942, Our Lord seemed to make me feel more vividly that
He refused to grant peace because of the crimes that continue to provoke His
justice, and also because He is not obeyed in His requests, especially for
the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, although He has inspired His
Holiness’s heart to accomplish it.
«From
there the thought came to me of renewing my request. But according to Your
Excellency’s advice, I find it good to be silent.»44
The A.D.S.S. informs us that «on
March 31, 1942, Ambassador Cameiro (Portugal’s ambassador to the Vatican) and
his wife had hinted to the substitute (i.e. undersecretary of State) that
according to Sister Lucy, Our Lady had manifested the desire for such a
consecration (A.E.S. 2967/42)».45 Pius XII had decided to speak about it in his letter of April
15, addressed to Cardinal Maglione, where he requested prayers to Our Lady to
obtain peace. On April 4, he gave Msgr. Montini the following directive on this
subject: «... To insert a phrase recommending a consecration to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, as so many have suggested and requested.»46 Unfortunately, and curiously, «the phrase
relating to the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was deleted by
order of the Pope when he revised the minutes».47 And nothing was done.
The Pope even lost the wonderful
opportunity that Providence offered to him: the double jubilee of May 13. The
Church would be celebrating at the same time the anniversary of his episcopal
consecration, received twenty-five years earlier in the Sistine Chapel, and the
first apparition of Our Lady at the Cova da Iria, which took place on the same
day, at the same hour. We have already said that six more months went by before
the Pope made the slightest allusion to Fatima – six months during which the
“children of darkness” did not remain idle!
THE
KREMLIN STRIVES TO CONVINCE THE POPE.
On February 9, 1942, Osborne, a British official, tried to convince the
Secretary of State that «the USSR does not seek to Bolshevize Europe and that
after the war it will respect the rights of nations».48
In March, there began circulating
the famous “Letter of Stalin to the Pope”, in which the Kremlin gives
assurances regarding the Catholic Church and proposes the establishment of
diplomatic relations. To highlight the Russians’ goodwill, the Anglo-Saxon
press gave wide publicity to these propositions. This letter, which caused a
great stir, was undoubtedly a trial balloon, for the Vatican declared it had
never received it and Moscow maintained its silence.49
In July, the Soviets went to Roger
Garreau, head of General de Gaulle’s French representatives at Moscow. They
informed him that they desired to reach an accord with the Vatican. The
apostolic delegate in Syria, Archbishop Leprêtre, passed on this offer to the
Secretariat of State.50
On August 8, in a documentary note intended for the Pope, Msgr. Tardini wrote:
«After
the repeated affirmations of atheism as the fundamental principle of communist
doctrine, after the encouragement and aid given to atheist propaganda for so
many years, after such a long and grave persecution against religion, and
especially against Catholicism, which they attempted to almost completely
destroy, before anything else it would be indispensable to observe in practice
how religious liberty has been respected and safeguarded by the Russian
government. After a suitable lapse of time for this experimentation, the Holy
See could decide on its attitude with full knowledge of the case. Naturally, such
a decision – whether in itself or in its outward circumstances – would have
to be and appear to be motivated solely by higher religious interests, and not
inspired by advantages and political favouritism.»51
This note of Cardinal Tardini – who
represented the most anti-communist tendency in the Pope’s entourage –
demonstrates that Pius XII had not absolutely ruled out the idea of a modus
vivendi with the Soviet Union. «This corresponded to the continuity of the
Vatican Ostpolitik», Hansjakob Stehle remarks. However, «Pius XII preferred a
shorter note to give his directives to the apostolic delegate and that it not
be sent through the so-called intermediary (Maglione to Leprêtre, August, 14,
1942)».52
In any case, with tenacity the
Soviets multiplied their diplomatic approaches. In the beginning of August
1942, they approached Professor Stanislaus Kot, former Moscow ambassador of the
Polish government at London. The latter passed on their advances to the
apostolic delegate at Tehran, Archbishop Marina: «In my opinion, the moment is
favourable for a rapprochement... Something could be done for the good of many
Catholics who live in this country, etc.»53
THE
INTERVENTION OF THE PORTUGUESE BISHOPS.
In July, 1942 the Bishop of Gurza informed Sister Lucy that the Portuguese
bishops had decided to ask the Holy Father once more for the consecration of
the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In her reply, after having expressed
her joy to her spiritual director at hearing this request, Sister Lucy added:
«Oh, may
God grant that His Holiness finally take this desired step to put an end to
such a great chastisement hanging over the world; but God permits that it be
delayed still longer to punish humanity for its crimes. Patience! My poor
prayers and my sacrifices go up to Heaven in supplication for peace and
pardon.»54
The following month, she reiterated
her request to the Bishop of Gurza:
«For some
time I have felt the interior inspiration to write another letter to the Holy
Father, insisting on the request for the consecration of the world to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary. I have not dared to speak about the inspiration for
fear that I be ordered to write the letter, but by keeping silent I fear that I
am making myself responsible for resisting grace. This is why I am making a
decision. I do not know what the importance or value can be, for the Holy
Father, of a letter coming from me. To me it seems there would not be any; but
sometimes the good Lord loves to use what is valued the least to realize His
designs.»55
The Bishop of Gurza undoubtedly
replied that the initiative with the bishops was sufficient, because Sister
Lucy did not write to the Pope. This is most regrettable, for at the same time
the seer would have reminded him of the essential part of the Secret, and Our
Lady’s prophecies concerning Russia. This reminder of the Bolshevik danger was
more urgent than ever for the Pope in this autumn of 1942, when attempts were
being made to convince him that Stalin’s Russia was no longer a danger for
Europe.
THE
AMERICANS PLEAD IN FAVOUR OF OSTPOLITIK.
At the end of August 1942, Roosevelt had decided to send ambassador Myron
Taylor to Rome once more. Taylor was in Rome from September 17 to 28. He was received
in audience three times by Pius XII, spoke with Cardinal Maglione, with Msgr.
Tardini, and at length, several times, with Msgr. Montini.56
On September 19, Taylor read and
commented to Pius XII on a long memorandum presented as a «basis upon which the
parallel efforts of His Holiness and President Roosevelt for a just and moral
peace (sic) can rest». Roosevelt was undoubtedly aware of German initiatives
with the Holy See in view of a compromise peace settlement.57 He wanted to prevent the Pope from
supporting any project of this kind. Once more, Roosevelt’s spokesman
multiplied promises on the guarantees offered the smaller nations after the
war, and the role the United States wished to see the Vatican have in the
negotiations for a peace treaty. These facile promises were not going to be
kept.
During the audience of September
22, Taylor gave Pius XII a second memorandum explaining America’s plans for the
postwar. As usual, the ambassador pleaded Stalin’s cause, trying to parry the
Pope’s objections and get him to take a more accommodating attitude towards the
Kremlin. After the pontifical audience, Taylor related the same claptrap to
Msgr. Tardini. The same evening, Tardini jotted down his impressions:
«This
memorandum on Russia demonstrates the error and illusion of the Americans. They
believe it is possible that once the communist government is victorious, it
will enter the family of European nations like a gentle lamb. The truth is
completely different. If Stalin is victorious in the war, he will be the lion
who will devour all Europe. I said to Taylor that neither Hitler nor Stalin can
stay calm and tranquil in a family of European nations. I am astonished that
such obvious things cannot be perceived by rulers and such high political
figures.»58
Msgr. Tardini was a man of great
faith, and common sense. He had no illusions about communism.
But on this same September 22, the
advocate of Ostpolitik had found once more, in the person of Msgr. Montini, a
much more complacent interlocutor. Here is the written account of their
conversation concerning the USSR:
«Russia.
Concerning Russia, ambassador Taylor declared that in the spirit of the
representatives of the American government. it is a duty for all to try to
reform Russia and bring it back into conformity with its quality as a member of
the family of nations rather than to try to continue isolating it. In all
postwar reconstruction, an isolated Russia will immediately present itself as a
powerful enemy, menacing the peace which everybody hopes can be a lasting one.
There are already, Mr. Taylor said, many indications that progress is being
accomplished in this sense; at Washington there is more and more confidence
that Russia will prove to be a useful collaborator after the war, and that the
generally unacceptable characteristics of the Russian system are in the process
of disappearing. Communism as such is in the process of disappearing; the
principle of private property is recognized once more, at least partially; the
attitude towards religion is changing considerably, even if religious liberty
still does not exist; immediately after his departure from Rome in 1941, Taylor
had instructions sent to Mr. Harriman who was then at Moscow, ordering him to
make every effort to guarantee such an evolution.59 Since then, Mr.
Taylor added, other official visitors at Moscow were equally preoccupied with
this question. There is widespread belief in Washington that considerable
progress has been realized. In the final analysis, Mr. Taylor concluded, there
are few reasons for being discouraged; in the postwar world Russia will need
the assistance of other powers and these powers will require her cooperation.
He insisted again on the fact that the important aspect of the situation is the
necessity of doing everything possible to make Russia a friend rather than an
isolated enemy.»60
According to Msgr. Roche, a
“Moscow-Rome accord”, preliminary to the 1962 agreement, was concluded in 1942,
an accord «whose protagonists were Msgr. Montini and Stalin himself».
Msgr. Roche, a confidant of Cardinal Tisserant, went on: «This accord appears
to me of considerable importance.»61 Indeed! But at what moment was this compromise signed? What
were its exact contents? Msgr. Roche tells us nothing. In any case, in a letter
of September 22, 1942, to ambassador Myron Taylor, Pius XII alludes to a
stupefying promise he apparently agreed to accept on the subject of the USSR:
«I fear
that the articles on liberty of conscience or religion that you have promised,
in the name of your government, to include in future agreements between the
Allies and Soviet Russia, will not appear there. You have given me the relevant
acts, but, knowing what I know about communism, I have the greatest doubts
about this illusion of your government. At the request of President
Roosevelt, the Vatican has refrained from all polemics against the communist
regime, but this silence which weighs on our consciences has not been
understood by the Soviet leaders, who continue their persecutions against
the Church and the faithful in the USSR and the countries occupied by Red Army
troops. May God grant that the free world may not have to regret my silence
one day!»62
A POPE TORN BETWEEN ROOSEVELT’S
OSTPOLITIK AND FATIMA
«This silence which weighs on our
consciences ...» Yes, Pius XII was torn, hesitant... Certainly the message of
Fatima impressed him. And like his friend, Cardinal Schuster, and Msgr. Tardini
as well, he perceived the grave danger for Europe and the world if Stalin won
too sweeping a victory.63
But he also had a great deal of sympathy and admiration for the great
democratic and moral principles proclaimed by Roosevelt. He also feared
displeasing Roosevelt, and some of his own entourage – among others, Cardinal
Maglione and Msgr. Montini, not to mention the clan of French Gaullists grouped
around Cardinal Tisserant, Msgr. Julien and Msgr. Fontenelle – surely
influenced him in this direction.
Now, contrary to appearances, which
made him seem a very authoritarian and independent person, Pius XII was by
nature sensitive and impressionable. He was strongly susceptible to the
influence of those around him. We can hardly do better here than quote the
perceptive testimony of his most intimate, devoted and selfless collaborator,
Msgr. Tardini. These few lines written in 1959 shed a great deal of light on
all the shortcomings of Pius XII’s pontificate.
«Pius XII
had a gentle and rather timid temperament. He was not made for struggle.
In this he was very different from his great predecessor Pius XI, who seemed,
apparently at least, to relish a struggle. Pius XII, on the contrary, visibly
suffered from them, This inclination, which led him to prefer solitude and
calm, disposed him to avoid rather than face the battles of life.
«His
great goodness led him to please everybody and irritate no one; to
prefer the ways of mildness to those of severity, persuasion to force. The
candour of his soul did not even permit him to suspect a lack of veracity or
sincerity in somebody else. Humble as he was, he believed that everyone was
like him: just as devoted to truth, just as selfless as he was.
«Sometimes,
at the most difficult moments, his penetrating intelligence, applying itself to
the situation, made him see promptly and clearly all the possible solutions.
Immediately there appeared to him the pros and cons, the advantages and
disadvantages, the possible favourable or unfavourable consequences. Then he
would remain uncertain, hesitant, as if he were not sure of himself.
Then he had to be left to reflect and pray. But not everyone acted in this
way... One person suggested one thing and another suggested something else.
Everyone – as often happened – claimed to have found the just solution, the
only solution, the solution the Pope had to follow. All that troubled him.
«Once the
decision was made, it had to be executed: this too was a delicate step, especially
if the decision was by its nature displeasing to some. In this case, Pius
XII loved – as he himself used to say – “to sweeten the pill”...
«A
question can be asked here: is it possible for a man not only to conquer
himself, but to destroy and even annihilate his own natural dispositions? I
don’t think so. Given human frailty, something of the temperament remains in
the depths of the psychic structure of man, and at certain moments emerges at
the surface once more.
«Moreover,
a person who occupies an elevated post very frequently encounters, among those
who approach him, somebody clever enough to exploit his weak side. The interest
of the exploiter, his ideas or his friends profit from the superior’s weak
side. Pius XII himself cannot be entirely exempted from this common law of
human existence.»
In writing these terrible lines,
was Cardinal Tardini thinking of the influence Msgr. Montini exerted on Pius
XII? It is very probable, for the lively tensions between the Pope’s two
closest collaborators reveal that Cardinal Tardini did not appreciate his
colleague’s encroachments and hazardous initiatives.64
Msgr. Tardini added: «In his
exquisite amiability, the Pope desired to see those whom he received in
audience leave him with a grateful memory... At certain moments he was
unable to say no.»65
As it concerned President Roosevelt and his special envoy, Myron Taylor, this
real weakness of Pius XII was undoubtedly combined with a debatable political
view: the Pope did not want to risk gravely displeasing the powerful American
democracy, on which Europe’s fate principally depended after the war.
THE
CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY. It was in a similar context that, faced with contrary pressures,
on October 31, 1942, Pius XII performed the consecration of the world to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary. It was a half-measure, an incomplete act, as Sister
Lucy said not long afterwards. The Pope had wanted to do something to obey Our
Lady of Fatima’s requests. Yet he had not dared to do everything She requested.
An explicit mention of Bolshevik Russia, and a solemn act of reparation to
finally obtain its conversion, would have provoked strong displeasure from
Stalin’s allies. The Pope undoubtedly feared these reactions.
THE GREAT TURNING POINT OF THE
WAR(NOVEMBER 1942 - FEBRUARY 1943)
As we have said, Sister Lucy
revealed without delay the disparate effects this «incomplete act» would have:
The good Lord «promises in return to end the war soon»; but she immediately
adds: «the conversion of Russia is not for now.»66
Remarkably, the months from
November 1942 to February 1943 effectively marked the turning point of the war,
leading to its conclusion by an Allied victory.67
On November 3, 1942, after ten days
of terrible and uncertain fighting, in Egypt there was the German debacle of El
Alamein. On November 8, British and American troops landed in North Africa.
Finally, on February 2, 1943, the Sixth German Army of Marshal Von Paulus
surrendered at Stalingrad. This defeat, even more than the others, clearly
showed that the end of the war was in sight.
A GRAVE
ERROR. That being said, are we,
with certain apologists of Fatima, to celebrate the Allied triumph as a
miraculous victory granted by Our Lady of Fatima in response to the Sovereign
Pontiff’s act? Father Payrière, for example, writes: «... The debacle of the
swastika began at the moment when Pius XII, at the Vatican, consecrated the
world and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary...» He goes on to stress the
fact that «the victorious campaign of Tunisia ended on May 13, 1943, at noon»
and that «the victory of Garigliano, which was to liberate Rome», took place on
May 13, 1944.68
This facile “concordism” is a grave
misreading of the true significance of the prophecies of the great Secret. For
in the Second World War, far from announcing a wonderful and miraculous peace,
Our Lord only promised His messenger that in response to the act of
consecration requested, «the days of tribulation would be shortened».
This expression refers us back to the terrible prophecy of the siege of
Jerusalem: «And unless those days had been shortened, no one would have been
saved; but for the sake of the elect they shall be shortened.» (Mt. 24:22; Mk.
13:20) In this sense, the months following October 31, 1942 marked the turning
point of the war, a war which could have been even deadlier had it been
prolonged still more.69
But although these months brought the end of the war in sight, it was a tragic
and unfortunate end. Sister Lucy did not fail to announce it, clearly: «The
conversion of Russia is not for now.» Such is the sad prophecy she repeated
often, beginning in 1943. For to her eyes the future was clear. The Holy Father
had not accomplished the only request of Our Lady which could have obtained
from Heaven the promised miracle of Russia’s conversion. Hence, the
chastisements predicted by the great Secret would implacably continue coming to
pass.
GULAG OR
CHRISTENDOM: A POIGNANT APPEAL TO THE SOVEREIGN PONTIFF. In the beginning of 1943, the political
analysis of the most farsighted persons coincided perfectly with the prophecies
of Fatima. We must quote here at least a few excerpts of an admirable text
which deserves to be widely known and reflected on. It is a poignant appeal
addressed to Pope Pius XII on February 23, 1943, by President Kallay, head of
the Hungarian government:70
«The
world is threatened with destruction by the war; it is in danger of being
crushed by Bolshevism. This danger can only be parried by the strength of
Christendom. The Anglo-Saxon powers themselves will not succeed in removing the
danger. They have neither the necessary strength nor the resolution. Only the
Vicar of Jesus Christ possesses the ability, the strength, and the power.
«Already
once before, in a moment of peril, my country implored the assistance of the
Holy Father, and it obtained from him the assistance which the bells of all the
churches in the world were called to commemorate each day at noon.71
A nation posted as a sentinel on the limits of Christendom towards the East,
and with it the whole world, requests Your Holiness once more to sound the
alarm...
«I place
within the hands of Your Holiness, leader of the Christian world, the fate of
some hundreds of thousands of Christians. Among them, I have the heavy
responsibility of representing perhaps the most modest of these peoples, but in
any case the most faithful of them, the country of the Holy Virgin, to my
knowledge the only country in Europe where the situation of the Church was not
harmed during the present war, in which, on the contrary, the Church was able
to make its voice heard on the moral plane as well as in the constitutional and
economic domain.
«Therefore,
for the safeguarding of all these values, I permit myself to address the head
of Christendom, praying, imploring him, as a believing Catholic, to enlighten
those who err in the darkness and do not see, to speak, to fight and to get
involved, not in the interests of this or that nation, but in the name of all
Christendom, and above all to assist us, we, the outermost ramparts of
Christendom, not forgetting that what threatens us today in such proximity,
might one day arrive at the very confines of Rome.
«The
danger was not so imminent when the Holy See, with prodigious farsightedness,
had already drawn the entire world’s attention to the danger of Bolshevism. Why
then does it not refer to it again, on the eve of the catastrophe...?
«In the
name of His most serene Highness, the regent of the kingdom of Hungary, in the
name of the royal Hungarian government and the entire Hungarian nation, I
humbly beseech Your Holiness to deign to pursue the struggle against
communism as did your august predecessors... Never before has Christendom been
exposed to such a menace... The world has nowhere to turn to ask for help
except towards the Vicar of Christ, and it can no longer receive help but from
him alone... Only the strength of the Holy Spirit can enlighten this world on
its way to perdition, for it seems to us that the final hour has struck. We
cast ourselves at the feet of Your Holiness, beseeching you to address the
world once more, not so that certain people may be spared from perishing, but
for the kingdom of God on earth, so that the Christian world itself may be
saved.»
To this anguished appeal, and so
many others like it which the Vatican was receiving at the time,72 clearly there was only one adequate
response, the divine response: official approval of the message of Our Lady of
Fatima, and the eager, fervent and exact accomplishment of all Her requests.
Alas, the Pope was still not disposed to do so. In response to this request, on
March 3, 1943, Cardinal Maglione contented himself with noting: «The Holy See
is attentively following the situation.» On March 7, he responded in substance
to President Kallay: «The Pope is not unaware of the Bolshevik peril, but he
cannot renew the condemnation of communism without renewing that of Nazism.»73 It is true that only the very words of the
Queen of Peace would have allowed the Holy Father to rise above the
inextricable political difficulties of the hour, in which he was imprisoned for
lack of seeking the miraculous help which Heaven was offering him.
Msgr. Tardini, at least, redoubled
his efforts to enlighten the Anglo-Saxons on the imminence of the red peril. He
multiplied his letters and his reports.74 But he was a voice crying in the wilderness. On June 13, 1943,
speaking to 20,000 Italian workers, Pius XII pronounced an exhortation entirely
directed against communism. Still, he did not even designate it by name, and he
made no allusion to Russia. Moreover, this warning lacked the solemnity needed
to be heard outside of Italy.75
Thus the Allies continued,
undisturbed, their foolish policy of unconditional alliance with Moscow,
without provoking the public, firm and resolute opposition of the Vatican,
which alone could have diminished its disastrous effects for the world.
IV. «THE
CRUSADE OF THE DEMOCRACIES»... FOR A BOLSHEVIK PEACE(JANUARY 1943 - AUGUST 1944)
On January 20, 1943, Roosevelt and
Churchill, meeting at Casablanca, had communicated to all the Axis powers their
demand for unconditional surrender. They had deliberately spurned the attempts
of the most perceptive politicians, Pius XII, Franco and Salazar. These men,
conscious of the extreme danger of a Bolshevization of Europe, on the
hypothesis that Germany would be completely crushed and Stalin would gain a
total victory, strived to obtain as early as possible a compromise peace with a
Germany relieved of Hitler.
THE
MASSACRE OF KATYN: «LYING AND HOMICIDAL» COMMUNISM. With a perfect clarity of views, and
diabolical machiavellian cunning, Stalin continued to actively prepare his
communist peace. For this end, he was ready to profit from all opportunities.
In February of 1943, the Germans discovered in the forest of Katyn the mass
grave where 15,000 Polish officers were buried. They had been massacred by the
Russians in April 1940.76
Shamelessly, Stalin immediately accused the Germans of this abominable crime,
for which in reality he alone was responsible. Then he reached the heights of
cynicism: on April 16, 1943, when the Polish government in exile in London (the
government of the Polish anti-German resistance, recognized by all the Allies,
including the USSR) asked the International Red Cross to investigate this
massacre, the Kremlin boss had the audacity to use this pretext... to break off
his diplomatic relations with this government which was too nationalistic!
Already Stalin was forming the embryo of the future Polish communist
government, constituted at Moscow’s orders.
We must read the Soviet note of
April 25, 1943, which explains the motives for the diplomatic rupture:
«While
the peoples of the Soviet Union, shedding their blood in abundance in the
struggle against Hitler’s Germany,77 neglect no effort to fight the
common enemy of the Russian and Polish peoples, and all freedom-loving peoples
(sic), the Polish government, in order to satisfy the tyranny of Hitler, has
traitorously attacked the Soviet Union.» How did they manage that? By having
the audacity to pay attention «to Hitler’s abominable calumny», accusing the
Soviets of having «committed a monstrous crime against the Polish officers».
Therefore, since «the Polish government has in fact broken off its relations
with the USSR and adopted a hostile attitude towards the Soviet Union», the
Soviet government, offended by this calumny, decided on the rupture.78
Here is the man in whom Roosevelt
and Churchill had complete confidence, and considered a generous, frank and
loyal ally – a real henchman of the “Prince of lies”. «I like this man»,
Churchill declared in 1945, at the beginning of the Potsdam conference. It goes
without saying that our three accomplices obstinately refused to tell the truth
about the Katyn massacre. At the Nuremburg trials, after vainly attempting to
attribute this crime to the Germans, they decided not to speak about it any
longer. Churchill himself made this admission.79
Stalin was advancing his pawns for
the forced Bolshevization of all Poland – half by direct annexation and half by
means of a “popular democracy”.
THE
BOMBING OF GERMAN CITIES. So
that postwar Germany would be more vulnerable to communist propaganda, it was
necessary to multiply massacres and acts of destruction. Stalin insisted with Churchill
that the RAF intensify its bombing of German cities, which brought such
atrocious carnage. In August 1942, during the first visit of the British
minister to the Kremlin, Stalin had cynically declared to him: «It is very good
to bomb the factories, but it is at least as important to destroy as many
workers’ dwellings as possible. Entire cities must be razed.»80
In April 1943, Churchill promised
to satisfy him: «... I can assure you that our bombing of German cities will
intensify from month to month.» Stalin was not content with these promises. In
the final days of May, he sent eight Red Army officers to England as observers.
On June 11, they followed the bombing of Düsseldorf, which was particularly
atrocious.81 «Churchill had reached his goal. As soon as
Stalin learned through his observers the merciless character of the bombing
war, when the Kremlin learned what had taken place at Düsseldorf, at least one
Western Army received congratulatory messages from the East: the Bomber Command
of the RAF.»82
Without any strategic utility,83
the Allies continued to bomb systematically, and criminally, the residential
quarters of German cities.
THE
COMINTERN IS DISSOLVED.
Meanwhile, «American politicians and experts avidly sought the least sign of
what was being called in the West the transformation of communism into Russian
nationalism. These hopes increased after May 1943, when Stalin ordered the
dissolution of the Communist International, which for a long time had been a
fictitious organization... This extremely skilful manoeuvre on Stalin’s part
provided the Soviet Union with immense possibilities for expansion in the
postwar period.»84
For our blind democrats accepted at
face value this lying propaganda which, they believed, excused their
unpardonable complicity with Moscow. The Gaullist Christian Democrat, Maurice
Schumann, triumphantly wrote on May 25, 1943, that this decision of Stalin «constituted
perhaps the most important political act of the world war, because it favours
beyond our hopes union between the victorious countries, and union within the
victorious countries».85
What news – Stalin solemnly giving
up all Marxist propaganda in foreign countries! It fully justified our good
apostles of Christian Democracy, who within the Resistance were becoming
increasingly chummy with the communists, and surrounded and dominated by them.
The same year, 1943, the crypto-communist Jean Moulin was ordered by de Gaulle
to unify the various movements of the Resistance in France, and he founded the
National Council of the Resistance. Before long, at the “Permanent Bureau”
composed of five members, the communists had a majority of three to two.
AN
OUTSTRETCHED HAND TO THE VATICAN.
Meanwhile at Moscow, in the sinister Lubianka prison where he was still being
kept, curious propositions were being made to Father Walter Ciszek. The year
before, he had been condemned to fifteen years of forced labour: now his
jailers offered to free him and send him as chaplain to the Polish troops
fighting on the Russian side against the Germans. What sudden solicitude!
Then it was even proposed that he
«go to Rome to arrange a concordat between the Pope and the Soviet Union». With
admirable courage and farsightedness, the American Jesuit roundly declined: «No
deal interests me; let’s not have any more talk of all your propositions.»86
STALIN,
PROTECTOR OF RELIGION. Above
all, Stalin was careful to keep up his propaganda with the Allies. He
accentuated his liberal policy towards the Orthodox religion. On September 3,
1943, he officially received Sergius, Metropolitan of Moscow, who was
accompanied by Nicholas and Alexis, the Metropolitans of Leningrad and Kiev.
All three were unconditional servants of the Kremlin. Stalin then authorized
the nomination of a new “Patriarch of all Russia”, for Tikhon had died in 1925
without having a successor. On September 8, Sergius was elected by a synod of
bishops. At the same time, the government set up a “Council for the Affairs of
the Russian Orthodox Church” to assure the relations between the Patriarchate
and the State. A supreme irony: as head of this Council they named G. Karpoff,
who until then had been head of the “League of the Godless”!
In reality, these measures were
intended to prepare the forced reunion of millions of Eastern Rite Catholics to
an Orthodox Church now restored as a State Church. Stalin, of course, tried to
give these acts the greatest possible propaganda effect in favour of the
regime, declaring:
«From the
most ancient times, the Russian people have been penetrated by a religious sentiment.
The Church, since the opening of operations against Germany, has shown itself
under a better light. The ecclesiastics fight courageously at the front, and
give us proof of their patriotism every day. The Communist party of the USSR
can no longer deprive the Russian people of its churches and its liberty of
conscience.»87
In all the churches, prayers were
instituted for the tyrant’s good health. The master of the Kremlin had
officially become the great protector of the Orthodox religion. He could now
come to the Tehran conference with this showy religious policy as an invaluable
trump card with the Allies...
TOWARDS A
SOVIET PEACE: THE TEHRAN ACCORDS.
The year 1943 was marked by conferences between the Allies: at Casablanca in
January, at Quebec in August, at Moscow in October, at Cairo in November, and
above all at Tehran from November 28 to December 1, where Stalin had insisted
on coming in person.
«Roosevelt
brought up the problem of the United Nations, which was so delicate in his
eyes. Stalin acquiesced. In reality, he had given his adherence in principle,
but principles mattered little with him. It was more tangible realities that
interested him. He took advantage of the good impression he had produced to
formulate his requests, which never seemed exorbitant. He had so many
accomplices in Mr. Roosevelt’s entourage! Harry Hopkins asked only what was in
(Stalin’s) interests, and the freemason Henry Wallace, Vice-President of the
United States, spoke only of favouring the revolution in Europe to serve the
human community. Stalin was the great ally, the sincere friend. He knew it and
took advantage of it. Mr. Roosevelt even played the role of “cheerful giver”
with such great success that out of tactical prudence, Stalin pretended to
accept the proffered presents.»88
Betrayals multiplied, with the
heaviest consequences for the future. First came Yugoslavia: «At Tehran,
General Mikhailovich’s resistance movement began to be sacrificed to Tito’s
partisans... Two months later, in February 1944, Mikhailovich was no longer
receiving arms.» Not long after, he was the victim of a dastardly assassination
by orders of the communist boss. «Poland and the Baltic countries were not
treated any better. The Anglo-Saxon statesmen were completely aware of the
series of deportations carried out by the Soviet police... But Churchill ended
up agreeing that Stalin could annex eastern Poland up to the Curzon line...»
Stalin demanded more and obtained the creation of a second front in France,
which left him complete freedom to “liberate”, in his manner, the countries of
Eastern Europe. He made them all satellites of Moscow, under communist
direction. As Georges Ollivier observes:
«Stalin
was decidedly a fortunate man. At the price of his adherence to the United
Nations (the Masonic whim of Roosevelt, Master at the Holland Lodge since 1911
and 32nd degree Mason at Albany since 1929), he saw all his hopes come to
pass... For three days in a row, Roosevelt and Churchill banqueted with Stalin,
and the wine flowed generously. Only once did Churchill get angry; that was
when “the Marshal” proposed a toast to the 50,000 Germans he planned to execute
without trial. Roosevelt, however, intervened, laughing: «Perhaps we could
reach an agreement on a lower figure. Let’s say 49,500.»89
In the months following this
sinister meeting, from December 1943 to December 1944, Stalin had over a
million persons from the Caucasus and Crimean regions deported to the East.
Once again the operation cost tens of thousands of victims.90 Meanwhile, for Western consumption, he
continued to play up the farce of détente.
A
CATHOLIC PRIEST AT THE KREMLIN (APRIL-MAY 1944). In the final days of April 1944, Stalin received a strange
visitor at Moscow: Father Stanislaus Orlemanski, an American Catholic priest of
Polish origin exercising his ministry in Massachusetts. Orlemanski was naive,
or rather, cleverly manipulated. He believed he had the historic mission of
contributing to a twofold reconciliation: between the Kremlin and the Vatican
on the one hand, and between Russia and Poland on the other. For this purpose
he had requested at New York an entrance visa to the USSR to be able «to study
the religious question in Poland». Later on, Stalin had invited him out of the
blue to come and speak with him «about the religious persecution in the whole
world»! With the accord of the American Secretary of State, Orlemanski had
departed for Moscow through Alaska and Siberia.
At the end of April, he was
received with open arms at the Kremlin: Stalin and Molotov spoke with him for two
hours! On April 28, an article in Pravda gave an account of the audience
with a photograph of the priest in the company of the two communist leaders.
That evening he was invited to give an interview with Radio Moscow: «Not only
did I find a friend in Stalin, but I must make an historic declaration which
will be confirmed by the future: Stalin is a friend of the Roman Catholic
Church», he declared.91
After this interview, Orlemanski
was given another two hour audience with Stalin. Isaac Deutscher reports that
he even obtained «a solemn declaration, written in Stalin’s hand, in which the
Kremlin boss offered his collaboration to the Vatican leader. And he left
Orlemanski free to use it at his discretion.»92 Let us add that Stalin sent a letter on
this subject «to his dear friend», President Roosevelt, and then a telegram to
thank him for having made possible this voyage of Orlemanski to Moscow.
Orlemanski, intoxicated with his
success, hastened to give a press conference on his return to the USA (May 12,
1944). He described how Stalin had treated him in an «open and democratic»
manner, that he had «spoken with him man to man», that he had been able to
explain to him the importance of the religious question and that Stalin had
declared himself ready to collaborate with the Pope «in the struggle against
oppression and persecution of the Catholic Church», for «as a defender of
freedom of conscience and religion», he judged a policy of persecution
«inadmissible». With surprising promptness, Pravda repeated these declarations
of Orlemanski on May 14, giving them an official character.93 The New York Times had reported the
event on May 13, and «Roosevelt himself considered receiving Father Orlemanski
at the White House. Cordell Hull had to use a great deal of effort to dissuade
him from taking this initiative.»94
No doubt the trap had been too
obvious for Rome. Orlemanski had undertaken these negotiations without any
permission. He was punished with “suspension a divinis” by his bishop,
who promptly sent him to a convent to do penance for his extravagances. But
Stalin was no fool. His deceitful declarations had found in the West a public
eager to listen and take him at his word. As gross as they were, these repeated
lies contributed to creating the atmosphere of infatuation for the Soviet
allies which reigned in Europe and America for the final months of the war.
These few months allowed the Bolshevik bear to extend its paws over a dozen
nations, without it occurring to the Allies to oppose it... In May of 1944, the
future of Europe was about to be decided. Through the Allies’ fault, it was in
Moscow’s favour.
MAY 13,
1944: A FRUITLESS VICTORY. On
May 13, 1944, at Garigliano, the fourteenth German Army of Von Mackensen was
defeated by General Juin’s African Army. Three weeks later, Allied troops were
able to enter Rome.
This magnificent French victory
opened up new strategic possibilities to the Allies which General Juin proposed
be exploited as early as possible. It was sufficient to continue the offensive
through northern Italy and to cross the Brenner to penetrate into Austria up to
Vienna and before long into southern Germany, and finally even to Dresden and
the Elbe valley, This ingenious plan had three advantages: it would shorten the
duration of the war, spare France, and above all allow the Allies to occupy
Vienna and Berlin well before the Russians. It was rejected by Churchill,
Roosevelt and de Gaulle who did not want to upset their great friend, Stalin.
Hence on July 22, 1944, the French expeditionary corps was dissolved and the
victory in Italy was not exploited.95 This gives an idea of the extent to which Stalin was the
sovereign master of the war after the disastrous Tehran accords, directing
operations to the sole profit of the Soviet Union. The horrible drama of the
Warsaw insurrection was about to furnish a new proof...
AUGUST 1
- OCTOBER 2, 1944: STALIN ORGANIZES THE MASSACRE OF 250,000 POLES. First of all, we give the version found in
the official history – that of our manuals and encyclopaedias – no doubt
reviewed and corrected by the services of the KGB, so discreet and complacent
is it regarding Stalin’s crimes: «The insurrection unleashed at Warsaw by
General Bor Komorowski, head of Armia Krajowa, criticized and assisted
hardly at all by the USSR (sic!), was crushed after two months of
terrible fighting (August-September 1944), which aggravated even more the
disagreements between the communists and the London government.»96 Now, here is the horrible truth which it is
important to make known to show how odious, inhuman, and satanic communism is.97
On July 31, 1944, Red Army troops
were just outside Praga, a suburb of Warsaw on the right bank of the Vistula.
The Polish capital was on the left bank, just a few hundred yards away. The
roar of nearby Russian artillery made the city walls tremble. For ten days,
almost every night Soviet planes had come to bomb the German positions in the
capital. General Bor, leader of the clandestine units of the Polish Army
depending on the government in exile, was convinced that the Russians, who were
so close, were about to attack the city at any moment. Besides, on July 29, at
8:15 p.m. Radio Moscow had broadcast a call to arms in Polish: «Poles! The hour
of liberation is approaching! Poles, to arms! Make each Polish household a
fortress in the struggle against the invader! There is not a moment to lose.»98 On the following day, the leaders of the
Polish government in London could hear a similar appeal, also coming from
Moscow: «... For Warsaw, which has never abdicated or given up the battle, the
hour for action has struck...»99
Word also came on July 31 that Polish Prime Minister Mikolajczyk, after
arriving at Moscow, was received by Stalin.
«The radio appeal was so clear, the
Russian army so close, Mikolajczyk’s visit so comforting» (Bliss Lane), that
General Bor, in agreement with his government, ordered his forces within the
country to attack without delay. Would not this active participation in the
imminent liberation of the capital be an important trump card for nationalist
Poland in the ensuing peace talks? The Poles could not imagine that Stalin
could be diabolical enough to set a deadly trap for the entire population of
Warsaw, which like him, was fighting the same German enemy. Yet this is what
happened. When the insurrection broke out, the Reds stopped their offensive at
the city gates, and their planes stopped flying over Warsaw.
In spite of everything, the
uprising seemed to have the advantage the first week. But before long, the
German Army turned all its might and fury against the insurgents. A grim and
desperate battle began. The Poles were suffering from a tragic shortage of
weapons and food. On August 8, their Prime Minister, who was still in Moscow,
begged Stalin to intervene. Lying through his teeth, Stalin claimed at first
that it was only a “tall tale”, that there was still no serious proof that a
battle was going on at Warsaw!100
Then he promised help from the Red Army... which did not budge. On August 14,
the TASS news agency declared that it was inopportune to aid the city, and that
it was high time to condemn the useless bloodshed imposed by the Poles (i.e.
the government in exile) in London.
On August 22, the women of Warsaw
addressed a heartrending appeal to Pope Pius XII through the radio: «... Most
Holy Father, nobody comes to our aid. The Russian armies, which have been at
the gates of Warsaw for three weeks, have not advanced a step. The aid
coming to us from Great Britain is insufficient. The world ignores our
struggle. God alone is with us...»101
For over forty days and forty
nights, the Poles continued to battle heroically, with only the tiny assistance
parachuted in by a few British planes departing from distant bases. For the
British planes had a limited range which made coming and returning extremely
perilous. For the operation to succeed, it would have sufficed if the Allied
planes, after dropping their material over Warsaw, had been allowed to land on
Russian bases near the capital. Stalin refused. On August 14, Churchill and
Roosevelt renewed their request. On the 16th there was a new refusal.102 In September, when the insurrection was
virtually crushed, the USSR authorized a few planes to land.
It was too late. For lack of
provisions, the insurrection ended on October 3, 1944. The Red Army stood
around Warsaw from September to mid-January, 1945. During these four long
months, the Germans had the time to avenge themselves, burning and destroying
the city street by street and house by house. Stalin’s plan had succeeded
perfectly. The Polish government in London was discredited. The Polish Army
inside the country had been decapitated. In other words, Moscow’s henchmen, who
had been ordered to set up a communist government, no longer had any enemy to
fear. As the American ambassador to Poland concludes: «The unbelievable
betrayal was complete. What did it matter to its authors that a great city was
in ashes and that 250,000 inhabitants had been massacred? They had achieved
their ends.»103
V. THE
CHURCH’S GREAT TRIAL(JUNE -
DECEMBER 1944)
Meanwhile, Allied progress
continued on all fronts. On June 4, 1944, they made their entry into Rome. On
the following day, Pius XII received General Juin, who brought a message from
General de Gaulle. On June 8, he welcomed General Clark, commander of Allied
forces in Italy. On the 19th, he thought it good to send a telegram to
Roosevelt to affirm the close connection between the ideals of Christendom and
those of American democracy. Unfortunately, President Roosevelt’s ideals were
those of his Judeo-Masonic and crypto-communist entourage! On the same day,
June 19, Myron Taylor arrived in Rome where he tried to get the Vatican’s
Ostpolitik going once more.104
THE “LIBERATION”, THE PURGE, AND
COMPLICITY WITH MOSCOW
PIUS XII
AND THE LIBERATORS. On June 30,
Pius XII received General de Gaulle. The Gaullist clan solidly implanted in the
Vatican obtained this audience while the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Valerio
Valeri, was still at Vichy with Marshal Pétain. «The Sovereign Pontiff spoke
especially of Europe’s future to General de Gaulle. He feared that communism
would soon represent a very grave danger for Christian Europe. To parry the
threat the Pope desired a close union of European states inspired by
Catholicism: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Portugal.»105 The Pope was equally insistent on another
point, on which the future of France was to depend. «“General, your duty is to
come to an understanding with the Marshal.” De Gaulle responded: “That would be
contrary to my honour.” To which Pius XII retorted: “General, one must not
confuse honour with self-love.”»106 Clearly, if the Resistance leader had thought of the good of
the Church and France for a single instant, he would have made efforts to
follow the two counsels Pius XII gave him. He obstinately followed a completely
different policy, a policy of extensive purges within the country and cold
hostility to Catholic Spain and Portugal, in scandalous contrast with the
enthusiastic alliance concluded with the USSR.
THE
PURGE, A CRIME AGAINST FRANCE AND AGAINST THE CHURCH. In 1943, a declaration was made within de
Gaulle’s entourage: «France must undergo a purge such as no country has ever
known at any time.»107
This sinister project was implacably brought to pass by the Christian
Democrats, to whom the communists and socialists had left their dirty work.
France numbered no less than 100,000 innocent victims, condemned for the sole
“fault” of having loyally obeyed the legitimate government of France. Besides,
they were in perfect conformity with the wise and firm directives of the French
episcopate and Pius XII himself.
This crime against France, which in
this way was deprived of an elite most dedicated to the country’s good, doubled
as a crime against the Church. The so-called liberators had also decided to purge
it before reducing it to utter servitude. General de Gaulle was demanding from
Rome the recall of nuncio Valerio Valeri and the replacement of twenty bishops!
Pius XII gave way in the case of the nuncio, whom he replaced with Archbishop
Roncalli, and stood firm for the bishops of France.108 Still, the blackmail in the purge of the
episcopate had had its effect. The bishops, who themselves were threatened,
were silent while the blood of Frenchmen and Catholics flowed profusely and the
prisons filled with innocent people. There was no episcopal voice to denounce
the scandalous injustices of the Christian Democrats in power, as there should
have been. Rome, too, was silent.
THE
CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS, PAVING THE WAY FOR COMMUNISM. Meanwhile, Stalin invited General de Gaulle to Moscow. De
Gaulle arrived there on December 1, accompanied by Georges Bidault. On December
10 they signed, in the name of France, a treaty of alliance and mutual
assistance with the USSR. One would have to read the newspapers of that time to
have an idea of the unbelievable euphoria and blindness which held sway at the
time. Here is how the Christian Democrat, Georges Bidault, presented the great
diplomatic success of his career, this “marriage of love” between Paris and
Moscow: «People understand and feel that France, in this affair, has done
something other than a marriage of convenience... This is why General de Gaulle
and Marshal Stalin, France and the Soviet Union, easily found an accord, etc.»109
This was the era when one could
read in La Croix, under the pen of Father Merklen, the following lines:
«Honour to the Russians, who had an essential part in the trials and
combats. Whether they were aware of it or not, they rendered a service of
the highest order not only to France and to Europe, but to religion and the
Church, a service which history can never forget, etc.»110
This was the period when Maurice
Schumann wrote in L’Aube, the Christian Democrat daily:
«At the
moment when the victorious army of the continent’s greatest power – to which
the new France is bound by an alliance of at least twenty years – comes closer
to its triumph and, at the same time, to the West, nobody any more asks the
question which once weighed heavily upon the coalition: “Does Russia want to
Bolshevize Europe?” For the question is now decided, not only by gestures
like the dissolving of the Comintern, but by the facts.
«The
Soviet armies have already liberated, in whole or in part, several countries
between Germany and the USSR. Yet in none of these countries, where Russian
influence is predominant or rather exclusive, has this influence taken the form
of Leninist or even Stalinist communism.»111
This author goes on to give as
wonderful, unquestionable proofs of great Marshal Stalin’s obvious goodwill the
two examples of Hungary and Poland! In this way, the Christian Democrats all
over Europe were blindly, and criminally, paving the way for communism.
SUBVERSION
IN THE CHURCH. There was
something even more grave. The subversion entered the very heart of the Church,
particularly in France. The “Red Christians” of the prewar era, who at that
time were a negligible minority, drew the maximum profit from their involvement
in the Resistance on the side of the socialists and communists. Against the
hierarchy, which had remained faithful to Marshal Pétain to the very end, they
had chosen the good camp, the victorious one. They were on the side of the
victors, on the side of the men in power, and their influence – and their
responsibility! – was multiplied tenfold by a single blow. While the purge
eliminated the Catholics of the right, confiscating their journals, it cleared
the way for these “progressive Christians”, who were making the winds of reform
and revolution blow over the Church. Meanwhile, the «higher clergy, terrorized
by a handful of politicians who wielded a permanent blackmail over it... let
these black sheep contaminate the flock.»112
At Rome, it must be said that Pius
XII arguably lacked the supernatural foresight and firmness he would have
needed to stand up resolutely, heroically, to this obsession for Liberty, the
rights of Man and Democracy – which was euphorically expected to bring peace
and happiness to the entire world. He could not see that this was the
transparent manoeuvre of the occult forces of Masonry and communism. These
forces were extolling the democratic utopias to better fight – or in the name
of this misleading ideal, prevent from being revived – the only strong
governments capable of resisting them.
THE FINAL SECRET OF FATIMA,
DIVINE LIGHT FOR THIS TROUBLED ERA?
Before we show the disastrous
effects for the Church of these tragic months following the “liberation”, we
must return to Fatima or rather to Tuy. There Heaven’s messenger, a few months
earlier, seemed to be supernaturally warned of the grave pitfalls the Holy
Father would have to overcome. In May 1944, she wrote:
«I think
a great deal of the Holy Father; I have a great deal of pain on the subject of
His Holiness; I offer my poor prayers and sacrifices for him. And Spain! I have
spoken with the Archbishop of Valladolid, but there are so many difficulties»
(to accomplish Our Lord’s requests with exactness!)113
Before long, when her director, the
Bishop of Gurza who was a friend of Pius XII, was preparing to go to Rome, she
desired to do more. Sister Lucy was bold enough to write to him:
«If the
Holy Father questions you about me and about what I would like to tell him, you
can answer that it would please me to speak to His Holiness concerning the
consecration of Russia and regarding the bishops of Spain.»114
This proposition is not astonishing
for us. The project was not an idle dream. Sister Lucy was not yet cloistered,
and the Dorotheans had frequent contacts between their houses in Spain and
Portugal and the general house in Rome.115 Did she desire to insist with the Pope on the danger of
Bolshevik expansion prophesied by Our Lady? Undoubtedly. Probably she desired
also, and above all, to speak to the Pope about an even graver subject: the
third Secret, which Our Lady had asked her to write down in her apparition of
January 2, 1944. The text had still not been given to Bishop da Silva. Besides,
the bishop had decided not to read it.
We have seen that the third Secret
was offered to the Holy Office. In other words, Sister Lucy would have been
happy if the Pope had become aware of this terrible warning right away. True,
we know through other sources that the third Secret was not intended for the
Pope in the sense that it was explicitly and exclusively addressed to him.
Still, it is clear that because it concerns the salvation of the world and the
Church, it concerns the Pope more than any other person. If Pius XII had seen
it at that moment, as Sister Lucy undoubtedly desired, he surely would have
found light and strength from on high. This light and strength would have
allowed him to resist, victoriously, the great current of revolutionary errors
– «Russia will spread its errors», Our Lady had announced – which swept over
the Church like a great storm in these troubled years 1944-1945.116 Unfortunately, the project was not to be.
For the time being, Our Lady’s great prophetic message remained useless, buried
in the safe at the chancery of Leiria. Meanwhile, at Rome, the Sovereign
Pontiff was hearing advice other than that given by the Mother of Good Counsel.
THE RADIO MESSAGE OF CHRISTMAS
1944: PIUS XII BEFORE THE UTOPIAN AND REVOLUTIONARY DEMOCRACY
This was the period when the
Kremlin’s propaganda, spread by all movements issuing from the Resistance, was
summarized in three points: 1. The Fascist and Nazi dictatorships were alone
responsible for the war. 2. The democratic government of the Soviet Union has
always been fundamentally peaceful, and seeks to promote peace. 3. To guarantee
this peace, we must be armed against the Fascist peril by establishing
democracy everywhere.
Instead of denouncing these lies,
whose deadly effects the future was about to show, Pius XII saw fit to solemnly
“baptize” this “democracy” which everybody was demanding as something
obligatory. While in his discourse to the Sacred College, the Pope evoked the
dangers of Marxist errors117
in vague and mysterious terms, this same day, December 24, 1944, he delivered a
“radio message on democracy” to the entire world. It is a blot on the
collection of his pontifical discourses,118 notably different from the rest of his discourses by its
strangely naturalistic vision of the war, as well as its disconcerting
optimism.119
A
NATURALISTIC VISION OF THE WAR.
The radio message is silent on the bid for hegemony by Stalinist communism,
allied to Hitler’s pan-Germanism, which were both fundamentally anti-Christ. It
is silent on the blind pacifism of the liberal democracies, soon to be followed
by a furious and equally senseless thirst for war. The democracies too were
manoeuvred by an anti-Christ power, the Judeo-Protestant and Masonic
plutocracy.
More curiously, in this radio
message, war no longer appears as the terrible chastisement for an apostate
humanity rebelling against its God, as it is depicted in so many other
discourses of Pius XII. Nor does peace appear as a miraculous gift from Heaven,
graciously granted through the mediation of the Immaculate Virgin. What then
are the causes of the World War? The cause is simple. It is dictatorship, the
lack of democracy:
«The
troubled multitudes, shaken in their deepest convictions by the war, have today
acquired the inner persuasion – once perhaps vague and confused, but now
unshakeable – that if there had been a possibility of controlling and
correcting the activity of the public authorities, the world would not have
been led into the disastrous whirlwind of war, and that to avoid a similar
catastrophe being repeated in the future, effective guarantees must be created
within the people itself.
«In this
state of mind, should we be astonished that the democratic tendency is
spreading among the peoples and is widely obtaining the support and consent of
those who desire to collaborate more effectively in the destiny of individuals
and society?»120
A
DISCONCERTING OPTIMISM. In
effect, at the end of this war, «a dawn of hope is arising», the universal
aspiration for «a profound renewal», for «a total reorganization of the world»
according to the democratic ideal.
In the
wake of the war, «the peoples awoke from a long torpor. Before the State and
their rulers, they took on a new attitude, a questioning, critical, defiant
attitude. Taught by bitter experience, they opposed with greater vehemence the
monopoly of a dictatorial, uncontrollable and untouchable power, and they
demand a system of government more compatible with the dignity and liberty of
citizens.»121
«At a
time when peoples are facing their duties as perhaps they never have at the
turning points of their history, they feel welling up in their tormented hearts
the impatient and as it were innate desire to take their own destiny into their
hands with greater autonomy than in the past; in this way, they hope to defend
themselves more easily against the periodic eruptions of the spirit of violence
which, like a torrent of incandescent lava, spare nothing of what is dear and
sacred to them.»122
The Pope attempts to lay the
foundations, to “baptize” this aspiration for «more democracy and a better
democracy», an inspiration considered – without any further examination! – as a
fact of universal experience, and in addition, fundamentally good!
The continuation of the pontifical
radio message is strangely reminiscent of the utopias of Marc Sangnier,
condemned by Saint Pius X in his magisterial “Letter on the Sillon”. To reach
«a truly sound and balanced democracy», it is simply required that “the people”
not be a passive, inert “mass” in the hands of individuals who exploit its
passions, but “a true people”, “conscious of its own responsibilities” and
having “the true understanding of the common good”. It would also be necessary
that the deputies perfectly represented the entire people, and that all be
endowed with intellectual and moral qualities and eminent Christian virtues. As
for world peace, it would be guaranteed by a democratization of international
life, in the framework of an all-powerful United Nations which would not
embrace any injustice, or infringe on any right to the detriment of any
people... The Pope concludes: «If the future belongs to democracy, a
prominent role in putting it into practice must be given to the religion of
Christ and the Church.»123
It goes without saying that the
elements of pure Catholic doctrine scattered throughout this radio message (for
example, the reminder that all power comes from God and must be exercised according
to His law), pass unnoticed and remain ineffectual. One can only see in this
text a pontifical blessing graciously accorded to existing democracies and the
Christian Democratic parties recently brought to power in France and Italy: a
cordial entente with the Masons, communists, and socialists of every
description.
In any case, the year 1945 was
unfortunately about to furnish the cruellest denial, the most concrete and
tragic refutation of this ill-fated discourse. It was marred by blind optimism
and was silent on the most crying injustices as well as the most fearsome
perils of the hour. Far from being a solution to save the Church and
Christendom, the democratic ideology, cleverly utilized by Stalin’s propaganda,
was to be the most effective instrument of the Bolshevik revolution’s
world-wide expansion.
VI. 1945:
THE DEMOCRACIES: STALIN’S ACCOMPLICES FOR THE GREAT CRIMES OF THE WAR
Although Roosevelt could work no
more than four hours a day due to old age and illness, he nevertheless decided
to run for President once more in 1944. The clan which had been using him since
1932 did not want to abandon the White House when victory was in sight! So on
January 20, 1945, for the fourth time he took the oath of office as President.
O democracy!
FEBRUARY
4-11, 1945: THE YALTA CONFERENCE.
The Yalta conference, where Roosevelt was already gravely ill, had not studied
any of the dossiers and was ready to make every possible concession,
unquestionably marked the war’s most tragic and shameful hour. Of course, no
representative of the Vatican was admitted there. Without a regular mandate,
without consulting anyone except the few advisors who accompanied him – and who
were emissaries of Stalin, it was later learned! – Roosevelt secretly signed
the extremely important accords, in which the world’s future hung in the
balance.
Let us recall them in a few words:
Stalin annexed the Baltic countries (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania) and the whole
eastern part of Poland. All of eastern and central Europe was also given over
to him, with this hypocritical clause: Stalin was given the responsibility of
seeing that democratic governments were set up there – loyal friends of Soviet
Russia!
Among other things, by a
particularly odious clause, the Allies promised to deliver over to Stalin’s
reprisals all the anti-communist nationals of Russia and its satellite
countries.
«Hundreds
of thousands of Russians, Cossacks, Tatars and Caucasians were thus sacrificed
(Solzhenitsyn writes). They were not allowed to go over to the Americans; they
were delivered over to repression and the executioner’s post in the USSR.
«Even
more stupefying: the English and American armies delivered over to communist
repression hundreds of thousands of peaceful inhabitants, former prisoners of
war or work deportees. They were delivered by force, in spite of the suicides
committed under (the officers’) eyes. The English detachments even made use of
their weapons, slashing and cutting to pieces these men who refused – one
wonders why – to return to their country. But what is even more stupefying –
not only did the Americans and British officers receive neither blame nor
sanction, but the free, proud, independent Anglo-Saxon press ingenuously passed
over in silence this felony of its rulers for over thirty years...
«One had
to believe at the time that there was every advantage in concluding an eternal
peace with the communists, paying for it with a million or two stupid victims.»124
Thus in the name of the democratic
alliance, 2,800,000 refugees were delivered by force to communist reprisals:
800,000 were executed on the spot. 1,500,000 were deported to Siberia.125
THE
FIREBOMBING OF DRESDEN (FEBRUARY 13-14, 1945). Stalin had demanded another slaughter, which our
accommodating democrats hastened to grant him shortly after Yalta. In 1945, the
city of Dresden numbered over 500,000 inhabitants. A rumour had been started
(by whom?) that an accord had been concluded between the belligerents to spare
Dresden and Oxford. Before long, hundreds of thousands of refugees from Eastern
Europe who had fled before the Red Army had settled, as best they could, in the
great German city, which was still unharmed: «Since the beginning of the Soviet
offensive of January 1945, millions of refugees were leaving the eastern
provinces of Germany for the centre of the country. In a few days, at Dresden
there were over 500,000 camping out in the streets or sleeping under the straw
roofs of immense refugee centres... Dresden, this Florence of the Elbe, drew
them like a magnet and they were to cause its ruin, for they constituted the
true objective of the great attack.»126
The fact is now beyond question.
Dresden was neither an industrial city nor a centre for the gathering of German
troops. There was no munitions plant; military men observed as much. Yet, on
the orders of Churchill himself, on the night of February 13-14, 1945, British
and American forces began bombing the city. The catastrophe was frightful. The
city was to a great extent destroyed. All the churches were burned. There were
close to 135,000 dead and as many wounded.
The following day, February 14,
1945, the BBC broadcast this official declaration of the British government:
«In the course of the preceding night and this morning, British and American
bombers dealt, at the centre of Germany, the powerful blows promised by the
Allied leaders to the Russians at Yalta.»127 In vain was this detail removed from all
later bulletins. It is certain that Churchill ordered the operation at Stalin’s
request, for the sole purpose of exterminating several tens of thousands of
anti-Bolshevik refugees.
«From the military point of view,
this attack against Dresden constituted veritable nonsense.» The only two
objectives that presented some strategic interest were not even given priority:
the marshalling yard was barely hit, and the railway bridge over the Elbe
remained intact. «Three days after the attack, the two-way traffic functioned
as perfectly as before.» But on the morning of February 14, after the two waves
of night-time bombing, as tens of thousands of survivors rushed out of the
burning city, a third attack was unleashed at noon. The columns of fugitives
had been assigned as objectives to the pilots.128
THE FAR
EAST DELIVERED TO COMMUNISM.
Roosevelt was not content to shamefully deliver nearly two million
anti-communist refugees to Stalin’s reprisals, and at the same time abandon all
of central Europe to him, leaving Stalin the responsibility of instituting
democratic states there. Once more, in the name of this same democracy,
Roosevelt was about to offer the Soviets immense regions of the Far East, and
provoke a new slaughter which was as criminal as it was useless.
«Two days
before his departure for Yalta, he had received a forty page message from
General MacArthur passing on a Japanese surrender proposal, an offer so
generous that it included the surrender of Japanese forces, the occupation of
all islands, the abandonment of Manchuria, Korea and Formosa, control of
industry and the handing over of those whom the Americans might consider war
criminals. Only one request was formulated: that the emperor keep his throne.
«It was
unexpected. President Roosevelt brushed off this proposition, saying: MacArthur
is our greatest general and our poorest politician.»129
This was the first unpardonable
crime. It was followed by a second inexplicable error: Roosevelt was convinced
that he needed the Russians to defeat the Japanese. This was entirely in line
with the Kremlin’s plans. Stalin therefore promised to enter the war against
Japan three months after the German surrender. In return for his promise, he
managed to get the most advantageous concessions for communist expansion in the
Far East.
In effect, Roosevelt gave him
Manchuria (once promised to Chiang Kai-shek), inner Mongolia, North Korea, the
Kurile Islands and the southern part of Sakhalin. For practical purposes Chiang
Kai-shek had been sacrificed and China placed in communist hands. In addition,
the Americans furnished the Russians with gasoline, means of transport,
equipment for 1,250,000 men, 3,000 tanks and 5,000 planes! After Yalta, on his
return to his headquarters, Stalin was able to boast of having obtained
everything he desired.130
Roosevelt died on April 22, 1945,
before having a chance to see all the disastrous effects of his policy of
appeasing Moscow. One day, he had summarized this policy in a sentence: «If we
give Stalin everything we can, without demanding anything in return, he will
not seek to acquire more and will work loyally with us for peace and
democracy.»131
THE
POTSDAM CONFERENCE (JULY 17 - AUGUST 2, 1945): 100,000 VICTIMS... OF DEMOCRACY. The Soviet-Japanese neutrality pact had not
yet been broken, when during the Potsdam conference, which included Truman,
Stalin and Churchill, the Japanese government proposed to send Prince Konoe to
Moscow to open peace talks. Stalin informed Truman and Churchill of the
Japanese proposition, explaining that it did not contain what the Allies were
waiting for, i.e. unconditional surrender. Once more they rallied to Stalin’s
opinion, and the proposition was rejected.132 The tragic results are well known.
On August 6, the Americans dropped
their atomic bomb on Hiroshima: 72,000 dead, 80,000 wounded. After this
disaster, Japan once more offered to surrender, on the sole condition that the
emperor’s rights be respected. In the name of sacrosanct democracy, the
Americans refused once more and decided to drop a second atomic bomb on the
country.133 At Churchill’s request, Kyoto was spared
because of its artistic treasures. And, as if by chance, it was Nagasaki, the
flower of Japanese Christendom and Catholicism which was chosen as the target
of the second bombing, on August 9: 26,000 dead, 40,000 wounded.
To crown the blindness, although
Truman had decided at the end of July to finish off Japan with the atomic bomb,
he stubbornly insisted to the very end on imploring Soviet assistance in the
Far East, according to the plan set up at Yalta! Stalin had promised to
intervene towards the middle or end of August.
To keep from missing out on the
fruits of the victory, on August 8, two days after Hiroshima, the Kremlin
declared war on Japan, which surrendered on August 14. Nevertheless, the Red
Army continued its offensive until August 23, occupying in succession all the
key points of Manchuria and North Korea down to the 38th parallel. «Stalin
meticulously stocked all the weapons abandoned by the Japanese and gave them to
Mao Tse-tung, who could offer himself the luxury of conquering China which
Chiang Kai-shek, guilty of having refused unity with the communists, was
incapable of defending, since all arms shipments to him had been suspended
between August 1945 and 1947, then resumed at a ludicrous pace the following
years.»134
In reality, «the Potsdam conference
was a diplomatic triumph for the Soviets, surpassing that of Yalta.»135 The terrifying bombings of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, instead of intimidating Stalin as the Americans anticipated, seemed
on the contrary to fill him with ease. When Truman informed Stalin of his
project at Potsdam on July 26, to the great surprise of his interlocutor,
Stalin «began smiling a happy smile», as Churchill related. Leahy, who was also
watching from a distance, noted the same happy expression... “Very good”,
he answered the American without manifesting the slightest surprise, “make
good use of it against Japan.”136 Stalin was right: the atomic bombings allowed him to harvest
the fruits of victory in the Far East after a campaign of only three months!
Then also, after the crimes of Nazism, Bolshevik propaganda would now have this
capitalist crime to denounce unceasingly! As for the atomic bomb itself, the
Kremlin boss knew that his espionage services were closely following the
affair, and before long would be bringing the ultimate secrets of the bomb back
from the West!137 In
short, the Soviets were gaining in all areas. It must be said that the American
democracy had been facilitating their task for many years.
THE
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY IN SOVIET HANDS.
«On November 2, 1945, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover sent the White House an
important report formally accusing a dozen state officials of having furnished
Soviet agents with classified information; in particular Harry Dexter White...»138
After this moment, the hidden
secrets of Roosevelt’s disastrous policy began to be discovered... In fact,
since June 1941, the USSR had almost enjoyed carte blanche in the United
States, and the network of Russian spies had suddenly grown immensely. For
almost the entire duration of the war, thefts from American. industry knew
almost no limits. Stalin explained to his agents, «Presently we have an
unexpected opportunity which we must take advantage of quickly and in all
areas, to quickly bring our industry to a level at least as high as the
Americans.»139 And Kravchenko reports in his memoirs, «It
was by the thousands that Soviet agents of all types worked in the United
States»... Even at the highest levels.
Even Roosevelt’s personal
advisors... were agents of Stalin! At Yalta, the two principal American experts
with the ailing president «knew what they had to do. They had been well
prepared, but by a government other than that of the United States, by the
Soviet Republic.»140 Harry
Dexter White and Alger Hiss were both agents of the Kremlin.141
Roosevelt had long been deaf to all
warnings, allowing his whole administration to be infiltrated by communists:
they were in the press, the radio, and even in the State Department, where 203
employees had to be dismissed in 1947 due to espionage.142 In 1953, the Justice Department revealed
that there were 766 espionage cases pending.143
Still, it took years for the truth
to leak out. The scandal which had been denounced in 1945 did not break until
1948. Meanwhile Stalin had his hands free to set up, in all territories
occupied by the Red Army – always in the name of sacrosanct democracy! –
communist governments, who enslaved their peoples, persecuted religion, and in
any case were dominated by the Kremlin.
VII.
TOWARDS THE BOLSHEVIZATION OF EUROPE?
In 1939 the USSR was still the only
communist state in the world, and Stalin was reeling from a crushing defeat in
Spain, where the Catholic Crusade had come away with a hard but striking
victory over the Reds. Six years later, after this tragic war, undoubtedly the
most disastrous war in history, several nations were erased from the map,
absorbed by the Soviet empire, a dozen countries entered Moscow’s orbit and
retained only the appearance of liberty, while others were agitated by internal
wars or gravely threatened by communist subversion. The prophecy of Fatima was
being fulfilled to the letter.
THE ANNEXED COUNTRIES
In 1944, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
and Ukraine were occupied once more by the Red Army and shortly after
definitively annexed by the USSR. After a few months of tranquillity, the
persecution resumed.144
Let us take only the example of
Ukraine, which is especially tragic. The project of annihilation of the
Catholic Church was sealed by an even closer union and total subjection of the
Orthodox Church to the communist government. On April 10, 1945, Patriarch Alexis
(recently elected to succeed Sergius) and Metropolitan Nicholas were received
by Stalin. The account of this audience, published in the journal of the
Patriarchate, shows how far the odious servility of Orthodoxy’s leaders to
Stalin went:
«It is
with a very understandable emotion that we awaited the day of this visit to the
great Stalin... Filled with happiness at the sight of him whose name is
pronounced with love and veneration, not only in every corner of our country,
but in all countries that love liberty and peace, we expressed our gratitude to
Josef Vissarianovich... The conversation was that of a father with his
children, free of all constraint. Overcome by the joyous emotion of being
received by the greatest man of the contemporary period, the brilliant leader
of a State with millions of citizens»,145 etc.
This grandiose account would simply
be grotesque if it did not hide the essential object of the conversation
between the diabolical persecutor and his apostate accomplices. For, on the day
following this interview, there began the most terrible persecution the
Ukrainian Catholic Church ever had to suffer. We can do no better here than
quote the testimony of Cardinal Slipyi, who for several months had replaced the
holy Archbishop, Andrew Sheptytsky, who had died on November 1, 1944.
Archbishop Slipyi reports,
«On April
11, 1945, I was arrested with all the other bishops. Less than a year later,
over 800 priests had followed us into captivity. From March 8 to 10, 1946, the
illegal Synod of Lvov took place. Under atheist pressure it proclaimed the
“reunification” of the Ukrainian Catholic Church with Orthodoxy ruled by the
Soviet regime. This “reunification”, and, by this fact, the official
liquidation of our Church, were effected by brute force. The bishops were
deported to every corner of the Soviet Union. Almost all of them have died
since then, or were killed in captivity. Each one of us must climb his
Calvary... I thank the Almighty for having given me the strength to carry this
cross for almost eighteen years, and respectfully render my homage to ten
colleagues in the episcopate, to over 1,400 priests and 800 religious, to tens
of thousands of the Faithful who in captivity sealed, by the sacrifice of their
life, their fidelity to the Pope, the Roman Apostolic See and the Universal
Church.»146
It was also during these years
immediately following the war that several priests formed at the Russicum, who
had taken advantage of the war to penetrate into Russia, obtained the palm of
martyrdom.147
«God will punish the world for its
crimes by means of war, famine and persecutions», Our Lady had
predicted. In its destructive rage, Bolshevism was not content with
persecutions against the Church. Already once before, around 1920, and a second
time around 1930, it had cynically planned horrible famines. «In 1947, famine
once again struck a large part of the land. It affected regions that had
submitted to the German occupation.» According to the usual scheme,
collectivization, dekulakization and deportations created innumerable victims
in these years of drought and created an atrocious famine. The state
mercilessly demanded that the peasants furnish it with exorbitant quantities of
grains. In Ukraine, there were cases of cannibalism. «The famine took close to
a million human lives.»148
This was also the period when the
Gulag empire was reaching colossal proportions. Inmates condemned to forced
labour were numbered by the millions: 8 million according to the lowest
estimate, 15 million according to others, 10 million according to the estimate
of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, which can hardly be
suspected of exaggeration!149
THE SATELLITE COUNTRIES
Contrary to the blind optimism of
the Allies, Stalin’s project was clearly to “Bolshevize” all territories whose
reconquest would be entrusted to him. Hence, one of the Kremlin’s major
preoccupations had been to extend the Red Army’s exclusive zone of action to
the maximum. Once more, Roosevelt and Churchill had given way.150 The consequences of this abandonment were
disastrous. After the war, practically all territories controlled by the Red
Army fell under Moscow’s yoke. The operation was carried out firmly,
implacably, but not without cunning and prudence,151 with more or less violence and rapidity
according to local circumstances. Yet everywhere the final solution was
identical.
Is it necessary to enumerate these
nations, which perhaps Our Lady of Fatima designated, announcing that «various
nations will be annihilated»? Torn from their age-old traditions, and from
their Church, their society destroyed by the great Bolshevik machine, in
effect, these countries are no longer themselves. They are undergoing the worst
alienation that could possibly exist – the one inflicted by Marxist
tyranny.
There is Albania, where the
persecution against the Church began in 1945.152 There is Hungary, with its 7 million
Catholics out of 10 million inhabitants, where the apostolic nuncio was
expelled in April 1945. On November 1, the prince-primate, Cardinal Mindszenty,
felt obliged to denounce, in the name of the country’s bishops, the flagrant
bad faith of the Church’s adversaries who had come into power.153 There is Poland (22 million Catholics),
where in, September 1945, the government decided to break the concordat.154 There is Czechoslovakia, where out of 12
million inhabitants, almost nine million were Catholics.155 There is Orthodox Romania with its valiant
minority of 3 million Eastern Rite faithful, where the government awaits the
favourable hour to perform the same forced integration to the schismatic Church
as in Ukrainie.156 There
is Bulgaria, where the Church numbers only 57,000 Faithful.157 There is Tito’s Yugoslavia (still allied to
Moscow), where a bloody persecution began in June-July 1945. With courage,
Archbishop Stepinac, leader of the country’s bishops, denounced communist
injustices and atrocities.158
There is East Germany and Austria, part of whose territory was occupied by the
Russians.159 In the Far East there is North Korea, where
General Kim Il-Sung, after arriving in the wagons of Soviet troops, transformed
the entire country into a frightful bloodbath.160
There were other disastrous effects
of the Yalta and Potsdam accords: China, with Mao Tse-tung, was in the process
of toppling into the communist camp while Moscow fomented the communist
insurrection in Vietnam. In Europe, Greece was still shaken by the civil war,
and the communist guerrillas were still menacing. The Bolshevik menace,
however, was most alarming in Spain.161
A UNIVERSAL CONSPIRACY AGAINST
SPAIN (1944-1947)
In the beginning of 1943, when
Sister Lucy made known Our Lord’s grave warnings to the bishops of Spain,162 the possibility of a new danger could not
even be foreseen. One year later, events once more confirmed, in a striking
way, the message passed on by the Fatima seer.
The first alert came in September
1944. The Reds of Spain, who had taken refuge in France in 1939, soon became
involved in the Resistance. They soon proved to be formidable terrorists. With
the help of French communists, and the complicity of de Gaulle’s government,
twelve thousand armed men gathered near the border between Spain and France,
notably at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, at Oloron, at Vielle and in the regions of
Toulouse and of Pau.
«The
invasion began through Col de l’Hospitalet, at the outskirts of Val d’Aran. The
attackers penetrated as far as Viella. They were in for a severe
disappointment. First of all, Spanish troops were on their guard and blocked
their way. The collaboration of the civil population was absolutely lacking to
them... the Spanish people desired peace. Far from revolting at the arrival of
the “liberators”, they did not budge. Certain peasants denounced them to the
authorities or themselves fought the republican detachments. General Yague, who
commanded the Pyrenese troops, had little trouble capturing or forcing into
retreat the unfortunate men who, deceived by their leaders, had thrown
themselves into this adventure.»163
However, the grave peril did not
lay there. Stalin had a fierce determination to use his victory to demand
Franco’s downfall from the Allies. As the Sovietologist George F. Kennan soon
explained to the American government: «The Russian Communist Party and Soviet
secret police were heavily involved in the civil war, much more than in any
other country. And they lost... Their resentment is immense and they have no
intention of burying the past.»164
This much was clear at the Potsdam
conference. During the dinner which was to be their first encounter, Stalin
wasted no time explaining to Truman what he had most at heart: «Franco is a
tyrant... the enemy of the Allies, an impostor, a usurper, a phony, the public
enemy, the ogre of Europe. We must get rid of him as early as possible!» An
intimidated Truman did not know what to respond.
The Spanish question returned to
the order of business on July 21, during the meeting of the Big Three.
Churchill was noncommittal, anxious to preserve British commercial interests in
Spain. Stalin was furious. He insisted: «“You say you have no sympathy for
Franco... Prove it! If we leave here without publicly condemning Franco, what
will the peoples of the world say...? I repeat, Franco’s Spain constitutes a
danger for Europe.” “I agree with you”, Truman interrupted.» Unbelievable!165
During the conference, Churchill
had been replaced by Atlee. Atlee had been a firm supporter of the Reds in the
past, and now declared that his comrades, the Spanish republicans, «had to be
supported now under Franco’s dictatorial regime.»166 Stalin prevailed more easily: in the final
communiqué of the conference, Spain was not invited to join the United Nations.
Why? Because «its government, by reason of its origin (the victorious crusade
against Moscow!), its nature (a strong, national and Catholic power!), and its
close association with the aggressor states (this is calumny, as Nerin Gun
himself admitted!)167
do not justify such a measure».
The Kremlin had succeeded. Banned
from the society of nations, Spain was dangerously isolated. Franco had the
entire world against him – Stalin and Truman, Atlee and de Gaulle – and
subversion was given a free hand. Shortly after Potsdam, «on August 17, 1945,
the motley remains of the republican Cortes – a hundred deputies – met at
Mexico. The government of the Republic in exile was reorganized.»168 In early February 1946, its leader, José
Giral, sought help from Washington. He explained to Dean Acheson:
«“We have
at our disposal weapons hidden throughout Spain; guerrillas are ready to
intervene, and unions are ready to proclaim a general strike; Spanish refugees
who fought with the underground during the civil war are massed at the French
border, awaiting our signal. If the pressures of the (other) powers intensifies
and if our government is installed in France (Giral continued), Franco will
understand that the game is up for him...” Giral concluded: “The army is with
us, and eleven generals in exile are waiting to assume command”.»169
Giral then went to Paris, where an
important Soviet military mission was supervising the setting up of armed
groups, while Georges Bidault was hastening to relaunch the diplomatic
offensive against Franco. Shamefully, Christian Democracy placed itself in
Moscow’s service, contributing to deliver Catholic Spain over to the
bloodthirsty vengeance of the Bolsheviks. One can only imagine what the return
of the Reds to Madrid would have been like!
«On
February 28, 1946, the French government decided on a severance of
communications between France and Spain, the closing of borders and other
policy and economic matters. Simultaneously, Georges Bidault, Minister of
Foreign Affairs, sent a note to the British, Soviet and American governments
which practically demanded an armed intervention of the powers to drive Franco
out of Spain.»169a
«Franco’s
present political line – declared the Christian Democrat minister, faithfully
echoing Stalin – is a challenge to the principles of international law and
democratic ideals, and risks creating a situation which would compromise
international peace and security.»170
After this “courageous” act in
favour of the democratic cause, G. Bidault received felicitations from the
patrons of the Kremlin: «... We are in complete agreement with the French
government, and hope for an urgent examination of the question by the U.N.
Security Council.»171
Bidault, pressed by Bogomolov, the Soviet ambassador in France, could no longer
dare to backpeddle. Thus the preparations for the revolutionary coup in Spain
continued with the active complicity of the French government. Let us give only
one proof: a Russian ship, the Klim Vorochilov, arrived at Marseilles,
loaded with arms and munitions for the Reds in Spain. The unloading took place
under the protection of French police and customs officials, in the presence of
the port authorities and the Soviet ambassador in person. Meanwhile, armed
groups multiplied all along the basque frontier, interspersed with Soviet
officers,172 while Stalin continued his diplomatic
offensive.
Nerin Gun writes, «The Soviets,
pulling the strings of their Polish marionette, had a motion presented before
the United Nations on April 8, 1946, demanding that the “Spanish question, a
threat to peace among the nations” (sic!) be placed on the agenda. The Polish
request was accepted, the USA not having dared to oppose it publicly.» The
United Nations then named a subcommittee to investigate, and after months of
palaver, on December 13, 1946, the General Assembly voted on a motion
recommending that its members recall their ambassadors or their ministers
posted at Madrid. Alger Hiss, then director of special political affairs at the
State Department (and later on tried and convicted as an agent of Stalin),
ordered the American delegation to vote against Spain and informed Moscow of
his manoeuvre. Indeed, France, the USA and England voted with the USSR and its
satellites for the exclusion of Spain from the international community.173 Foreign diplomats left Madrid. Only the
apostolic nuncio, the Portuguese ambassador and the Swiss ambassador remained
at their post.
A
MIRACULOUS PROTECTION. Thanks
to God and the effective help of Our Lady of Fatima, these ignominious measures
against peaceful and Catholic Spain, far from ushering in the expected
revolution, produced the opposite effects. The people unanimously replied to
this condemnation with striking demonstrations of fidelity to the head of
state. Franco had only to recall the persecutions and crimes committed in
twelve nations of Europe, who only yesterday had been independent, to denounce
the manoeuvre of Moscow, which wanted to make one more satellite out of Spain.
«The
situation of the world and its shameful acts (he declared) give still more
meaning to our glorious Crusade. We must think of what would have happened
without it in these times which are calamitous for Europe. Let us unite the
power of our unity with the great power of our reason. With them and with God’s
protection, nothing or nobody will be able to subvert our victory.»174
On July 6, 1946, the law of
succession proposed by Franco, which envisaged the future restoration of the
monarchy, received the approval of over 92% of the Spanish people. On June 18,
1947, as we have seen, the statue of Our Lady of Fatima was the first to cross
the Spanish border.175
Eight months later on March 2, 1948, G. Bidault himself was forced to ask the
legislature to re-open the border. Closing the border had proved useless. On
the contrary, the French businesses were the ones who had suffered heavy
losses.176 Spain had come away with a new and striking
victory over the Kremlin and its many powerful accomplices.
Following Father Alonso, who lived
through these events, we are not afraid to recognize in these events a miracle
of Our Lady of Fatima’s protection. In the conclusion of his work, Fatima,
Espana, Rusia, the Spanish expert writes:
«... It
is Our Lady who saved Spain from the communist scourge which threatened it “for
the second time”. In effect, at the end of the Second World War, when the
shameful Yalta and Potsdam accords had delivered us inexorably into Russia’s
hands, this scourge hung over us once more like a fateful sword of Damocles.
The leaders of the western bloc worked in a suicidal manner – which happened
again so many times in later years – demanding of Spain a democratization. God,
through the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima, delivered us from this infamous
chastisement.»177
Let us add that this miraculous
protection is visible, tangible, easily perceptible. How was Spain saved from
the Red terror? Unquestionably through its wonderful national unity, which
presented no opening, no handle for the manoeuvres of subversion. This is
precisely what disturbed Franco’s adversaries. It is equally unquestionable
that the solid unanimity of the bishops behind the head of state was the
guarantee and the soul of the enthusiastic fidelity of an entire people.
Imagine what would have happened if a dozen or so bishops – basing themselves,
for example, on Pius XII’s radio message on democracy – had joined the chorus
in the international campaign against Franco! Spain, torn by its internal struggles,
would have been lost. This did not happen. The fact is remarkable at a time
when so many churchmen, intoxicated by the deleterious current of Christian
Democracy, so powerful then, were going around repeating that the Bolshevik
danger had disappeared, and dared to denounce «the irrational fear of
communism».178 We know the reason for this rare
farsightedness of the Spanish bishops: the solemn warning which Sister Lucy had
passed on to them from Heaven a few years before. The bishops had received it with
the greatest respect.179
They had undertaken «the true reform among the people and the clergy» demanded
by Our Lord, and being divinely warned about the terrible scourge threatening
them once more, they were able to understand the seriousness of events and
react prudently, for the good of the Church and peace of their country. Yes, in
all truth we can say that in these postwar years, God miraculously saved Spain
from the Bolshevik peril through the mediation of Our Lady of Fatima and Her
humble messenger.
FRANCE ALSO MIRACULOUSLY SAVED?
The fact is not well known,
although it cannot be questioned. In 1947, France, in its turn, was seriously
threatened by a communist revolution, and was preserved from it.
“MARIANNE
AGAINST THE VIRGIN MARY.”
Although France too had benefited from Mary’s most motherly protection, she had
hardly deserved it. While its tripartite, demo-Christian and socialo-communist
government was odiously betraying the West and Christendom, within the country
anticlericalism raised its head once more. The “Great Return” of Our Lady of
Boulogne, which was still in progress, began encountering violent opposition.
The most stubborn opposition came from the communist municipalities of the
Paris suburbs. In the provinces it was Freemasonry, revived by de Gaulle during
the “Liberation”,180 which
strived – very much in vain, for that matter – to create obstacles to the
passage of Our Lady, who continued to draw the multitudes to Her path.
At Verdun and Trouville, confronted
by this wave of popular piety, “Free Thought” convoked all its troops. It
suffered a crushing defeat. At Beauvais, where we quote only this one example
among many others, this significant cry was raised: «Lay representatives of all
political nuances, freethinkers and their sympathizers, everything the Republic
counts as its defenders raised a cry of “let us defend Marianne against the
Virgin Mary”.» At Houilles there was the same pressing invitation in the name
of the “republican laws”. There too as at Rheims, where the freemasons had
managed to gather no more than a dozen or so militants to face a procession of
35,000 people following the Madonna, the fiasco was total. «These Marian Tours,
which crisscrossed France in every direction, released such piety, such
religious conviction... that an opposition could not hold up.»181
The communists, socialists and
Masons in power were well aware of it. Thanks to the cowardly complicity of the
Christian Democrats, who were ready for any compromise in exchange for being
kept in the government, they did everything possible to see that the experience
was not repeated.
FRANCE
CLOSED TO OUR LADY OF FATIMA.
Departing from the Cova da Iria on May 13, 1947, the statue of Our Lady of
Fatima on its way to Holland had triumphantly crossed Portugal and Spain.182 Would She arouse in France the same
enthusiasm of the crowds, who were hearing about the marvels of grace and
miracles worked by Her in Spain and Portugal? This was the fear at Paris, and a
decision was made to keep Her out. Shortly before Her arrival at the frontier
of Henday, Canon Barthas reports, «the Catholic daily of Paris had published an
announcement that a statue of Our Lady, given to the Pope by Portugal, was
crossing Spain, and added that it was desirable that it return to Italy
through the Mediterranean!»183
Why this scandalous exclusion?
Think of it! How could the France of G. Bidault venerate an Image coming from
Salazar’s Portugal and from this cursed Spain, against which democratic France
had unleashed all the thunder of its diplomatic and economic sanctions! The
order was given to the police commissioner at the border post to forbid Our
Lady of Fatima’s entrance into France.
Barthas writes, «We are certain
that the pretext for this prohibition was not only the legal closing of the border,
but the fear that the street processions and open-air Masses – which took place
during the Great Return of Our Lady of Boulogne the preceding year – were a
sort of preparation for Fascism.»
Fortunately, as we have said, the
fervour of the Basque people prevailed over the Parisian prohibitions and the
Virgin of the Cova da Iria was able to enter France all the same.184 At Lourdes and a few other far-between
places it was received eagerly. So too at Paris, where She arrived on October
15, 1947. As Canon Barthas reports, «The transport strike did not prevent the
Portuguese and Russian Catholics of the capital (who were joined by the
Orthodox) to welcome Her on the square in front of Notre Dame.»185 In the presence of Cardinal Suhard, Father
Devineau spoke of the marvels she had just accomplished in Spain.186 The following day She was received at the
Russian Catholic Church at rue Francois-Girard, before returning to Belgium.
What a humble, almost ludicrously
small triumph, which the kingdom of Mary offered its Queen! It must be added,
to the shame of the Church in France, that several bishops refused Her entry
into their diocese, while in the entire press the conspiracy of silence was
scrupulously respected. Canon Barthas reports, «A command was given to the
French press in June 1947... It is not yet opportune to say who was
responsible.» Henceforth, La Croix did not deign to speak about Fatima
any longer, and systematically refused to publish the communiqués Canon Barthas
sent on to it.
It was also at this period that
Otto Karrer, a German theologian strongly suspected of modernism,187 became an ardent propagandist for Dhanis’
theses against Fatima. He wrote a small work entitled Fatima, «which
circulated notably at the level of the episcopate. A French translation was
made for the French episcopate.»188
DECEMBER
1947: “FRANCE IS IN DANGER”. In
this sad context, there took place what is perhaps Our Lady’s most recently
dated visit to the land of France. The visit was very humble, very discreet,
but extremely salutary for this land in the hour of its greatest peril.
At l’Ile-Bouchard, a small suburb
of Touraine, not far from Chinon, from the morning of December 8, feast of the
Immaculate Conception to Sunday, December 14, four little girls reported having
seen the Blessed Virgin, who appeared to them in the parish church. It is not
within our scope to describe these wonderful events, whose authenticity seems
highly probable, although they have not been made the subject of a definitive
judgment by the Church.189
Here at least is the essence of the
message, repeated several times by Our Lady:
«Tell the little children to pray
for France, she is in great need of it.» «Pray for France, which in these days
is in great danger.» «I have not come here to work miracles, but to tell you to
pray for France.»
The perfect coincidence of these
words with the grave events of which the children were surely ignorant, is
striking.
TOWARDS A
SOVIET-COMMUNIST COUP D’ÉTAT?
«Everyone speaks of the “Prague coup” without knowing that another coup had
been planned in France before it, or in any case simultaneously, and in the
same conditions... In the spring of 1947, everything was prepared.» At that
time the Soviets had from 1500 to 2000 agents in their pay, independently of
the troops of the French Communist Party and the C.G.T. «Only a very few
initiates on the former national staff of the F.T.P.F. were aware of these
events, as well as two or three members of the Politburo of the French
Communist Party. In all, that amounted to less than ten or twelve communist
personalities. Between them and the foreign apparatus in France there were easy
liaisons...»190
After the dismissal of the
communist ministers in May, preparations continued for a Bolshevik coup using
force, during the summer and autumn. Soon the news came that in Poland, on
September 22-23, the Cominform, or “Bureau of Communist Information”, had been
created. Duclos and Fajon had represented the French Communist Party there.
«Then the
strikes began. From Marseilles, Grenoble, Saint-Étienne, and Lyons they
gradually extended to Toulouse, Saint-Nazaire, Paris, and then the mining basin
of the North, and Pas-de-Calais... The country was soon paralyzed. There were
no more transports. There was sabotaging as well. Then armed groups rose up...
The hour of the “finishing off” was approaching, when arms were going to do the
talking. Veritable insurgent Communist Parties were installed, some in their
labour unions, some in the municipalities acquired for the communists, some in
secret... A report to the interior minister voiced concern over the
effervescence of Spanish “republican” circles in the Toulouse-Pyrenees region,
and up to Aude. In all, three million strikers suddenly paralyzed the country.»191
At the end of November, the
American ambassador at Paris obtained this private disclosure from his
communist source:
«Moscow
wants to overthrow the Schuman cabinet. In its place, before the end of the
year it wants to install a government completely subservient to itself. Stalin
has given a precise order to Maurice Thorez and Georges Dimitrov, whom he
summoned to Sotchi, in the Crimea: “Make the Marshall Plan fail!” The general
strike in France is organized by a special agent of the NKVD! The communists
are going all out.»
Nerin Gun
continues: «The alarming information is coming from everywhere. Witness this
dispatch (D.S. 850-20-102347) which quotes the declarations made to the
American diplomat by General Revers, head of the high command of the French
army: “The high command thinks that the USSR will launch the conflict in the
very near future. The tactics of the French Communist Party and the Cominform
reinforce our fears ...”
«Jules
Moch, Minister of the Interior, a socialist known for his firmness in the
repression of subversive strikes and demonstrations, is keeping the ambassador
informed of what he is learning through his own sources of information. Thus he
confirms that Thorez came back from Moscow with a formal order: “Do everything
you can to sabotage the Marshall Plan. American aid to France and Italy must be
neutralized. The Party must change its tactics and not be content to act within
the law. It must go on to revolutionary action. Stalin is convinced that the
United States will not intervene militarily.”»192
A
MIRACULOUS PROTECTION? Why,
finally, did this skilfully arranged coup d’état fail to materialize? As far as
we know, it is for reasons impossible to assess. Was it due to the
farsightedness and firmness – completely unexpected on their part – of
socialists like Jules Moch, who on March 28, 1948, announced he had uncovered a
communist plot? Possibly. According to Nerin Gun, the Soviet “antennas” in the
USA apparently informed the Kremlin that President Truman had decided to
intervene. But would he really have intervened? Nothing is less certain. In any
case, Stalin surely feared this eventuality and backed off, and the communist
coup d’état did not happen. This was precisely in December 1947.193
We may also believe that God
allowed Himself to be moved by the prayers which the little children had
addressed to Him in the urgent request of His Mother, who had come once more to
Her land of France. No doubt also He was touched by the prayers and praise of
the crowds during the Great Return. Perhaps He was also touched, lastly, by the
humble but fervent welcome granted a few months earlier to Our Lady of Fatima
at Henday, Lourdes and even at Paris in front of Notre Dame by several thousand
believers, and some representatives of the French clergy – notwithstanding the
Republic’s prohibitions and the progressive mafia’s directives. Mercifully, a
new respite had been granted this land, a new space of time had been given to
it for its conversion.
A GREAT DESIGN OF MERCY
It seems that during these pivotal
years, the hour of mercy had struck for the entire Church as well. Why? Because
Our Lady of Fatima, especially after Her solemn crowning as Queen of the World
on May 13, 1946, multiplied Her marvels of grace and mercy – wherever Her Image
was received, or wherever it was venerated with trust and love. There was also
another reason. At Rome, the Pope was becoming increasingly aware of the danger
menacing the Church «in these apocalyptic times».194 He found himself constrained by the very
course of events to recognize Fatima as the world’s ultimate salvation, and its
great hope.195
All this meant that there was
greater reason than ever to hope for the swift implementation of the Queen of
Heaven’s requests, and the fulfilment of Her wonderful promises: «In the end
My Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to Me,
and she will be converted and a period of peace will be given to the world.»
Would Pius XII be this Pope? Would the Holy Year of 1950 mark the dawn of this
triumph?
Endnotes
(1) October 7, 1953, Obras pastorais, Vol. IV, p. 282.(2) Cf. our Vol. II, “The war of Hitler or the war of Moscow?” p. 437-441. (3) L’erreur de l’Occident, p. 84, Grasset, 1980.(4) Cf. our Vol. II, p. 737-738.(5) Quoted by De Marchi, p. 347.(6) William Thomas Walsh, Our Lady of Fatima, p. 221. Cf. Father Antonio Maria Martins, FCM, p. 80.(7) Cf., for example, Jean Chelini, l’Église sous Pie XII, chap. 2: “La Pologne martyre”, p. 129-155; or Msgr. Roche, Pie XII devant l’histoire, appendix XVI: “l’Église de Pologne persécutée par Hitler”; or better still, the source of these two works: Actes et Documents du Saint-Siège relatifs à la Seconde Guerre mondiale (A.D.S.S.), Vol. III, Le Saint-Siège et la situation religieuse en Pologne et dans les Pays baltes, 1939-1945, p. 38-55 et passim (Vatican City, 1967).(8) Archbishop Sheptytsky, a bishop since 1900, had been the personal friend of Soloviev and had received the powers and privileges of a patriarch from Saint Pius X. The sanctity of his life is so well attested that the canonical process in view of his beatification was opened in 1955 (cf. U. Floridi, Moscow and the Vatican, p. 167-168, Ardis books. 1986.(9) J. Chelini, l’Église sous Pie XII, p. 133-134. Cf. in Le Livre rouge de l’Église persécutée, the overwhelming chapter devoted to Ukraine, p. 80-105. This masterly work, published in 1956, deals with the persecutions in countries of the East, from 1939 to 1956. Fleurus, 510 pages. Read especially the admirable letters and reports of the bishops for the intention of Pope Pius XII: A.D.S.S., III* nos. 79, 283, 297, 324, III** 482.(10) Ibid., p. 54-76.(11) Cf. our Vol. II, p. 764.(12) Ibid., p. 736-742.(13) FCM, p. 89.(13a) EDITOR’S NOTE: The condemnations of Nazism and Communism.(14) A. M. Martins, Novos Documentos, p. 262, September 1984.(15) L’erreur de l’Occident, p. 81-82.(16) A.D.S.S., III** no. 406, letter of August 29, 1942. Cf. Chelini, p. 134; Heller and Nekrich, p. 331-337.(17) L’erreur de l’Occident, p. 84.(18) Heller and Nekrich, p. 296, 346-347.(19) The disorganization of the Russian front and the Red Army’s stupefying lack of preparation during the German attack of June 1941 are not mysterious. In effect it has now been proven that, since autumn of 1940, Moscow had been warned by its own espionage network, and by that of the Allies. Cf. Heller and Nekrich, p. 303-311; Paul Carell, Opération Barbarossa, l’invasion de la Russie du 22 juin à Stalingrad, p. 46-68: «Was it possible to better and more fully inform Stalin and the Red high command? Hitler’s secrets were lying on the Kremlin’s table. Thus during the first twenty-four hours Moscow could have transformed this entire operation “Barbarossa”, which was founded only on surprise, into the greatest military defeat Hitler could suffer. On one condition: from all this information Stalin had to draw the appropriate consequences from the military viewpoint. Why didn’t he?» (p. 59). Laffont, 1963, 586 pages. Cf. finally Walter Ciszek, L’espion du Vatican, p. 46, 69-70. Salvator, 1968. (The English version of this book is “With God in Russia.)(20) Heller and Nekrich, p. 346-348.(21) L’erreur de l’Occident, p. 80.(22) Doc. cath., 1948, col. 397-398. Cf. Heller and Nekrich, p. 344.(23) D. Rops, Ces chrétiens nos frères, p. 518. Fayard, 1965.(24) Cf. Maxime Mourin, Le Vatican et l’Urss, p. 102. Payot, 1965.(25) Doc. pont., 1946, p. 85.(26) Quoted by U. Floridi, p. 44.(27) Cf. our Vol. II, p. 647.(28) And all the more easily since in this summer of 1941 relations between the Vatican and the White House were excellent. The Actes et documents du Saint-Siège relatifs à la Seconde Guerre mondiale show how Roosevelt had succeeded, in April 1939, in securing close and continuous, even friendly relations with Pope Pius XII, who it must be said came to be the prisoner of these relations in some sense: I, p. 52-60, “Pie XII et Roosevelt”, and the very numerous documents cited; IV, nos. 103, 203, 277, 315, 319.(29) Cf. in the A.D.S.S., Vol. V, the many letters and accounts of audiences dealing with this diplomatic mission with decisive consequences, nos. 56-57, 59, 61, 68-69, 72, 74, 78, 81-82, 92, 94, 113.(30) «Diplomatic questions belonged in principle to his colleague Tardini. But it was not rare for an ambassador or a minister to find a reason to explain his views to Msgr. Montini.» (A.D.S.S., introduction, p. 6) While Msgr. Tardini never ceased reminding all his interlocutors of the gravity of the Bolshevik peril, the substitute (Msgr. Montini) was known at this time for the complacency with which he listened to and passed on all propositions for an understanding between Moscow and the Vatican.(31) Pie XII devant l’histoire, p. 326.(32) A.D.S.S., Vol. V, no. 59: cf. our Vol. II, p. 756-757.(33) A.D.S.S., Vol. V, no. 93.(34) Quoted by Mourin, p. 109.(35) It does seem as though the American government did everything to provoke the Japanese attack and nothing to prevent it when it was informed. Read the impressive demonstration of Rear Admiral R. A. Theobald, Le Secret de Pearl Harbour, December 7, 1941, 160 pages, Payot, 1955.(36) Le Meraviglie di Fatima, fourth edition, April 1942.(37) Madonna di Fatima, May 1942.(38) Jacques Delebecque, in L’Action française of February 18, 1943, warned his readers against this foolish propaganda carried out in the name of Fatima.(39) “Fatima e a critica”, Broteria, 1951, p. 527-529.(40) Let us simply point out that, in 1942, Cardinal Schuster had had the courage to give publicly an openly anti-communist interpretation of the Secret of Fatima: Rivista diocesana milanese, 1942, p. 297-298, quoted by Father Robert A. Graham, S.J., “Profezie di Guerra, Fatima e la Russia nella propaganda dei belligeranti dopo il 1942”, La Civilta cattolica, October 3, 1981, p. 17. Cf. also Alonso, FAE, p. 101, and our Vol. II, p. 790-791. Finally let us recall that on October 13, in Portugal, in the third edition of Jacinta, Canon Galamba quoted the exact text of the first two parts of the Secret. Unfortunately, in the immediate present it was Father da Fonseca’s work, soon to be translated by Canon Barthas, which had the greatest influence in Europe.(41) Stehle’s work, which appeared in its German version in 1975, was translated into English and appeared in 1981: Eastern Politics of the Vatican. 1917-1979, 466 pages, Ohio University Press. Our references are to this last edition.(42) Stehle, p, 222.(43) A.D.S.S.,Vol. V, nos. 166, 171;Stehle, p. 222.(44) FCM, p. 89-90. Father Martins does not indicate the exact date of this letter.(45) Vol. V. p. 754.(46) Ibid., no. 344, p. 538.(47) Ibid., no. 344, p. 538.(48) A.D.S.S., Vol. V, no. 246.(49) A.D.S.S., Vol. V, nos. 274-275, 284, 287-288, 294; Stehle, p. 222-223. (50) A.D.S.S., Vol. V, p. 637-638.(51) A.D.S.S., Vol. V, no. 430, p. 638.(52) Ibid., p. 638; Stehle, p. 224.(53) A.D.S.S., Vol. VIII, no. 442. Stehle, p. 223.(54) A. M. Martins, FCM, p. 90.(55) A. M. Martins, FCM, p. 90.(56) A.D.S.S., Vol. V, p. 51-58, “Retour de Taylor au Vatican”, and documents 455, 472-473