Our Lady of Fatima

The Bishops Must Obey

by Father Nicholas Gruner, S.T.L., S.T.D. (Cand)
This article is based on the talk Father Gruner gave at the Vatican
Symposium on Fatima, sponsored by the International Fatima Rosary
Crusade. This talk was given on the opening day of the Extraordinary
Synod called by Pope John Paul II. Some Bishops who were in Rome to
participate in the Synod, attended this Symposium and found it to be
illuminating and these bishops were very supportive of Our Lady of
Fatima.
My talk will be about the Churchs obligation to heed, to obey, to effectively
listen to the Message of Fatima. I would like to first point out that part of my
talk will be about the motives of credibility, of why we should believe the
Message of Fatima. Secondly, I would like to point out then that in fact there is
an obligation to indeed obey Our Lady of Fatima. This obligation can be proved
by scriptures and by reason and by Theology. Given the briefness of this talk I
wish to point out that I am not able to say all that could be said on this topic at
this time.
This obligation obliges the laypeople, the religious, the priests, the bishops
and the Pope himself to obey the requests, the commands of Our Lady of
Fatima. The reason why I dedicate this talk to this subject is because, in my
opinion, it is the most misunderstood part of the Message of Fatima. Pope John
Paul II when he was at Fatima, lamented publicly that the Message of Fatima
had not been welcomed as it should have been. I believe that he meant this
especially of people within the Church. This has been my experience. I have
worked full time for eight years on the Message of Fatima. I have carried the
Pilgrim Statue across Canada into the U.S.A. and into Asia and it is my
experience that the Message of Fatima is not only not sufficiently known but
that some of the people who do know a little bit about Fatima are among those
who fight it most obstinately. And so, I think it is most important to stress the
obligation to believe and the obligation to obey the Message of Fatima. And this
obligation, in my view is not a light matter. On the contrary, it is a grave
obligation for all of us to heed, to listen to and obey this Message and warning
of Our Lady of Fatima.
Let us review the reasons why I say this. We have the Dogmatic definitions
of the First Vatican Council which tells us that there is no greater proof that a
Message comes from God than by clear cut prophesies and by real miracles.
(see Dz.1790) Because we know that only God can work a true miracle and
because we know that only God can know the future with certitude.

We have the solemn teaching of the Catholic Church on this point. Let me
give you the exact words of the First Vatican Council in two of its Dogmatic and
solemn definitions regarding this matter. We shall see that indeed it is a solemn
definition of the Catholic Faith because there is an "anathema sit" attached to
these two Canons of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith. In other
words we must believe what the Church teaches us in these solemn definitions
or else we shall be damned for all eternity in Hell.
Canon 3 of Chapter 3 of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith is
as follows, "If anyone says that it is impossible for external signs to render
Divine revelation credible and that, therefore, men ought to be impelled
towards faith only by each ones internal experience or private inspiration: let
him be anathema."
Canon 4 tells us "If anyone says that all miracles are impossible and, hence,
that all accounts of them, even though contained in Sacred Scripture, should be
classed with fables and myths or that miracles can never be recognized with
certainty and that the Divine origin of the Christian religion cannot be
successfully proved by them: let him be anathema."
The Fatima Miracles Gravely Oblige Us to Believe and Obey
The reason I mention these two Canons, these two Dogmatic definitions of
the Catholic Faith which we must hold to if you are going to be Catholic, is
precisely because at Fatima we have real Miracles and true prophesies.
The Church tells us that we can recognize a true miracle. At Fatima more
than 70,000 people saw the Miracle of the Sun. These people who saw this
miracle knew that it was the work of God. Even the militant atheists who came
to scoff and to mock the Message and the miracle that had been prophesied for
October 13, 1917 went away believers after hey saw the Miracle on that day.
The Miracle of the Sun is indeed a miracle of God. We know this for certain.
We know this because the Church has indeed fully endorsed this miracle as truly
being a miracle coming from God Himself. We furthermore know that this
Miracle of the Sun is without doubt, a miracle of God because we have the
testimony of the 70,000 witnesses who were there and we can be sure that
70,000 people who all testify to the same thing are not lying. As the Church
tells us in Canon 4 above, miracles of God indeed are recognizable by those who
witness them. These witnesses did see and recognize and testify to the fact that
God had worked a great miracle. Thus we can be certain beyond any doubt that
truly, God has certified the Message of Fatima as coming from Him.
The Miracle of the Sun is certainly not the only miracle of Fatima. At Fatima
on the same day, people were cured of incurable diseases and sicknesses in an
instant at same time as the Miracle of the Sun. Furthermore, the miracles at

Fatima continue to our day for one reason; (aside from the particular mercy
that God gives to the individual recipient of the miracle) God works these
miracles to demonstrate, to prove, to show to us all that this Message comes
from Him. Remember, that the Pharisees, at the time that Jesus was on the
earth, said to Jesus one day, "If you would work a sign in the skies, we will
believe you, we will follow you." But Jesus did not work that miracle for them.
But in our own time, in the 20th Century, God, at the request of His Mother,
worked this sign (the great Miracle of the Sun) in the skies. We look down upon
the Pharasees of old and yet many people in the 20th Century have less faith
than those men did. I say this because many have yet to accept the Message of
Our Lady of Fatima which was certified by these certain signs and miracles.
We know that Jesus Himself said that if you cannot believe My words then
believe My works, that is My miracles. He said to the cities of Capharnum and
Bethsaida, "Do you think that you will be raised as high as Heaven? No, you
shall be cast as low as hell." And Jesus gave us the reason why He said, "If
Sodom and Gomorrah had seen the miracles worked in you, those cities might
have converted long ago and stood to this day." And so Jesus tells us that to
refuse belief and obedience to God when He verifies His Message with miracles,
is to make ourselves culpable. We can conclude that to refuse to believe His
Message of Fatima certified by the tremendous public Miracle of the Sun would
indeed render us more culpable than the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah which
had fire rain down on them from Heaven for their sins. Let us reflect that not
every one in the city of Capharnum saw the miracles of Jesus and yet He
condemns all those in the whole city who refused to believe because they would
not accept His Message proven by miracles witnessed by others in the city.
What will He say of the 20th Century?
Aside from the miracles mentioned above, the Miracle of the Sun which
70,000 people saw, aside from the cures which continue to this day at Fatima,
there are of course at Fatima greater miracles still, the miracles of conversion.
Saint Augustine tells us that it is a greater miracle for God to convert a
sinner than for God to create the world. Because as St. Augustine points out,
when God created the world, He created it from nothing and nothing did not
resist His Will. But before God can convert a sinner, He must overcome the
resistance of the sinner and so for God to convert a sinner is a greater miracle
than the creation of the world.
At Fatima, at the time of the Miracle of the Sun, God converted very many
public sinners. Today at Fatima, God continues to convert sinners. Thus God
then and today continues to certify and authenticate the Message of Our Lady of
Fatima by the great moral miracles, the true conversion of sinners.
To Refuse Our Lady of Fatima Is Indeed Wrong

Now we know that God would not work a miracle in favor of a lie because
God Who is all knowing cannot be and God Who is all Holy cannot tell a lie.
Let us reflect, then, on what we have seen. Vatican I tells us that we can
recognize a true miracle of God. Sacred Scripture and Jesus tells us that if we
refuse belief in the Message of God after we have seen, a true miracle ourselves
certifying His Message, we are deserving of Hell fire. Furthermore, Jesus in
Sacred Scripture also similarly condemns to Hell those who refuse to believe in
His Message which has been certified by true miracles which have been seen by
reliable witnesses even though the person(s) refusing belief have not
themselves seen the miracle but have had the opportunity to receive the
testimony of those reliable witnesses who did see it. At Fatima, there has been
worked by God one of the most stupendous miracles of all time. It was
witnessed by 70,000 persons, We have their reliable testimony. Thus, as
Vatican Council I tells us, we can know that this Message indeed comes from
God. To refuse to believe and obey the Message of Our Lady of Fatima after
receiving this testimony is a sin. To refuse to believe and obey God Who has
certified His Message by miracles makes us guilty. Thus to refuse to obey Our
Lady of Fatima is indeed wrong.
Aside from the miracles, we also have the prophecies of Fatima. We have
many prophesies at Fatima. We have the prophecy of the rise of the power of
Russia. In 1917, when Our Lady spoke at Fatima, Russia was one of the
weakest countries in the world. Yet we have the prediction of Fatima that Russia
would dominate the whole world if we did not listen to Her Message. We see
already that one billion, 500 million people have already been enslaved by
Communist Russia and the rest of the world continues to be endangered very
seriously.
We have the prediction of the Second World War which Our Lady predicted
would be greater than World War I. Not only were we told that the war would
take place if mankind did not amend, but we were told it would begin in the
reign of Pius XI. Although World War II was mistaken only declared in 1939,
Hitler actually marched on Austria in 1938 during the reign of Pope Pius XI.
We also have the prediction of the Great Sign. Many people do not
understand the Great Sign of 1938. Our Lady told the children in 1917 at Fatima
that if mankind did not listen to Her Message that God would give a Great sign.
The prophecy of the Great Sign was given in 1917 and it was seen on the
Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, January 25, 1938. This Great Sign was
seen, not by 70,000 people, but by millions and millions of people. In 1938, this
Great Sign was seen by millions of people in Europe and North America. Our
Lady of Fatima explained that this sign was the Great Sign given by God for the
purpose of telling humanity that mankind would be punished for its sins by war,
by hunger, by persecution of the Church and persecution of the Holy Father.

The Blessed Virgin did not say that the Church would be punished by the
persecution of the Church. She said rather that the world will be punished by
the persecution of the Church. It is a very important point that has been missed
by very many people. Let us reflect on this for a moment.
How is it that the world, that mankind in general is being punished by the
persecution of the Church? It is easy to understand if you reflect on all the
Message of Fatima that has been made public. Unfortunately, most people have
not been aware that Sister Lucy has clearly said among other things that the
whole world, including the United States of America will be underneath Soviet
domination, if we do not listen to the Message of Fatima in time. She has also
said that the Doctrine of the Faith will be preserved in Portugal, implying that it
will not be preserved in other places.
I would like to especially reflect on that part of the Message of Fatima which
tells us that the Church will be persecuted. Why is it then, that God works a
Great Sign to tell us that the Church and the Holy Father would be persecuted?
Because the persecution of the Church today, is not known. I would say for
most of us in this room, the intensity of this persecution is not known nor are
the full effects of this persecution as it affects the Church and the world known.
The result of this persecution has been, in fact, that the Message of Our Lady of
Fatima and Her messengers have been persecuted within the Church, as well.
I speak from experience, as well as from other peoples experience. As a
result of this persecution within the Church of the Messengers of Our Lady the
world is in grave danger because this Message of God has not been made
known. It has been silenced in many hearts and souls. It has not been obeyed.
But yet it is only through obedience to Our Lady of Fatimas commands that
Russia will be converted and the world will have peace. It is only through
obedience to Our Lady of Fatima that some nations will avoid otherwise certain
annihilation. Thus the persecution of the Church which in turn stops obedience
to Our Lady of Fatima is indeed a punishment of the world.
God then, has given a Great Sign for humanity to know that the world is
being punished for its sins by the persecution of the Holy Father and the
persecution of the Church. He gave this Great Sign so that people of good will
upon searching for the reason of the Great Sign would discover that despite
appearances to the contrary, the Pope and the Church are undergoing
tremendous persecution.
In times of persecution, the people know that their spiritual leaders are not
always free to proclaim the truth as loudly and clearly as they could expect at a
time of great peace for the Church. The diabolical deception for today is that it
seems that the Roman Catholic Church is enjoying freedom from persecution in
Western Europe and America.

But God, by the Great Sign is telling us that in fact things are not so. He
wants those of good will to know that this persecution is going on so that we
can protect ourselves against it by taking the necessary precautions. Knowing
this helps us to begin to understand why the true Message of Fatima is fought
so fiercely within the Church and why, therefore, the Message of Fatima has not
been heard within the Church. Andy why the Third Secret of Fatima which Our
Lady of Fatima requested be revealed to all the faithful in 1960 has not been
officially revealed.
To help us understand the Divine justice of all of this, let us recall a lesson
drawn from the Old Testament. At one time, God sent one prophet after another
in the Old Testament but the people continued to harden their hearts and not
listen to the prophetic Messages that He sent.
God said, "Very well, I will punish you by means of a drought," that is by
means of a lack, not of water, but a lack of prophets. And for four hundred
years, until St. John the Baptist came, there were no prophets. Similarly today,
the Message of Our Lady of Fatima has not been welcomed, has not been heard
in many places. As a result the Church s testimony with regards to the truth of
this Message has not been heard, it has been lessened. In fact, within the
Church, bishops and priests and "Catholic papers" are often the ones who
persecute Fatima.
Let us remember that God allows this persecution of Mary s faithful Fatima
workers, even though it will diminish the effectiveness of the work of those who
spread this Message.
God allows this to happen as a just punishment of the very sinners who by
their sins of commission and omission effectively stop the spreading of the
Message and the obedience to it. Regarding sins of omission, for example, there
are those who refuse to help spread the Message of Fatima. Such persons exist
who believe in Our Lady of Fatima and know the consequences of ignoring Her
and even though they have the means to do so, either by position, power,
influence or wealth, who try to justify to themselves their inaction by saying the
chastisement is merited by mankind and/or inevitable and therefore refuse to
lift their hands to help. St. James says, "He who can do good and does not do it,
does evil". Such persons who stop the Fatima Message deceive themselves. It
will be to their own destruction unless there are others to make up for their sins
of commission and omission because it is, only through the knowledge and
obedience to the Message of Fatima that all of us will avoid enslavement by
Communist Russia.
Moscow Silences American Bishops
Let us reflect that it is precisely because the Church is being persecuted so
much that Moscow has been able to effectively impose silence on various

Vatican officials and through them to deceive and silence many bishops, priests
and lay people in North America about the menace to our eternal salvation that
Communist Russia poses. We have published about this in The Fatima Crusader,
see for example, Issues No. 16, 17, and 18. Let us briefly recall that the last
time a Pope in an encyclical letter warned the world explicitly about
Communism was way back in 1937 with the Encyclical of Pope Pius XI on
Atheistic Communism. (Since the Vatican talk by Father Gruner in 1985, more
recently, in 1986, Pope John Paul II recently again in a brief passage in his
Encyclical on the Holy Spirit, again condemned Communism).
Just last year, in 1984, Cardinal Ratzinger, at the order of His Holiness Pope
John Paul II has published the document on Liberation Theology where he
speaks very clearly about the tremendous persecution that millions of our
brothers are suffering today.
Nevertheless, he does not mention Russia or Communism as such. I do not
blame anybody for not speaking more clearly or more frequently. It is precisely
because the Church has been persecuted so terribly that the Churchs ability to
speak clearly to the world has been diminished. That is why God worked the
Great Sign of 1938, so that we would all know that the Church is being
persecuted. God wants us to know what is the only way out of the present crisis
of Faith and of the world wants us all to know that Our Lady is telling us that
"only I can help you". That is, only the Blessed Virgin Mary can help us now.
That is why She insists at Fatima that we must pray the Rosary.
Fatima Obliges the Bishops
Let us review briefly. At Fatima, a number of prophecies were made by Our
Lady of Fatima which have been already fulfilled. Vatican Council I tells us that
such prophecies also testify to the fact that the Message of Our Lady of Fatima
indeed comes from God. Thus the very fulfillment of these prophecies is an
added motive of credibility for the Fatima Message and gives us a greater
obligation to believe in and obey the Message of Our Lady of Fatima
Let us dwell here more directly upon the obligation of all in the Church to
obey Our Lady of Fatima. Let us especially here reflect upon the obligation of
the priests, the bishops and even of the Pope to obey Our Lady of Fatima. This
may seem presumptuous at first sight but it is very important because Our Lady
of Fatima tells us clearly that it is only through the exact obedience of the Pope
and the bishops to Her Command that Russia will be converted. It is only "By
This Means" that is only by the Pope and the bishops obeying the Command of
God Himself given through Our Lady of Fatima to solemnly and publicly
consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary together on the same day
that the world will have peace and we shall avoid being enslaved and scourged
by Russian Communist tyranny.

Since this is such a delicate yet very important aspect of this subject let me
quote here Father Joseph de St. Marie, O.C.D., professor of Theology at the
Pontifical Faculty of the Tereseanum here in Rome.
Father Joseph de Ste. Marie, has done tremendous research on the Message
of Our Lady of Fatima and he died just one month ago today. He was Professor
of Theology here in Rome and he spent his spare time studying and doing
research on the Message of Fatima. And here are some of his words about the
Churchs duty with regard to the Message of Our Lady of Fatima.
All Must Respond
"The first question concerns the Churchs obligation to listen and to respond
to the demands of Our Lady of Fatima. I know that here we are on rather
delicate ground. I hope I have not been lacking in theological and pastoral
prudence and that I have said nothing that is not grounded with certainty in the
most certain doctrine of Tradition and in the Churchs Magisterium. You will
understand the need for these somewhat solemn precautions when you read
the text of my book for the question at issue is relatively new and still under
discussion.
Does the Church have an obligation to listen to the demands of Our Lady of
Fatima: Yes or No? If you ask an ordinary member of the Church he will
probably reply with the common sense of faith: But of course . And he will
be quite right. For after all if the Mother of God goes God out of Her way to
speak to us, the very least we must do is to obey Her as our Mother. Whether
we be humble lay brothers or office clerks or even the Pope himself, in relation
to the Mother of God we are all equally Marys children, and if She gives us
instructions we should obey them. That is precisely how it is.
There is nevertheless a difficulty in demonstrating this obligation of
obedience to the Blessed Virgin. It derives first of all from the fact that these
Messages from Mary are something relatively recent in the history of the
Church. They date back only to the 19th Century. Before then, it is true, there
was the Message of the Sacred Heart. And going still further back through
history, it can be seen that ever since the Acts of the Apostles there have
been prophecies in the Church. And if we use this word prophecies we
may find an answer to our first question, and a. fresh approach to resolve, the
problem.
The Question of Private and Public Revelations
For up to now the difficulty experienced in this matter consisted in the fact
that everything outside the Gospel revelation, the deposit of faith, which alone
is the object of theological faith, of baptismal faith, all else was thought of as
being in the category of private revelations made to privileged souls .

And concerning these private revelations one was more or less free to believe or
to not believe, to accept or to reject them. The privileged person concerned
may have an obligation to believe what has been revealed to him, but certain
theologians would not even insist on this, astonishing though this may seem.
And that is as far as theologians would go. The teachings of the popes from
Benedict XIV to St. Pius X were that the Church allows one to believe, with
human faith only, the messages of these revelations given in private
apparitions.
However, for some time, Deo Gratias, theologians such as Pre Balic,
President of the International Marian Academy in Rome, and Bishops and
Cardinals such as Cardinal Cerejeira, Patriarch of Lisbon (and thus responsible
for Fatima) in short voices of considerable authority, have been heard to say;
"But that is not enough." If God speaks in this way, something more is needed
than simple human faith and freedom of choice as to the response. How to
formulate this something more theologically: that is the difficulty. There may be
private revelations communicated to individuals for their personal good. But
there are also public prophecies given to the Church, affecting its conduct and
the conduct of its members.
The Lesson from Sacred Scriptures
If we now turn to the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of St. Paul, we
find astonishing words like the following from the letter to the Ephesians (2,20)
where the Church is referred to as Built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone . Now the
content indicates that what is meant here is prophets of the New Testament.
And if we take the Acts of the Apostles as a whole, and if we re-read the history
of the Church, we notice that alongside the Apostolic Charismata (that is to say
of the hierarchical priestly ministry) there have always been prophetic
charismata to back up, to guide and to direct the apostolic ministry in its
mission. Such is the essential truth. Let us add that the hierarchy and the
prophet are both subordinate to the Word of God, to the Gospel of Christ, but in
different and complementary ways. It is true that ultimate authority belongs to
the hierarchy, to the Bishop, to the Pope. However, the Pope must listen to the
Prophet. St. Paul says (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21): Extinguish not the spirit.
Despise not prophecies but prove all things; hold fast to that which is good.
"Such ace the words of the New Testament. Such is the will of God on the
basis of which one can and must affirm that prophecy is integral to the
economy, to the conduct of the people of the New Covenant, and that prophecy
is essential to the life of the Church."
Father Joseph then gives his solution to the relationship between the
Hierarchy and the prophet and it is as follows:

"It is so in the following manner: the priest, the Pope must discern that- is
his duty whether the words of the prophet are of God. But once he has judged
and recognized that a given prophecy is indeed from God, then he must obey,
not as obeying the prophet but as obeying God, whose instrument the prophet
is. This, I think, is the theological way of showing that one is not free when
faced with a prophetic message once it has been recognized as Divine in origin,
but on the contrary, that it is a duty to receive it and to submit to it. That is
why, very reverend Fathers and dear friends, it is the duty of the Pope and the
bishops to obey Our Lady and to fulfill the commands which Our Lady of Fatima
made. Which duty is none other than integral to their pastoral and apostolic
obligations."
A Most Serious Choice
I think that this is a most important aspect of Fatima for us to understand,
because all of us are faced with a choice. It is a choice we cannot escape. We
can either accept and obey the Message of Our Lady of Fatima or we can reject
it. God gives us freedom. But I think that we should know the consequence of
ignoring the Message of Our Lady of Fatima. In one of the issues of the Fatima
Crusader of which I published about one hundred thousand copies, I pointed out
on the center page, "Ignore the Message of Fatima at the cost of your
enslavement and nuclear destruction." We must choose. If I decide I can ignore
it or I dont have to obey this Message, I have chosen wrongly. Your choices
are: (1) Obey the Message of Fatima; (2) Disobey and ignore the Message of
Fatima. The consequences of obeying the Message are clear. Our Lady said, "If
My requests are granted, Russia will be converted and there will be peace." She
said also, "If people do what I tell you, many souls will be saved."
The consequences of ignoring it, of disobeying Our Lady are also very clear
to us. Our Lady of Fatima said, "If my requests are not granted, Russia will
spread her errors throughout the world raising up wars and persecutions against
the Church, many will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer,
various nations will be annihilated." ,Already, because we ignored Our Lady of
Fatima, we have had under Russian Communist persecution, horrible sufferings
and deaths. Lenin was responsible for twenty million murders in his sevens year
reign of terror. Stalin was responsible for forty six million in twenty nine years.
Mao and the Communists in China under Mao were responsible for seventy
million murders. The total number of people, murdered by Communism which
took power with the false promise of liberation of the people is by our count at
least 160 million people. Furthermore, there are one billion, 500 million people
enslaved under Marxism all over the world.
Our Lady tells us that the same will happen right here and that we cannot
depend on the United States to save us because the United States itself will be
under Communism. Sister Lucy has made that very clear when she was being
interviewed in 1946. (As you know, since approximately 1960, Sister Lucy is not

allowed to speak publicly anymore without permission of the Pope, or without

permission of the Cardinal in charge of the Holy Office.) When she was
interviewed, she was asked in 1946, at what stage of the prophecies of Our
Lady of Fatima are we in now? She said "we are in the stage of Russia
spreading her errors throughout the world." She was then asked, "Does that
mean that Russia will scourge and enslave the whole world?" She answered,
"Yes". Because they thought that she did not understand the question, she was
asked the same question again. Again she repeated, "Yes." And so William
Thomas Walsh, a professor of history, who has written a book on Fatima asked
her, "Does that include the United States of America?" And Sister Lucy
answered, "Yes".
So we have two choices. We can ignore the message or disobey (it comes
to the same thing), or we can obey the Message of Our Lady of Fatima. We
know clearly the consequences of either choice.
We Have Received a Special Grace
We are more accountable to God, after we have received the Message of
Fatima than if we never received it. This is a very special grace for all of
humanity in the 20th Century. It is especially a very great grace in our day to
know more about Fatima and to be able to know the grave significance of this
Message. Let no one think after receiving this fuller understanding of the
Message of Fatima that he does not have a greater obligation to obey it and to
do what he can to see that if is known and obeyed by others.
Let it not be a cause of reproach and condemnation that we knew about
Fatima, had the opportunity of knowing it even more and yet we chose to
ignore it. Those who know it and could have helped Our Lady of Fatima
implement the only Peace Plan that will work and refuse to do so would have
been better off if Our Lady had not given them this Message.
God Expects Our Cooperation
Let us remember that to whom much is given much is expected. Let us not
be like the slothful servant in the Gospel who was condemned because he
buried his talent rather than invest it in Gods service.
St. Thomas Aquinas tells us in the second part of the second section of
hisSumma Theologica that God sends prophets to every generation, not to give
a new doctrine but to remind the faithful what they must do to save their souls.
Its an extra grace, God did not have to send us the prophetic Message of
Fatima, but He did. But once He gives this prophesy, we pay the consequences
by either accepting or rejecting it. There is no third alternative. So we are
bound before God, all of us, to obey. I, myself, and each one of you here as well
as the Pope and the bishops are all obligated to listen and obey Our Lady of

Fatima. Our Lady promises that She will grant peace to the world only when
the Pope and the bishops consecrate specifically Russia to the Immaculate Heart
of Mary. This has not been done!
We must then do all that we can to see that Our Lady of Fatimas requests
are fulfilled. There is nothing more urgent and more necessary for the salvation
of very many immortal souls, and for world peace and Christian freedom. Only
through obedience to Her Commands will God preserve us from Communist
enslavement.
There are very many things you can do to help spread this Message and
help Pope John Paul II as he strives to obey Our Ladys Command to him. But
he needs the help of your prayers, sacrifices and your work and your
almsgiving. He needs your support. The internal persecution of the Church
prevents him from fulfilling Our Ladys command to consecrate Russia. Your
help counts immensely. Help Our Lady by supporting our efforts to overcome
the wall of silence imposed by enemies and "false" brethren on the Message of
Our Lady of Fatima. Our Lady is calling on you to help Her now, to help save
yourself and all Her children by your obedience and your support.
Help Pope John Paul II, help Our Lady of Fatima by circulating petitions to
the Pope and the bishops. Help by publicizing the Message of Fatima, by
supporting financially to the extent you can "Heavens Peace Plan" the Daily
Fatima Radio Program which is aired on over 45 radio stations in North America.
Help by distributing this issue of The Fatima Crusader. Above all, help by
praying the Rosary every day as Our Lady of Fatima requested us all to do.
Wear the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Fulfill all your duties of your
state in life and offer them up to God through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
God Bless you all and Our Lady bring you ever closer to Her Divine Son Jesus.