On Sunday, tens of thousands of pilgrims celebrated the 90th anniversary of the famous visions seen at Fatima, Portugal. In response to the continuing interest in the "third secret" given to the three shepherd children, which is rumored to have predicted the end of the Catholic church and/or the world, the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone -- the Pope's second-in-command -- has declared that it is "pure fantasy."To counter "the most absurd theses" Bertone has published The Last Fatima Visionary: My Meetings With Sister Lucia, which so far is only available in Italian. He said, "Clearing up the question was a pastoral concern."The visions of a radiant "lady" floating above an oak tree at Fatima, Portugal, on a monthly basis from May to October 1917, have fascinated people for decades. Originally the sightings by three children were interpreted as being of the Virgin Mary, which is understandable considering the social and religious context of the percipients and the period.The apparition of the lady was also associated with sightings of lights, strange clouds, the falling of "angel hair" and ultimately the spinning of the sun viewed by at least 50,000 people on Oct. 13, 1917.

Witnesses to this were located at the Cova da Iria and at locations 15, 20 and 30 kilometers away. Heat from this "'solar" phenomenon dried wet clothes and apparently healed people who were exposed to it.What is intriguing is that no one except the three children, namely Lucia dos Santos and her cousins Jucinta Marto and Francisco Marto (aged 10, 7 and 9, respectively) saw the lady. However, none of the children saw the same thing. Lucia was able to see the apparition and to hear and speak with her, apparently, in Portuguese. Jacinta saw and heard her, but understood little of the conversation. As for Francisco, he saw the "lady" speak, without moving "her lips."

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So what is the churchs stand on the third prediction, what have they said it is. have they ever released what it said, and what were the first 2 predictions.

I love this story about the Blessed Mother. Since the first time I heard it, I have wanted to know the third prediction also. In this day and age of "accidental" media leaks to the public, I would think someone would tell it. Do you have any ideas what it could be? I'm with Louie, What has the church stated? Surely they have been asked repeatedly for the prediction.

The third secret was released in 2000 by JPII. It was a vision of a ruined city with a bishop or Pope walking up a hill with other people, where they were gunned down by soldiers. It seems to be more symbolic than predictive.

John Paul II, after he was hospitalized after his May 13, 1981 assassination attempt, summoned the secret to be brought to him, and he reread it. He interpreted it as a prediction of this assassination attempt, noting that May 13 was the same date as the first Fatima appearance, and I think he bent down to look at an image of Our Lady of Fatima that someone was holding in the crowd as he was shot. His assassin also proclaimed in court that the attempt was somehow connected to Fatima (though he made other claims at different times, so who knows?) Some odd coincidences there though.

The first secret was a vision of Hell.

The second secret was the only one that actually took the form of a prediction. It predicted the end of the first world war, the rise of communisim, a second greater war, and called on people to pray and return to God to prevent further atrocities.

Also the third secret was supposed to be revealed in 1960. Pope John XXIII unsealed it in 1960 and reportly fainted when he read it. He had it resealed, saying it did not pertain to his time.

Of course this caused rampant speculation that the secret was of some dire apocalyptic nature. Many people were let down when the secret was finally revealed in 2000, and some insisted it was a whitewash or coverup of the real secret.

ya that was a big let down.

It's these type of stories in which, not that I am skeptical, but I find it hard to believe. Seeing is not always believing. Lucifer can take any shape or form. Although the secrets may be real, the messenger may not be who it appears to be, but that's my two cents.

The Catholic Church believes that as well.

There are MANY reported sightings of Marian apparitions and other religious figures. The church investigates and condemns most of them, either because they believe nothing supernatural happened (the visionary was not of sound mind or a hoaxer), or because the apparation imparted information contrary to Christian or church teachings. (IE they are from Lucifer or whoever)

Very few are considered as being the real deal. And even if the church accepts them, belief in the accepted sightings optional for Catholics

The authors explain what actually happened during "The Miracle of the Sun." The evidence indicates that it was not an astronomical event but rather an aerial one that resulted when an alien craft caused a partial eclipse of the Sun and performed other amazing displays that bedazzled the thousands of curious onlookers who came to Fatima.

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if it really had been a celestial event the whole of the Americas would have witnessed this - where ever the sun had shone. Unfortunatly this is not the case.

that shape could be christanity , islamic and jewish religions ( to name a few ) as well. the wolf comes in sheeps clothing. no one knows.

lmao, yeah it was a letdown. however unless i seen it myself i would not believe a single sh** from it. personally i find that the bible and the CHURCH is extremely skilled in rewriting and rephrasing stuff so, yeah **** it.

anyway thats my 2 cents worth, peace out =D

I think the 3rd secret is that Christ is here.....

That says it all!

I dont know thier version of the 3rd secret seems a bit lame compared to the first secret. i mean the virgin mary comes down predicts the end of world war 2 and the start of communism and a attempted assination, i dunno, an attempted assination does not seem that big of a deal compared to world war, etc etc.
jesus is here, now that would be intresting.

I agree.

Yeah but not every sheep clothes are in a wolf......According to Bible Jesus was also seen by priests as the Devil and then after killing him people came to the conclusion that it was the true Messias.
If the Church will works with doubts then we never have a Messias or "The One",because people will think him as a fake,or having doubts about his identity.

I always said before the third secret being revealed that it was about the End of the Church and the beginning of a New Religion based on Espiritual side through Nature and Cosmos.

I had always been fascinated by the 3rd secret. then they released it in 2000 and I thought ..that's it?? There's gotta be more.
Anyone remember the Aussie guy who hijacked a passenger jet, in the 70's I think? His demands? That the Pope release secret of the 3rd prophecy.

ya i believe Christ is here fighting...thats the secret..?...why wont they tell?

I believe in the Fatima prophecy and in Lucia's vision, however.....I think that there is more to the third prophecy than what the Church revealed....

And you're absolutely right.

But how do you decide, then?
Are you saying that you are reassured by the "familiar" only?
(If I were the devil, that's precisely where I would choose to hide and lurk. ;)

The only other option I can envisage is to live in permanent fear of the devil in disguise.
Not much of an "option", eh?

That's what Hollywood does to people...

[b]Bishop Fulton Sheen in the 1950s foresaw a huge rise of Islamic believers that would be a headon collision with Christianity. His gentle way to head off a clash was to find a common understanding between the two faiths and he suggested that both recognise in Mary, the mother of Jesus, a Woman that both faiths considered Good and Worthy.
The Prophet Mohammad had unequivocaly said the Mary was "a good woman". His daughter Fatimah said that she was the second greatest woman in history, second only to Mary.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima took place where it did.
[/b]

This is a little off topic, but the newest Stigmatist (ms?) has spoken to Mary, and has been warned that unless there is a change soon the end will arrive. That is kind of creepy.