| Question Title | Posted By | Question Date |
|---|---|---|
| Fatima, Pagans, and Truth | Kate | Saturday, July 24, 2004 |
Question: Dear Staff, Could somebody please address what is happening in Fatima. I received an email link to a site that shows Hindus worshiping at Fatima. EWTN refuses to address the issue, and so many of us are left confused by what it all means. What happened in Fatima, and what is being planned to happen there in the future regarding an international/multi-religious prayer center? I am someone who has struggled for a long time with some seemingly scandalous actions by the hierarchy, and would like my concern addressed. EWTN denies that it is happening, but this website had pictures. And, I know it is Fatima, because I have been there myself. At the risk of going too far off track, I would like to ask another question. I would like to be able to believe that this did not happen, but did the Holy Father ever kiss the Koran? This is another thing EWTN denies, but I have seen pictures of it as well. If it did happen, what implications does it have on the example set for the world? Why kiss the holy book of a religion that says that Christ is not God? Please help, these are confusing times, and I fear that many are being led astray by these actions that make it seem like all religions are good. In Christo Mariaque, Kate |
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| Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM
Dear Kate: There is nothing improper happening at Fatima. The "ultra-traditionalist", who think their opinions outrank the Church, are quick to jump to any rumor or to misinterpret any actions in a negative way to suit their errant agenda. What they do is the grave sin of rash judgment and often outright calumny (slander). As a result many good Catholics become confused over issues like this and sometimes end up not knowing what to think. One rule of thumb is to be careful of sources. If the source of this negative information is coming from a Ultra-Traditionalist website, then dismiss the information as unreliable, because it is unreliabe, perpetrated by people in grave error with an agenda contrary to God and His Church. As for the facts about Fatima: According to Monsignor Luciano Gomes Paulo Guerra, Rector of the Shrine, "God willing, a religious space will be constructed very shortly, and though it is the presumption of some journalists that it will resemble a stadium, it will in fact be a church, with seating for 9,000; it will be exclusively destined to be a place of Catholic worship, located not next to the current basilica, but between the Cruz Alta and a national road and, when opportune,...can receive pilgrims of others convictions who wish to fraternally partake in our way of prayer." The definitive website on Fatima, and the only Fatima website approved by the Vatican is: http://www.fatimafamily.org/ An that site there is an article about this subject that details the lies being told: http://www.fatimafamily.org/news/fatimashrine.html The bottomline is all this controversy is a hoax perpetrated by people who pretend to be Traditional Catholics who are, in fact, not in communion with the Church, having no faith as to maintain a position in opposition to the dogmatic faith that "hell shall not prevail against the Church", have set themselves up as above the Magisterium defining their own brand of orthodoxy apart from the Church, and have been used by Satan to attack and to bring down God's Holy Church. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary |
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