Third Secret of Our Lady of Fatima QUESTION from marilyn wilson September 28, 1999 I've been trying to find out the third secret that was supposedly revealed. Did I get false information or has it really been submitted to the public? If so, can you please tell me what the third secret is?
Thank You
Marilyn
ANSWER by John-Paul Ignatius on Wednesday, October 6, 1999 Dear Miss Wilson:
The Third Secret of Fatima as never been released.
This question reminds me of the overall controversy about Fatima and also the general issue concerning apparitions. Let me speak to those issues while we are at it.
There are numorous individuals who claim to know what the secret is. One of these people was the late Malachi Martin. I suspect, however, based upon his interviews and writings and Mr. Martin was lying, but used the curiosity of the Secret of Fatima to sell books. People are gullible for secrets and conspiracies theories.
To my knowledge there are only about 4 people alive today who have read the Third Secret: Sr. Lucia, Cardinal Ratzinger, the Pope, and one other I believe.
In any event, the Third Secret was a message to the Pope, NOT to us. To speculate on what it says is sort of like trying to read someone else's mail.
The Pope is the one to decide whether or not to ever release the Secret. So far every Pope who has read it has decided to keep it secret. That is his right.
We must also remember that all that we need to know about the future is already written in Public Revelation (the Bible and Sacred Tradition). No apparition site, including Fatima, is necessary for devotion or salvation. If places like Fatima happend to inpire some people to practice their faith that is great. But we should have been practicing our faith anyway. And we can certainly find plenty of inspiration from other sources -- such as the lives of the Saints, or the Bible.
We need to be careful about becoming too devoted to some apparition. Our devotion needs to be directed toward Christ, our Blessed Mother, and the Saints.
We need to be careful about worrying about tomorrow. Jesus said, Why worry, tomorrow will take care of itself.
John-Paul
Be Not Afraid --Pope John Paul II
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