Matt C. Abbott
A Vatican conspiracy akin to 'Da Vinci Code'?
By Matt C. Abbott
Dan Brown isn't the only person to espouse a conspiracy theory involving the Vatican.
Atila Sinke Guimarăes and Marian T. Horvat of Tradition in Action believe there have been two "Sr. Lucys."
Sr. Lucy of Fatima was one of three children who, in 1917, saw apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary near Fatima, Portugal. Sr. Lucy died in 2005 at the age of 97.
But was it the real Sr. Lucy who died last year, or just an impostor?
Conspiracy theories involving the Fatima apparitions and the Church have been bandied about in certain circles for many years. Horvat recently wrote this article giving credence to the notion that the Sr. Lucy seen in recent years is likely a "fake." She provides photo comparisons to help bolster her case.
Why would the Vatican replace the real Sr. Lucy with a fake Sr. Lucy? According to Guimarăes:
Even if I am working just with hypotheses, it is certainly legitimate to raise possibilities in response to the Who? Why? and When? Here is my guess, which I share with you.
John XXIII was Pope in 1960 when the Third Secret should have been revealed. There is a famous statement attributed to him, in which he said that the message of Fatima was not for our times. This personal judgment would have been the reason the revelation of the Third Secret was not made. So, if there was a faithful Sister Lucy trying to speak to the world and spread a message from Our Lady in opposition to his opinion, she would need to be silenced.
Regarding the Where? and How? at present I lack information to make any hypothesis worthy of consideration. Therefore, I don't know whether she is alive or not.
...What I know is that Our Lady promised that she would appear in Fatima seven times, and she only appeared six times. Perhaps she will come a seventh time to answer all these questions and clarify so many mysteries. I pray daily for that.
But John Grasmeier, a traditional Catholic and moderator of Angelqueen.org, isn't buying it.
Grasmeier comments (slightly edited):
The idea that the Holy See 'bumped off' or absconded with Sister Lucy and replaced her with some imposter is quite simply absurd. Rather than pointing out the many painfully obvious flaws in this outlandish claim (such as how all of Lucia's friends, associates and family wouldn't realize that she was replaced by an imposter, yet an owner of a website would), I'd rather address what I see as a more important issue.
The traditional Catholic movement has gained and continues to gain a great deal of momentum. Even outside of traditional circles there is an undeniable burgeoning desire amongst the faithful to bring back tradition, orthodoxy and reverence. We are gaining some well placed allies and garnering support from diverse segments of the laity, clergy and episcopate. Even those who would rather be flogged than welcome this dynamic are being forced to accommodate or at least reluctantly accept it to a certain degree. In other words, by the grace of God, it's happening whether they like it or not.
While the vast majority of traditionalists who practice traditional Catholicism and deeply love our Holy Mother Church are good, spiritually healthy Catholics, there exists a minority element of the traditional laity (particularly on the Internet) that can't seem to offer their brothers and sisters much toward edification, advancement of the faith or impartation of the Gospel. Christ made Himself very clear: As the Church militant, we are to be the salt and light of the world, wise as serpents yet gentle as doves. We are to proceed with charity, and as Paul tells us in Ephesians, gird ourselves with truth, justice, the Gospel and salvation.
In short, we must be able to attract and win souls — not send them screaming from the pews. Of course, we must never allow abuse, injustice and evil to go unchallenged; nor compromise truth in order to seek tacit acceptance or fleeting credibility. But some of these supposedly traditional cyber-outlets offer little more than scorn, rebellion and ridicule. Their sites and publications do not offer much in the way of edification, yet conspiracy, mocking and crass behavior is held at a premium. They at times go beyond the simple litany of lamentations we all share, and cross into a form of Gnostic elitism.
Does not the author [Horvat] who is purporting this nonsense realize that she's implicitly accusing the Holy See of kidnapping and/or murder? The fact that she doesn't realize or doesn't give due deference to the grave error and sin contained in these outrageous allegations speaks loudly to her Catholic formation.
As it stands now, the Internet, while allowing us to communicate and inform in ways that were previously not possible, is still somewhat of a modern day 'Wild West.' As Catholics, we have a unique opportunity to offer the goodness of Christ and His Gospel in a medium that is largely infested with debauched worldliness. In such an environment, those — most especially Catholics — who disseminate information have a responsibility to do so with care, as Catholics who absorb information must be prudent in where they go to receive it.
Until 'traditional' informational clearing houses such as Tradition in Action (and the handful of those like it) engage in serious introspection and show in a substantive way that they are truly interested in health of the Body of Christ and those within it, they should be avoided.
© Matt C. Abbott
Dan Brown isn't the only person to espouse a conspiracy theory involving the Vatican.
Atila Sinke Guimarăes and Marian T. Horvat of Tradition in Action believe there have been two "Sr. Lucys."
Sr. Lucy of Fatima was one of three children who, in 1917, saw apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary near Fatima, Portugal. Sr. Lucy died in 2005 at the age of 97.
But was it the real Sr. Lucy who died last year, or just an impostor?
Conspiracy theories involving the Fatima apparitions and the Church have been bandied about in certain circles for many years. Horvat recently wrote this article giving credence to the notion that the Sr. Lucy seen in recent years is likely a "fake." She provides photo comparisons to help bolster her case.Why would the Vatican replace the real Sr. Lucy with a fake Sr. Lucy? According to Guimarăes:
Even if I am working just with hypotheses, it is certainly legitimate to raise possibilities in response to the Who? Why? and When? Here is my guess, which I share with you.
John XXIII was Pope in 1960 when the Third Secret should have been revealed. There is a famous statement attributed to him, in which he said that the message of Fatima was not for our times. This personal judgment would have been the reason the revelation of the Third Secret was not made. So, if there was a faithful Sister Lucy trying to speak to the world and spread a message from Our Lady in opposition to his opinion, she would need to be silenced.
Regarding the Where? and How? at present I lack information to make any hypothesis worthy of consideration. Therefore, I don't know whether she is alive or not.
...What I know is that Our Lady promised that she would appear in Fatima seven times, and she only appeared six times. Perhaps she will come a seventh time to answer all these questions and clarify so many mysteries. I pray daily for that.
But John Grasmeier, a traditional Catholic and moderator of Angelqueen.org, isn't buying it.
Grasmeier comments (slightly edited):
The idea that the Holy See 'bumped off' or absconded with Sister Lucy and replaced her with some imposter is quite simply absurd. Rather than pointing out the many painfully obvious flaws in this outlandish claim (such as how all of Lucia's friends, associates and family wouldn't realize that she was replaced by an imposter, yet an owner of a website would), I'd rather address what I see as a more important issue.
The traditional Catholic movement has gained and continues to gain a great deal of momentum. Even outside of traditional circles there is an undeniable burgeoning desire amongst the faithful to bring back tradition, orthodoxy and reverence. We are gaining some well placed allies and garnering support from diverse segments of the laity, clergy and episcopate. Even those who would rather be flogged than welcome this dynamic are being forced to accommodate or at least reluctantly accept it to a certain degree. In other words, by the grace of God, it's happening whether they like it or not.
While the vast majority of traditionalists who practice traditional Catholicism and deeply love our Holy Mother Church are good, spiritually healthy Catholics, there exists a minority element of the traditional laity (particularly on the Internet) that can't seem to offer their brothers and sisters much toward edification, advancement of the faith or impartation of the Gospel. Christ made Himself very clear: As the Church militant, we are to be the salt and light of the world, wise as serpents yet gentle as doves. We are to proceed with charity, and as Paul tells us in Ephesians, gird ourselves with truth, justice, the Gospel and salvation.
In short, we must be able to attract and win souls — not send them screaming from the pews. Of course, we must never allow abuse, injustice and evil to go unchallenged; nor compromise truth in order to seek tacit acceptance or fleeting credibility. But some of these supposedly traditional cyber-outlets offer little more than scorn, rebellion and ridicule. Their sites and publications do not offer much in the way of edification, yet conspiracy, mocking and crass behavior is held at a premium. They at times go beyond the simple litany of lamentations we all share, and cross into a form of Gnostic elitism.
Does not the author [Horvat] who is purporting this nonsense realize that she's implicitly accusing the Holy See of kidnapping and/or murder? The fact that she doesn't realize or doesn't give due deference to the grave error and sin contained in these outrageous allegations speaks loudly to her Catholic formation.
As it stands now, the Internet, while allowing us to communicate and inform in ways that were previously not possible, is still somewhat of a modern day 'Wild West.' As Catholics, we have a unique opportunity to offer the goodness of Christ and His Gospel in a medium that is largely infested with debauched worldliness. In such an environment, those — most especially Catholics — who disseminate information have a responsibility to do so with care, as Catholics who absorb information must be prudent in where they go to receive it.
Until 'traditional' informational clearing houses such as Tradition in Action (and the handful of those like it) engage in serious introspection and show in a substantive way that they are truly interested in health of the Body of Christ and those within it, they should be avoided.
© Matt C. Abbott
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