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	Why Fatima? the Pope and the Third Secret By Greg Burke Fox News May 12, 2010 http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/05/12/why-fatima-the-pope-and-the-third-secret/?test=latestnews Pope Benedict is 83 years old. So why is he going to Fatima? There are secrets at Fatima, and one – the famous third secret -- is linked with the assassination attempt on Benedict’s predecessor, John Paul II. But now Pope Benedict says there may be even more to it, telling reporters en route to Portugal that the secret was not limited to events from last century, but could also deal with the future and “has a message for the whole world and all periods of history.” The Pope, who traveled from Lisbon to Fatima today on his four-day trip to Portugal, told us on the plane that the third secret not only had to do with the 1981 assassination attempt, but also with other sufferings that the Catholic Church has to endure – the worst of which come from enemies inside, not outside the church. He included the sex abuse crisis in that: “The greatest persecution of the Church doesn’t come from the enemies outside, but is born from sin inside the Church.” For decades, the Catholic faithful had been curious – some absolutely obsessed – with the so-called “third secret of Fatima.” After an investigation, the Vatican determined that Mary had indeed appeared to three young shepherd children in Portugal in 1917, giving them a brief but horrifying vision of hell and asking them to pray for the conversion of Russia. What were called “secrets” were actually visions and requests that Mary gave the children. The first was a glimpse into the suffering of souls in hell and the prediction of future wars. The second was a request that Russia be consecrated to the heart of Mary. The third secret was never revealed until the year 2000, when the Vatican announced that it referred to a vision of a man in white falling dead. The Vatican said that could be seen as the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981 in St. Peter’s Square. The May 13 date is significant, since that was the first day on which Mary appeared to the three Portuguese children in 1917. John Paul later credited Mary with saving his life, even leaving a bullet from the attack in the crown of Mary’s statue in Fatima. Some of those who have studied the secrets closely still don’t believe the Vatican has revealed the third one in its entirety. They believe it could be something far too difficult for the faithful to accept, such as the end of the Catholic Church. But others argue that could never be, as Mary told the children that despite all the trials the Catholic Church would go through, Portugal would not lose the faith.
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