It is often noted that there are two versions of Mormon history - there’s the Mormon version, and then there’s the non-Mormon version, and one can take one’s choice.
With regard to the Fatima phenomenon, Catholics are not so lucky. There are MANY different versions of exactly what transpired there. Here, for example, is a fairly straightforward account that begins with the assumption that the apparitions were genuine:
members.aol.com/bjw1106/marian6.htm
Wikipedia reports pretty much the same series of events, but from a neutral perspective. It is strongly recommended that the reader, after perusing the Wikipedia article, go to the top of the page and click on the tab labelled ‘discussion’. The discussion is every bit as interesting as the article itself.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Fatima
But here are several other factors that the open-minded may wish to consider, and these come from a variety of sources. Some are mentioned in passing in one or both of the preceding links:
- The series of apparitions in the cove is, of course,
well-publicized. Less well known is that Lucia had reported
similar visits from heavenly personalities since early childhood,
and also later in life, until the Church advised her to stop
reporting them, which she did.
- Lucia’s mother, the person who probably knew her better than
anyone else, according to most reports, never believed a word of
it. She was quoted as having told a reporter. “My daughter has
been a liar all of her life”.
- It is also rarely reported that each of the three children perceived the Lady differently. Lucia claimed that she was able to ‘walk with’ the Lady, which presumably meant carry on a normal, two-way conversation. Jacinta claimed that she was able to see and hear the lady but not converse with her. Fransisco claimed to only see but not hear the Lady.
- According to some accounts, Lucia claimed that the Lady had
told her that nearly all the soldiers, on both sides, who had
fallen in WWI had gone to hell as a result of their participation
in the war. This revelation did not seem to lead the Church toward advising its young men not to serve in the military, nor does it do so today.
- The ‘prophecies’ involving the end of the war and the even
worse war (WWII) to follow are well-known. What is sometimes
missed, however, is that Lucia did not report these until 1941. It
is not difficult to report ‘prophecies’ of events that have already
taken place or are in progress.
Also, according to Lucia, the Lady claimed that the next war would begin during the reign of Pius XI. This was, in effect, two ‘prophecies’ in one, since there was no indication in 1917 that the man who would later be pope would take that name. Actually, WWII began several months into the reign of Pius XII (not XI), in September of 1939.
- History does not support the Lady’s predictions concerning Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church is firmly entrenched there as the state Church, there is no indication of any mass conversions to Roman Catholicism, and Russian Communism, far from ‘spreading its errors throughout the world’, is now history, thanks not to divine intervention, but rather to a very human and visionary leader, Mikhail Gorbatchev.
- Many published accounts seem to imply that the so-called ‘miracle of the sun’ was seen by all present, and in fact, many did witness such a phenomenon and some were indeed terrified by it. Less well known, however, is that many others present, when asked later for a description, reported having seen nothing remarkable at all - only that it had been raining, and at some point the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the sun broke through.
References to Lisbon newspapers which allegedly reported the solar event, some so specific as to give the actual date and page number, all seem to be fraudulent. No such paper has ever surfaced, nor do the archives of the newspapers cited contain any such reports.
- Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, nearly everyone seriously interested in Fatima is aware that several blatantly heretical and/or schismatic cults have formed around the phenomenon, some making claims so outrageous and ridiculous that the effect is considerable embarrassment to the Church. These groups, through their websites and publications, attempt to pass themselves off as either fully in communion with Rome, or as the true voice of the Catholicism, Rome be damned.
In posting this impromptu list, I take no advocacy position. My purpose is only to offer a somewhat broader perspective to the Fatima story.
With the basic Fatima message of prayer and penitence in a sinful world I take no exception whatever.
Not likely to be more than trick photography…considering the number of “Alien Baby stories”… But those that the Church endorses, I have no problem with…
