"Father Gruner was suspended “a divinis” by the Vatican in 1996 – meaning he is relieved of his priestly functions, primarily administering the sacraments." From the 11th paragraph. I too believe in the Fatima apparitions, however, Fr. Gruner and his Fatima Crusader organization are not people that I would listen to or contribute to.
Put simply, Father Gruner was suspended because he wouldn’t shut his mouth about Fatima and was too much of a nuisance. He wanted the rest of the Fatima message to be released along with a consecration of Russia that clearly met every condition specified by Sr. Lucia. And in his publications about Fatima, because he believed there to be an obvious connection between the Third Secret and Vatican II, he made comments about that, too. At some point he managed to really anger Cardinal Secretary of State Sodano and he was eventually suspended after refusing to pack up and move to a different country to serve as a priest there.
You have to realize that the Third Secret was supposed to be released no later than 1960 according to Sr. Lucia, because that’s what the Blessed Virgin told her. Instead, the Third Secret was suppressed, the original announcement in 1960 being that it would probably never be released. There was a priest who collected every piece of evidence he could about Fatima and the events that occurred, and he compiled material filling several volumes of books. Rather than allow this material to be published, the Vatican suppressed this information, allowing only one heavily edited volume to be released to the public. It was quite clear from 1960 and beyond that there were prelates in high places who wanted to “suppress” this information.
Father Gruner is a strong believer in Fatima, and like thousands of other Catholics, he believes he has the right to know what it is, particularly since Sr. Lucia said it was supposed to be released no later than 1960. For this he was willing to risk his status as priest when it became necessary to do so in order to get this information released, and to get the directive of the second secret accomplished.
As of this date, we still do not have the full Third Secret of Fatima. What was released in 2000 and its accompanying commentary completely contradicts evidence of its contents stretching back as far as about 1957 or so. The whole idea that the Blessed Virgin appeared to a crowd in Portugal in 1917 to warn of a failed assassination attempt 64 years later is completely ludicrous.
They suppressed it in 1960. They suppressed the collection of documents on it collected by a priest. They didn’t reveal anything until 2000, and then what they released made absolutely no sense whatsoever. It contained no words of the Blessed Virgin. And It was completely inconsistent with a list of quotations from people who’d read it with regard to its contents over the last 40 years. Almost all of the prior evidence suggested that the Third Secret dealt with issues related to the end times and an apostasy.
Father Gruner doesn’t deserved to be ridiculed for being suspended as a priest under the circumstances, imo. And he doesn’t lie about Fatima. His site is an accurate secondary source for information regarding the Fatima controversy.
The Vatican has lied about other things Fatima-related. There was a second assassination attempt on JPII at Fatima. A Spanish priest lunged at him with a knife. The Vatican originally lied in a formal release and claimed it didn’t happen. But then footage turned up. Recently JPII’s own secretary released the full details, indicating that JPII was stabbed and blood was drawn.
It’s really low to call people on forums “gruner followers” because they want to know what the message at Fatima was and refuse to accept the ludicrous 2000 official release. Cardinal Ciappi in the 90’s for instance said the Third Secret mentioned an “apostasy that begins at the top”, and JPII cited to Apocalypse 12:3-4 in regards to the message of Fatima. Cardinal Ratzinger in 1984 in Jesus Magazine said it dealt with the “end times”. Sr. Lucia is quoted to have referred people to look at Apocalypse chapters 8-13 to understand its contents. And the list just goes on, and on, and on.
