An Invitation to Come
to Rome
Fatima Peace Conference 2001 to Address
Questions and Solutions on Escalating Armed Conflicts
To Members of the Press:
Why are violence and bloodshed accelerating?
On July 6, 2001, the International Red Cross
stated there are more armed conflicts
now than at any other time since World War II.
"We don't have a world war, but we do have wars
around the world," Jean-Daniel
Tauxe, chief of operations of the Geneva-based International Committee
of the Red
Cross, said at the presentation of its 2000 Annual Report.
Since the "end of the Cold War" in the early
1990s, explained Mr. Tauxe, the
conflicts are no longer between states, but internal "and they are
dreadful". At least 25
countries are engaged in bitter violence, and civilians are now the
prime casualties.
"The year 2000," he said, "merely confirmed the
trend prevailing at the end of the
millennium whereby civilians bear the brunt of hostilities and are
often deliberately
targeted."
More alarming still, Red Cross workers are
increasingly coming under attack.
For example, on April 26, 2001 in northeastern
Congo, six Red Cross workers
were slain while delivering a food relief truck clearly marked with the
emblematic Red
Cross.
Yet There is Hope
Despite these bleak reports, the organizers of
Fatima Peace Conference 2001
believe that a solution for world peace is within our grasp, if only it
would be tried.
That solution is centered around an event in
Fatima, Portugal, in 1917 -- an event
reported by the major newspapers in Portugal at the time.
The story of Fatima is well-known. Even Warner
Brothers, in 1952, produced a
movie entitled "The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima". It is the account
of the Blessed
Virgin Mary appearing to three shepherd children, Jacinta, Francisco
and Lucy, and
promising peace to the world if a sufficient number of people "cease
offending God" and
heed Her requests for prayer, especially the Rosary, and for penance.
In fact, the Portuguese newspaper O
Seculo, which was not sympathetic to
religious matters, reported the October 13 "Miracle of the Sun" at
Fatima in its October
15, 1917 edition.
The newspaper said: "Before the dazed eyes of the
people ... the sun trembled, it
made strange and abrupt movements outside of all cosmic laws, 'the sun
danced',
according to the typical expression of the peasants."
Over 70,000 people, including members of the
press, had come to Fatima on that
day because the Blessed Virgin predicted "In October, I will perform a
miracle so that all
may believe" in Her message.
That message has proven to be the most prophetic
event in modern times.
Prophecy and Fulfillment
The Fatima Center takes the Fatima Message
seriously primarily because of the
Message's "track record" of astounding prophecies that have been
fulfilled, and continue
to be fulfilled to this day. For example:
On July 13, 1917, the Blessed
Virgin predicted a miracle, which was fulfilled in
the October 13, 1917 Miracle of the Sun witnessed by 70,000 people and
reported by the
secular press.
She predicted on
June 13, 1917, "I will come to take Francisco and Jacinta to
Heaven soon." The prophecy was fulfilled when
young Francisco died on April 4, 1919,
and with the death of Jacinta on February 20, 1920.
She predicted on
July 13, 1917, "the war (WWI) is going to end soon." This was fulfilled when World War I's fighting ended
on November 11, 1918, one year and one
month after Her last appearance at Fatima.
She predicted "if
people do not cease offending God, a more terrible war will
break out during the reign of Pius XI." This was fulfilled by Hitler's aggression in
Europe in the 1930s, during the pontificate of Pope Pius XI. Note,
Benedict XV was
Pope during the time of the Fatima apparitions, and it was impossible
that three illiterate
shepherd children would know the name of the next Pope.
She predicted "a
night illumined by an unknown light," that would be a sign that
the world is about to be punished by another great war. On the night of
January 25-26,
1938, this prophecy was fulfilled by a
strange light lasting for hours over much of
Europe, and which preceded the outbreak of World War II. (The "strange
light" was
reported in the New York Times the next day.)
Yet there are dire predictions still to be fulfilled.
Our Lady of Fatima warned that there would be no
peace, that wars and
persecutions would increase, and that "various nations will be
annihilated" because of
the sins of the world.
To avoid these chastisements, Our Lady requested
that the Pope, in union with all
the world's bishops, consecrate Russia to Her Immaculate Heart. If this
is done, She
promised the conversion of Russia and a period of peace to be granted
to mankind.
In the light of Fatima, the Peace Conference will
examine the many ongoing wars
and threats to world peace, and the only viable solution which Heaven
has given -- a
solution that was endorsed by God before 70,000 witnesses to the
Miracle of the Sun at
Fatima.
Come to Rome
The Conference will be held from October 7
to 13, at the Pontifical University
of the Sacred Heart in Rome. The location is full of
significance since it stands next to
Gemelli Hospital, where the ambulance took Pope John Paul II after he
was shot in Saint
Peter's Square in 1981.
The date of Mehmet Ali Agca's attempted murder of
the Pope was May 13, 1981,
the anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady of Fatima in 1917.
The Conference has assembled an impressive
array of speakers, scholars,
theologians, authors and activists including Father Nicholas Gruner,
S.T.L., S.T.D.
(Cand.); Father Paul Kramer, B.Ph., M.Div., S.T.L. (Cand.); Randy
Engel; Christopher
Ferrara, Esq.; Cornelia Ferreira; Robert Goldsborough; William Jasper;
Gerry Matatics;
Michael J. Matt; Joe Scheidler; John Vennari; David Allen White, Ph.D.;
and Thomas
Woods, Ph.D.
The Fatima Center has invited Cardinals, bishops,
priests, statesmen,
professionals, journalists and its own supporters to attend this
historic gathering.
The Third Secret
The Conference will also discuss last year's
"release" of the Third Secret of
Fatima, an issue bursting with controversy.
By all accounts, the "release" of the Third Secret
was one of the major news
stories of the year 2000, but the question as to whether we have
received the full text of
the Secret lingers.
The July 1 Washington Post was one of
many newspapers noting that the
Vatican's "interpretation" of the Secret (as nothing more than a
prediction of an
attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II) did not square with the
text the Vatican
released.
Even Mother Angelica, on her EWTN television
program, recently expressed her
belief that the Vatican has not yet revealed the entire Secret. And if
the Vatican has not
released the complete Secret, then why not? Fatima Peace Conference
2001 will address
this question.
R.S.V.P.
The Fatima Center invites you to spend October 7
through 13 with men and
women working toward World Peace, and working toward the end of
violence,
bloodshed and "dreadful conflicts".
Members of the Press will enjoy free admission to
the conference* itself. Please
inform the Fatima Center of your plans to attend. Call 1-800-263-8160
for a conference
package. Conference details can also be viewed on the web at
www.fatima.org.
Again, Fatima Peace Conference 2001 will be held from October 7 to 13 at the Pontifical University of the Sacred Heart, in Rome,
Italy.
* travel, meals and lodging not included.
The Fatima Center is the largest worldwide Fatima Apostolate
campaigning for the promotion of the full Message of Fatima, for the release
of the complete Third
Secret and for the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of
Mary. It is home to The Fatima Crusader, a quarterly magazine
(published at 500,000 copies
per issue). The Center's outreach also includes book publishing,
Internet, radio and television. For more information contact Coralie
Graham, The Fatima Center,
452 Kraft Road, Fort Erie, Ontario L2A 4M7, (905) 871-7607, Ext. 103. On the web: www.fatima.org