"The Great Apostacy of the "Last Times" Announced by Holy Scripture

To someone who was questioning her on the content of the Third Secret, Sister Lucy one day replied: "It's in the Gospel, and in the Apocalypse, read them." She has also confided to Father Fuentes that the Virgin Mary has made her see clearly that "We are in the last times of the world."

This does not mean, one must emphasize, the time of the end of the world and of the last judgement, since the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary must come first. Cardinal Ratzinger himself discreetly alluding to the content of the Secret of Fatima, has mentioned three important elements: "The dangers threatening the faith," "the importance of the last times" and the fact that the prophecies "contained in this Third Secret correspond to what has been announced in Scripture." We even know that one day Lucy indicated Chapters 8 and 13 of the Apocalypse.

That is why, in the last two chapters of my book, I take up the great teachings of Our Lord, of St. Paul and St. John so ignored today! - Announcing the troubles, the heresy and finally the great apostasy which will arise in the Church during the "last times." And the objective comparison of the prophecies of Scripture - very particularly those of the Apocalypse - and the great prophecy of the Virgin of Fatima, at the dawn of our Century shows indeed very numerous and quite striking parallels."
                                                                           

"Finally and especially, for the good of the Church. While the Church, without a doubt, is going through the most serious crisis in her history, while heresies of all sorts are taught and propagated, poisoning everywhere the people of God, while her "self-destruction" continues without let up since 1960, and when the "smoke of satan"(20) has penetrated into the holy place, to use some expressions of Paul VI, it would be a very great pity and certainly even criminal to continue to neglect, to disregard, to despise the salutary words of the Virgin Mary - concerning precisely this 'crisis of faith' that we are undergoing. Since the Queen of Heaven as early as 1917 had foretold the danger and since She had certainly indicated the real causes of it, and moreover, since She had proposed the effective remedies, is it not a terrible shame that these remedies intended to be publicly made known in 1960 have yet to be revealed to us? Is it not scandalous that for 25 years, millions of souls have been suffering in this "diabolical disorientation" and have been running the risk of being lost eternally without the pastors of the Church deigning to accept the extraordinary aid that Heaven is offering them?"       
                                                                           

"For the greater part of human history, men and women have turned to religion not only for moral guidance, but also for answers to the fundamental questions of existence. How was the universe created and how will it end? What is the origin of life and mankind? Only in the last few centuries has science begun to make its own contributions to such issues. The resulting clashes are well documented. From its origin with Galileo, Copernicus and Newton, through Darwin and Einstein, to the age of computers and high technology, modern science has cast a cold and sometimes threatening light on so many deep-rooted religious beliefs. Accordingly, there has grown a feeling that science and religion are inherently incompatible and antagonistic. It is a belief encouraged by history. The early attempts by the Church to hold back the flood-gates of scientific advance have left a deep suspicion of religion among the scientific community. For their part, scientists have demolished a lot of cherished religious beliefs and have come to be regarded by many as faith-wreckers."       
                                                                           

"Every pontiff up to the nineteenth century condemned interest-taking on loans (usury) under any circumstances whether interest charged was high or low, whether the loan was made to a poor peasant or an emperor. For centuries the church denounced interest-taking and has never officially withdrawn its ban. Yet today the Vatican has its own bank, incorporated in 1924 by Pius XII, lately the focus of terrible financial scandals."       
                                                                           

Archdiocese in abuse lawsuits to file bankruptcy

"PORTLAND, Oregon (AP)—The Portland Archdiocese said Tuesday that it will file for bankruptcy, becoming the first Roman Catholic diocese in the nation to seek bankruptcy court relief in the face of accusations of sexual abuse.

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy action, planned for Tuesday afternoon, puts an immediate halt to a priest abuse case scheduled to begin in Portland on Tuesday. It involves the Rev. Maurice Grammond, who was accused of molesting more than 50 boys in the 1980s.

Plaintiffs in two lawsuits involving Grammond have sought a total of more than $160 million.

The archdiocese and its insurers already have paid more than $53 million to settle more than 130 claims by people who say they were abused by priests.

Dozens of other claims are pending, and at Tuesday's news conference, church officials said they "could not afford what the plaintiffs are asking."

"The pot of gold is pretty much empty right now," Archbishop John Vlazny said."       
                                                                           

"Religious revival worries many Russians

Uli Schmetzer, CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Moscow — Eighty years after the Bolsheviks trampled on icons . . . religion is celebrating a revival not seen since Greek missionaries brought their orthodoxy to Russia a millennium ago. But many Russians are troubled by the lingering question of how much the church enslaved itself to Soviet authorities in return for being tolerated by the Kremlin. Some also question whether the church is collaborating with the dark forces of nationalism and racism to expand its power. What worries liberal Russians is not the racist rant of some clergymen, but the hierarchy's outspoken support for a draft law on religion that, if passed by parliament and applied indiscriminately, can outlaw orthodox fundamentalists as "heretics" and all the West's Protestant denominations as "ungodly sects." The Bishops' Synod has already approved a list of offenders the law should ban. "All Protestant denominations are on this (list) circulated to all governing church bodies and the Duma (parliament)," said Vyacheslav Polosin, a former priest who is advising the Duma on drafting the new law ...

But there remains the perception among a number of Russians that the priesthood has relapsed into the same habits that made it an easy target for the Bolsheviks in 1917: avarice, arrogance, abuse of power, anti-semitism and intolerance. Requests for interviews with Patriarch Alexy II and the Metropolitan of Moscow to obtains the church's comments on the perceptions and charges were not granted. Polosin said he shed his cassock in disgust with a clergy that he believes to be corrupt. "It's a known fact the church received 10,000 tons of tabacco from abroad as humanitarian aid and exempt of taxes and sold it on the commercial market for its own gain. The church does the same with vodka, wine and gold," he said. In its zeal to purify Russians of foreign influence and heretics, some of the clergy frequently have allied themselves not only with nationalist fanatics but even nostalgic communists ... former security chief Alexander Lebed recently described Mormons as "mold and filth come to destroy the state," . . .

The Moscow Patriarchy — the Russian Orthodox equivalent to the Vatican — is often criticized for its liberal choice of financial partners to restore Russia's 70,000 churches, two-thirds of which were ransacked and devastated in Soviet days. Cathedrals like the symbolic Christ the Saviour in central Moscow, dynamited by Stalin in 1931 but now under reconstruction, are rumored to be money laundries for Russia's Mafia. Below the $500 million Christ the Saviour project, the patriarchy is building a sumptuous residential complex equipped with saunas, sports facilities, restaurants, guest houses and garages ... it has bred distrust in a priesthood perceived as more preoccupied with collecting alms than saving souls. Vladmir Soloukhin, 72, author of books on religion and an avid collector of icons, was asked whether the time has come to return such collections to the churches. "No way!" he said. "The priests would only sell them." "       
                                                                           

"In bed with the rulers

Not only does Rome's pope call himself the vicar of Christ, but the Church he heads claims to be the one true Church and the bride of Christ. Christ's bride, whose hope is to join her Bridegroom in heaven, is to have no earthly ambitions. Yet the Vatican is obsessed with earthly enterprise, as history proves; and in furtherance of these goals it has been, exactly as John foresaw in his vision, engaged in adulterous relationships with the kings of the earth. That fact is acknowledged even by Catholic historians.

Christ said to His disciples, "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you" (John 15:19). The Catholic Church, however, is very much of this world. Her popes have built an unrivaled worldwide empire of property, wealth, and influence. Nor is empire-building an abandoned feature of the past. We have already seen that Vatican II clearly states that the Roman Catholic Church today still ceaselessly seeks to bring under its control all mankind and all their goods.

Popes have long claimed dominion over the world and its peoples. Pope Gregory XIs papal bull of 1372 (In Coena Domini) claimed papal dominion over the entire Christian world, secular and religious, and excommunicated all who failed to obey the popes and to pay them taxes. In Coena was confirmed by subsequent popes and in 1568 Pope Pius V swore that it was to remain an eternal law.

Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503) claimed that all undiscovered lands belonged to the Roman Pontiff, for him to dispose of as he pleased in the name of Christ as His vicar. King John II of Portugal was convinced that in his Bull Romanus Pontifex the pope had granted all that Columbus discovered exclusively to him and his country. Ferdinand and Isabel of Spain, however, thought the pope had given the same lands to them. In May 1493 the Spanish-born Alexander VI issued three bulls to settle the dispute.

In the name of Christ, who had no place on this earth that He called his own, this incredibly evil Borgia pope, claiming to own the world, drew a north-south line down the global map of that day, giving everything on the east to Portugal and on the west to Spain. Thus by papal grant, "out of the plenitude of apostolic power," Africa went to Portugal and the Americas to Spain. When Portugal "succeeded in reaching India and Malaya, they secured the confirmation of these discoveries from the Papacy..." There was a condition, of course: "to the intent to bring the inhabitants ... to profess the Catholic Faith." It Was largely Central and South America which, as a consequence of this unholy alliance between church and state, had Roman Catholicism forced upon them by the sword and remain Catholic to this day. North America (with the exception of Quebec and Louisiana) was spared the dominance of Roman Catholicism because it was settled largely by Protestants.

Nor have the descendants of Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas forgotten that Roman Catholic priests, backed by the secular sword, gave their ancestors the choice of conversion (which often meant slavery) or death. They made such an outcry when John Paul II in a recent visit to Latin America proposed elevating Junipero Serra (a major eighteenth-century enforcer of Catholicism among the Indians) to sainthood that the pope was forced to hold the ceremony in secret.

Christ said, "My kingdom is not of this world; otherwise my servants would fight." The popes, however, have fought with armies and navies in the name of Christ to build a huge kingdom which is very much of this world. And to amass their earthly empire they have repeatedly engaged in spiritual fornication with emperors, kings, and princes. Claiming to be the bride of Christ, the Roman Catholic Church has been in bed with godless rulers down through history, and these adulterous relationships continue to this day."       
                                                                           

"Rome has practiced evil to gather her wealth, for the "golden cup" is filled with "abominations and filthiness." Much of the wealth of the Roman Catholic Church was acquired through the confiscation of the property of the pitiful victims of the Inquisitions. Even the dead were exhumed to face trial and property was taken from their heirs by the Church. One historian writes:

The punishments of the lnquisition did not cease when the victim was burned to ashes, or immured for life in the Inquisition dungeons. His relatives were reduced to beggary by the law that all his possessions were forfeited. The system offered unlimited opportunities for loot....This source of gain largely accounts for the revolting practice of what has been called "corpse-trials."... That the practice of confiscating the property of condemned heretics was productive of many acts of extortion, rapacity and corruption will be doubted by no one who has any knowledge either of human nature or of the historical documents.... no man was safe whose wealth might arouse cupidity, or whose independence might provoke revenge.

Most of Rome's wealth has been acquired through the sale of salvation. Untold billions of dollars have been paid to her by those who thought they were purchasing heaven on the installment plan for themselves or loved ones. The practice continues to this day — blatantly where Catholicism is in control, less obviously here in the United States. No greater deception or abomination could be perpetrated. When Cardinal Cajetan, sixteenth-century Dominican scholar, complained about the sale of dispensations and indulgences, the Church hierarchy was indignant and accused him of wanting "to turn Rome into an uninhabited desert, to reduce the Papacy to impotence, to deprive the pope... of the pecuniary resources indispensable for the discharge of his office." 

In addition to such perversions of the gospel which have led hundreds of millions astray, there are the further abominations of corrupt banking practices, laundering of drug money, trading in counterfeit securities, and dealings with the Mafia (fully documented in police and court records), which the Vatican and her representatives around the world have long employed. Nino Lo Bello, former Business Week correspondent in Rome and Rome bureau chief for New York Journal of Commerce, writes that the Vatican is so closely allied with the Mafia in Italy that "many people ... believe that Sicily ... is nothing more than a Vatican holding."

The Roman Catholic Church is by far the wealthiest institution on earth. Yes, one hears from Rome periodic pleas for money-persuasive appeals claiming that the Vatican cannot maintain itself on its limited budget and needs monetary assistance. Such pleas are unconscionable ploys. The value of innumerable sculptures by such masters as Michelangelo, paintings by the world's greatest artists, and countless other art treasures and ancient documents which Rome possesses (not only at the Vatican but in cathedrals around the world) is beyond calculation. At the World Synod of Bishops in Rome, England's Cardinal Heenan proposed that the Church sell some of these superfluous treasures and give the proceeds to the poor. His suggestion was not well-received.

Christ and His disciples lived in poverty. He told His followers not to lay up treasure on this earth but in heaven. The Roman Catholic Church has disobeyed that command and has accumulated a plethora of riches without equal, of which "the Roman Pontiff is the supreme administrator and steward.... ₁₄ There is no church, no city which is a spiritual entity, no religious institution past or present which even comes close to possessing the wealth of the Roman Catholic Church."       
                                                                           

"The Roman Catholic Church, however, has insisted upon celibacy even though many Popes, among them Sergius III (904-11), John X (914-28), John XII (955-63), Benedict V (964), Innocent VIII (1484-92), Urban VIII (1623-44), and Innocent X (1644-55), as well as millions of cardinals, bishops, archbishops, monks, and priests throughout history, have repeatedly violated such vows. Not only has celibacy made sinners of the clergy who engage in fornication, but it makes harlots out of those with whom they secretly cohabit. Rome is indeed "The Mother of harlots"! Her identification as such is unmistakable. No other city, church, or institution in the history of the world is her rival in this particular evil.

History is replete with sayings that mocked the church's false claim to celibacy and revealed the truth: "The holiest hermit has his whore" and "Rome has more prostitutes than any other city because she has the most celibates" are examples. Pius II declared that Rome was "the only city run by bastards" [sons of popes and cardinals]. Catholic historian and former Jesuit Peter de Rosa writes:

Popes had mistresses of fifteen years of age, were guilty of incest and sexual perversions of every sort, had innumerable children, were murdered in the very act of adultery [by jealous husbands who found them in bed with their wives].... In the old Catholic phrase, why be holier than the pope?

As for abominations, even Catholic historians admit that among the popes were some of the most degenerate and unconscionable ogres in all of history. Their numerous outrageous crimes, many of which are almost beyond belief, have been recited by many historians from preserved documents that reveal the depths of papal depravity, some of which we will cover in later chapters. To call any of these men "His Holiness, Vicar of Christ" makes a mockery of holiness and of Christ. Yet the name of each one of these unbelievably wicked popes, mass murderers, fornicators, robbers, warmongers, some guilty of the massacre of thousands - is emblazoned in honor on the Church's official list of popes. These abominations that John foresaw not only occurred in the past but continue to this very day."