Shrine Authorities Disrupt Pilgrimage of Reparation.
"I think they would have been more intelligent to leave us alone," said Bishop Richard Williamson. "As it is, they fired up a sense of combat in quite a few combative Catholics."

One of the most frustrating aspects of reporting on the recent events at Fatima is having to deal with those who publicly claim that our reports are not true. It is a claim made by those who have no first-hand knowledge.

The last days of September saw a controversy erupt at Portugal’s Fatima Shrine. It was the direct result of protests of concerned Catholics against the new interreligious orientation now at Fatima. Correio da manhã, the second largest newspaper in Portugal, caused a sensation when it splashed on its September 29 front page, “Vatican is shocked with Fatima”.

This article is written to respond to three items posted on the “Fatima Family Apostolate” website operated by Fr. Robert J. Fox. These three items – a “clarification” by the rector of the Fatima Shrine, an article by a so-called “scholar of Fatima,” and a letter from the Vatican nuncio in Washington – were posted by Fr. Fox in an apparent effort to stem mounting criticism of his dogged defense of the recent “interreligious” activities at the Fatima Shrine, which have provoked protests by concerned Catholics around the world.

Correio da manha, the leading daily newspaper in Portugal, caused an uproar in the Catholic world when it reported in a front page article in its September 29 issue that “Rome is shocked with Fatima.” According to the newspaper, the Vatican “is critical of the prayers offered by the Dalai Lama and those of a Hindu priest in the Shrine” and has announced to the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (PEC) that they must replace the Bishop of Fatima and the Shrine Rector. If not, the paper reported, the Vatican will assume direct control of the Fatima shrine.

Rector Guerra defends the Hindu worship service at Fatima in a Communique he issued on June 29, 2004, eight weeks after the May 5 occurrence, claiming that "no rite was performed on or off the altar". This is in sharp contrast with the Portuguese SIC television broadcast that clearly shows the Hindu "priest" chanting at the Catholic altar. We publish here the Rector's complete statement, followed by our own commentary. Includes "Five Quick Responses to Rector Guerra" from five other writers.

Catholic Family News , through the help of The Fatima Center, has obtained a video copy of the SIC television broadcast of the Hindu ritual performed at Fatima on May 5, 2004. This sacrilege took place with the blessing of Fatima Shrine Rector Guerra and the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima, Serafim de Sousa Ferreira e Silva. SIC, a national television station in Portugal, reported on the Hindu ritual at Fatima the same day it took place. The announcer called it an “uncommon ecumenical experience.”

Includes a "Brief Chronology Leading up to Sacrilegious Hindu Ritual at Fatima", outlining key events on the road to sacrilege at Fatima, which escalated since the pan-religious conference of October 2003 but actually started with a Congress at Fatima in 1992, presided over by Shrine Rector Guerra.

Catholics by the thousands are up in arms against a recent unprecedented event at Portugal’s Fatima Shrine. On May 5, 2004, a Hindu prayer ritual was conducted at the altar in the Little Chapel of the Apparitions, the chapel built over the spot where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three children at Fatima in 1917. SIC television, a national station in Portugal, broadcast the event the same day it took place. The Fatima Center has obtained a copy of the broadcast, and is now circulating photographs of the event.

While claiming to be obedient to the Law, the Pharisees of old emptied the Law of its true meaning and replaced it with a corrupted human interpretation. Today, Fr. Robert J. Fox and his fellow apologists for the “new” religion of “ecumenism” and “inter-religious dialogue” are doing much the same with the Message of Fatima.

On May 5, 2004 — the Feast of Pope Saint Pius V — the Little Chapel of the Apparitions at Fatima was allowed to be used for a pagan Hindu ceremony. This Little Chapel (also called the Capelinha) is built on the site where Our Blessed Mother appeared to the 3 children of Fatima in 1917. ... The outrage occurred with the blessing of Shrine Rector Msgr. Guerra. No one may use the Capelinha without Rector Guerra’s permission.

This open letter addressed to the faithful of Portugal was published in the Portuguese newspapers 24 Horas, O Independente, and Semanario. It explains the terrible betrayal that is taking place in Portugal with the construction of a new ecumenical “multi-faith” Fatima Shrine, why it is happening, and what can be done about it.

Because of Msgr. Guerra's "denials" of the published statements about his plans for making Fatima into an "interfaith shrine", this issue of The Fatima Crusader is more relevant and urgent today than ever.

Made in response to the storm of international protest over his announced plans for making Fatima into an "interfaith shrine", not one of Father Guerra's "denials" actually denies that he made any of the remarks attributed to him in the local Portuguese newspapers.

After two months of silence, Fatima Shrine officials finally spoke publicly about the alleged plan to turn Fatima into an Interfaith Shrine. Three news reports came from Fatima on the subject. The first was a January 1 Zenit report on a December 28 Communiqué from Fatima Shrine Rector, Msgr. Guerra; the second was the Shrine’s own web posting of the December 28 Communiqué that was somewhat different from what Zenit reported (the reason for which will be explained); the third was a brief interview with Msgr. Guerra posted on a Medjugorje web page.

Zenit news posted on January 1 the article "What is Happening in Fatima?" in which the alleged plan to turn Fatima into an Interfaith Shrine was discussed. The article contained various falsehoods that call for an immediate response.

Articles published in the Fatima Shrine's own journal give the appearance that the pan-religious program at Fatima is the way of the future. John Vennari also shows how ecumenical Church leaders "dialogue" with those Catholics who challenge the new ecumenical policy of the post-Conciliar Church and how the new program of "Dialogue and Proclamation" is a head-on collision with Church teaching throughout the centuries.

Roman Catholics worldwide have been shocked and dismayed by press reports of a plan to build, at a cost of $47,600,000, a huge stadium-like "interfaith" facility beside the existing Fatima Shrine in Portugal, opening the Catholic holy site to worship on an equal footing by non-Catholics of all kinds, including Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and other pagans.

From October 10-12, 2003, a pan-religious conference was held at Fatima entitled "The Present of Man – the Future of God: The Place of Sanctuaries in the Relation to the Sacred". John Vennari, editor of Catholic Family News, traveled to Fatima to cover the Congress and attended the three-day event. It contained some of the most explicit heresy he has ever encountered.

The plan to turn the Fatima Shrine into a place where all the religions of the world will gather to pay homage to their various gods has aroused strong opposition. "According to Catholic Moral Theology", says Father Paul Kramer of the Fatima Center, "this is a grave sin against the First Commandment and an act of Apostasy."