We thank Your Holiness for all you have done to fulfill Our Lady of Fatima's requests. We fully agree with your public statement given at Fatima that "the Message of Fatima imposes an obligation on the Church."

Indeed, this is so true, especially because charity demands that we all work for world peace, particularly at a time when peace is threatened in so many places. Holiness, you yourself have eloquently spoken many times about the dangers and horrors of war and of our strict obligation as Catholics to do all we can to achieve world peace.

In Her Fatima Message, Our Lady has made it crystal-clear that the only way for true and lasting peace is for Your Holiness and all the Catholic bishops of the world to obey Her request to solemnly consecrate Russia on the same day and at the same time to Her Immaculate Heart.

As Your Holiness knows, this is no idle or flippant request, but rather an expression of the very will of Heaven itself, seeking, in Our Lord's words, "to establish devotion in the world" to His Mother's Immaculate Heart, placing it alongside His very own Sacred Heart in the prayers and petitions of millions of souls.

We know how hard Your Holiness has strived to obey Our Lady and we also are aware of the terrible opposition from a few powerful persons in your own household who apparently believe they know better than the Mother of God how to achieve peace in our world.

Indeed, at Fatima, on May 13, 1982, and at Rome on March 25, 1984, you wanted to fulfill Our Lady's most solemn request for the consecration of Russia. But as you indicated after both those attempts, you admitted that you and your brother bishops had not yet complied with Our Lady of Fatima's specific requests.

Your Holiness's public statements published in your own official newpaper at the time clearly indicate your awareness of these unfortunate circumstances. Despite these facts, your own enemies, all the while claiming loyalty to you, publicly omit, ignore and distort your own words as part of their campaign to impede or prevent your long-desired act of obedience to Our Lady's Fatima requests.

We believe, in order for Your Holiness to overcome the underhanded tactics and the disinformation given you by people in your own household, you need to frequently and publicly be reminded of the tremendous (and growing) support that you have from Catholics around the world.

Thus, we the undersigned, faithfully, prayerfully and publicly pledge our support for and allegiance to you, urging you with all respect and love to command, and oblige-in-conscience with the most serious of obligations possible, your brother bishops throughout the world to solemnly and publicly consecrate Russia to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart together with Your Holiness.

We note parenthetically that, in this matter,Your Holiness is fully justified by the Dogmatic teaching of Vatican Council I in engaging your supreme Apostolic authority.

Holy Father, Our Lady of Fatima predicted if Her requests were not heeded in time, Your Holiness would have much to suffer, that the militant atheism and materialism headquarted in Russia will overcome, enslave and chastise the world, and that the annihilation of various nations will take place.

Recent acts of violence and growing conflict in more than 100 nations around the world clearly show that your words of concern about growing violence and the horrors of war are well-founded. It was precisely to bring real and lasting peace to the world that Our Lady came to Fatima.

Most Holy Father, we love you, we pray for you. In view of the foregoing, we humbly beg you and formally petition you to quickly order all the Catholic bishops to join you -- on one specific date -- in solemnly and publicly consecrating Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as commanded by God Himself through the Message of Our Lady of Fatima.

And while Your Holiness has privately indicated that you wish to see public support from lay people, priests and bishops preceed the Act of Consecration, we beg to note that this public support is even now being gravely impeded by illegal and underhanded tactics and other maneuvers of some few officials within the Holy See itself (as documented in the Open Letter to you published on July 12, 1995 in Il Messaggero in Rome).

Yet even as these petty bureaucrats work to prevent the Queen of Heaven's requests from being fulfilled, the errors of materialism, state atheism and secular humanism continue to spread throughout the world and among many members (even clergy!) of our Holy Catholic Church.

We note with special and loving gratitude that Your Holiness has put Fatima on the top of the ecclesial agenda by stating in your homily at Fatima that "the evangelical call to repentance and conversion" in the Message of Fatima "is still more relevant than it was 65 years ago...still more urgent."

Holiness, it may be that, until now, you have felt your own hands were tied by this small, but powerful group of bureaucrats and other officials who have blocked your every effort to obey Our Lady of Fatima.

But now, as our Third Fatima Congress in Rome has demonstrated, support for the Consecration of Russia and obedience to Our Lady's Fatima requests are both popular and widespread throughout the Universal Church.

Therefore, Most Revered Holy Father, we pray that you will take this Heaven-sent opportunity to fulfill the commands of Our Blessed Mother to consecrate Russia and thereby bring peace to the world as She promised.

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