Hopefully this thread is open for discussion.
Recently a friend of mine told me that in the apparition of Knock St John the Evangelist was wearing an eastern Orthodox miter or crown. He had always wondered about this.
We live today 128 years after Knock and 100 after Fatima. A lot has happened in the world since both, shall we say a Catholic length of time.
Another friend who has studied Fatima for years is convinced that Heaven did accept Pope John Paul II's 1984's consecration of the world, that had to include Russia. I confess I never did because I would not like Pope John Paul II, that pope who stood among pagans and heretics at Assisi, to be credited with doing anything like that. Even when Communism came apart and the Berlin Wall was torn down without any bƖσσdshɛd, I still refused to believe Heaven accepted that 1884 consecration.
Since then, at an unbelievable pace, I witnessed the demise of very Catholic Ireland to an ANTI-CATHOLIC country. I witnessed Europe losing its Christian heritage. Things are simply getting worse by the day. Who on Earth is going to save Christianity in this horrible world?
Given we have had RELATIVE peace for many years, nothing like the 2nd world-war that Our Lady of Fatima forecast, I wondered why Putin is getting so much bad publicity from the West. I have long come to the conclusion that the West is a far bigger liar than the Russians. Where the truth lies is a mystery today.
Lately a friend mailed me this website:
http://russian-faith.com/letter-traditional-catholics-russia-god%E2%80%99s-chosen-nation-re-convert-west-n1172on it are some very, very interesting papers. My friend is certain that Russia will be the last bastion of Eastern Christianity and could well have been chosen by God (and Mary) to save Christianity. One site tells uis that there have been 1000 churches built a year for the last 28 years, yes, 28000 churches while in the west ten times that number have closed down.
Only last Sunday, after our Christ-the-king procession I spoke to a man who known the man who spoke to Sister Lucia. I think you know who I mean. "He told me to my face that Lucia said that Heaven accepted the 1984 consecration." This friend has been to Fatima many times and knew all involved in the controversy. "Fr Gruner took the opinion that it wasn't, and that kept him in business all these years."
Let us look at the facts. Since 1984 communist Russia, atheistic persecutor of millions has changed rather mysteriously in that Christianity is on the rise there as it declines in the west. Heaven does not miraculously impose Christianity against Mans' free-will. My own prejudice against crediting JPII with the consecration was lessened when my friend said God can use any He likes to do good, even a pope who was taking the Church into Modernism.
This synthesis at least gives us hope. The 'not yet done' with the present Rome is looking for another miracle. !884 was 'late' but that was prophesied.