The message of Fatima is a call for prayer, the practice of communion of reparation, penance and conversion of heart; it is a perfectly orthodox message which reveals great doctrinal breadth and dogmatic integrity which render it a perfect summary of the Gospel. It is in keeping with the most perfect and faithful tradition of the Church. From its Trinitarian content to the doctrine on the ultimate realities, the message touches on the entire teaching of traditional Catholic faith with such transparency as to easily penetrate minds educating them to the purest lines of Catholicism.
In Fatima, devotion to Our Lady began with the first apparitions. In 1919 the first chapel was built and the Bishops gave permission for the first out door Mass on October 13, 1921. At the same time, persecution by civil authorities and Masons increased. On 6 March 1922 during the night an dynamite explosion destroyed the chapel. In 1928 work began to build a new basilica completed in 1951.
At first the parish priest, the arch priest and the Patriarch of Lisbon showed the Church’s customary reticence.
The new bishop was more understanding and instead of hindering, he encouraged pilgrimages and liturgical celebrations . In 1922 he appointed a commission of investigation which concluded its work in 1930. The bishop published a pastoral letter declaring that the children’s visions were worthy of belief and that devotion to Our Lady of Fatima was officially permitted.
The Holy See began to make favourable gestures: Pius XII showed his devotion by asking to be known as the ‘Pope of Fatima’. Official confirmation came from Paul VI who sent a Golden Rose to the Shrine in 1964 at the end of the third session of Vatican II, with an act of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the decision to make a pilgrimage to Fatima.
Pope John Paul II also went on pilgrimage to Fatima to thank Our Lady for saving his life when he was shot 1981 on May 13, (Feast of Our Lady of Fatima).
In the past fifty years there have been about two hundred apparitions not recognised by the Church. A response to so much prudence on the part of the Church can be found in a message of John XXIII at the end of the Lourdes centenary year: “The Roman pontiffs, custodians and interpreters of divine revelation, feel the need to recommend the people to pay attention, when after mature examination they think it opportune for the general good, to the supernatural lights which God loves to grant freely to some privileged souls, not to propose new doctrines, but to direct our conduct attention: <<non ad novam doctrinam fidei depromendam, sed ad humanorum actuum directiones>>.
Juridical measures taken with regard to apparitions and private revelations are restrictive.
The 5th Lateran Council in 1516 said this: “We wish that, according to the law, the above mentioned inspiration may be henceforth reserved to the examination of the Holy See before being published or preached to the People of God. It there is no time to wait or if someone urgently advises differently, than the question should be reported to the local Ordinary Bishop. The Bishop with three or four wise and trusted men will carefully examine the case and if he sees fit, he may grant permission, and we bear the weight of his conscience”.
The Council of Trent said the following on the subject: “A new miracle shall not be admitted unless it is recognised by the bishop, who, as soon as he is informed, will consult theologians and other men of faith and decide according to truth and piety. If it is necessary to eliminate some abuse which poses doubts or difficulties, or if some more serious pertinent problem arises, before settling the controversy the bishop will wait for the opinion of the archbishop and the other bishops of the province gathered in provincial council, in such a way however, that no decision is taken without consulting the supreme pontiff in Rome”.
In the 18th century Benedict XIV defined the statute of the apparitions and their value and established the function of the Magisterium in this field in a document which retains all its value today: “We announce that authorisation granted by the Church to a private revelation is none other than consensus granted after careful examination, so that this revelation is made known for the edification and the good of the faithful. To these revelations, although approved by the Church , assent of Catholic belief need not be granted. In keeping with the rules of prudence, it is necessary to grant the assent of human belief , – assensus fidei humanae iuxta prudentiae regulas – since these revelations are probably fully credible. Therefore one can refuse to assent to these revelations– posse aliquem assensum non prestare – and not take them into consideration, on the condition that this is done with opportune reserve, for good reasons and without feelings of scorn”.