VATICAN CITY, JUNE 19 (ZENIT.org)

    On Monday, June 26, the Vatican will officially publish the third part of the secret of the revelations of the Virgin of Fatima.

    In an official statement, the Vatican Press Office announced that on that day Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, secretary of this Vatican Congregation, will present a document entitled, "The Message of Fatima," which includes a commentary to facilitate the understanding of Mary's prophetic revelations.

    During John Paul II's trip to Fatima last May 13, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican Secretary of State, announced the Pontiff's decision to publish Mary's revelations to the three little Portuguese shepherds, two of whom were beatified on that day (Cf. ZENIT, ZE00051409).

    "Above all the vision of Fatima is related to the struggle of atheist systems against the Church and Christians, and describes the enormous suffering of witnesses to the faith in the last century of the second millennium. It is an endless Way of the Cross led by the Popes of the 20th century," the Italian Cardinal explained.

    "According to the interpretations of the little shepherds, an interpretation confirmed recently by Sister Lucia, the 'Bishop dressed in white' who prays for all the faithful is the Pope. He, walking with difficulty toward the Cross through the bodies of the martyred (bishops, priests, men and women religious, and numerous laymen), also falls to the ground as though dead, under the shots of a firearm," the Cardinal added.

    It is significant that the Pope should reveal the secret in which the attempt on his life is included, after having forgiven Ali Agca, the person who tried to assassinate him in St. Peter's Square on May 13, 1981, and who has been granted an indult by the Italian authorities.

    On May 13 of this year, when he was in Portugal, Cardinal Sodano said that, in order to "make it possible for the faithful to understand better the message of the Virgin of Fatima, the Pope entrusted the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with the task of publishing the third part of the secret, after preparing an opportune commentary." This commentary will be made public on Monday. ZE00061908

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