VIDEO: Did Francis' consecration of Russia work?

Following the penitential service at Saint Peter's on the feast of Immaculate Conception, March 25th, Pope Francis performed an "act of entrustment and consecration'" of "all the people of the world, particularly Russia and Ukraine" to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Here is the video, so you can see for yourself what Francis actually did and, more important, said.

              

As Walt explained in "Notes and thoughts re Consecration of Russia & Ukraine" (WWW 16/3/22), this act of consecration was done in answer to a plea from the Catholic bishops of Ukraine that the request of Our Lady of Fatima be obeyed, by which means Russia would be converted and period of peace granted to the world.

Did it work? That is the question uppermost in the minds of traditional Catholics, particularly those who, like the late Father Nicholas Gruner, believed in the Message of Fatima and worked tirelessly for decades to make it known. 

A succession of post-Vatican II popes attempted a type of consecration, but not in the manner the Blessed Virgin requested. Did Francis, in his lengthy and convoluted prayer, say the right things, and did enough of the world's bishops join in spiritual union, to call down from Heaven the graces promised by Our Lady of Fatima?

So far, none of the commentators Walt follows has weighed in on the sufficiency of this latest act of consecration. To do so is difficult, because we really don't know exactly what is supposed to happen, and when. Certainly there has been no flash of heavenly light, no chorus of alleluias from the heavenly choir.

The Russian dictator has not fallen to his knees to beg forgiveness of God. Nor has he ordered his invading army to withdraw from Ukraine. He hasn't even agreed to a ceasefire. But it may be significant that, on the day of the Consecration, Western "military experts" reported signs that Putin had shifted his war aims to concentrate on only those parts of eastern Ukraine that he had claimed before the invasion began. Is that the start of a Russian retreat? Maybe.

There has been no startlingly positive result of the Consecration as yet, but nor has there has been any negative consequence. Mr Putin did not, so far as we know, fly into a towering rage and press the nuke button. Nor did the Orthodox churches, of whose wrath Vatican diplomats were terrified, hurl down anathemas on Francis and all who pray for the conversion of Russia.

In sum, not much has happened... yet.... But Heaven works in mysterious ways. God and His Blessed Mother will give us the peace and such other mercies and blessings as we deserve... in Their own good time.

Let us keep praying for a speedy resolution of the conflict in the Ukraine, for the restoration of peace and freedom to that troubled land, and for peace in the world geneerally. Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

Pray for the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!

Pope Francis "intends to invite" bishops to join in Consecration

Late yesterday, Matt Gaspers of Catholic Family News reported that a reliable source close to the hierarchy has confirmed that Pope Francis intends to invite -- not command, but invite -- the world's bishops to join him in the Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, planned for Friday, March 25th.

Mr Gaspers concludes his post with these words: While this "invitation" from Pope Francis to the bishops is obviously not the same as an "order", which is what Our Lady specified, it is nonetheless a positive sign. Let us keep praying and fasting for the consecration to be done according to Heaven's specific conditions!

It seems likely that many, if not all, of the bishops will accept the invitation. Traditional bishops will do so because they believe in the Message of Fatima. More liberal bishops will do so to show solidarity with Francis. The bishop of the diocese in which Walt resides has already accepted the invitation and circulated, through the diocesan pastors, the following message: 

Dear parishioners and friends of peace: [Our bishop] will be joining the Holy Father, Pope Francis, in the consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the solemnity of the feast of the Annunciation of Mary, March 25, 2022. It will be offered at the end of the respect for life Mass at 7:00 pm at the Cathedral. In preparation for the consecration, [our bishop] is inviting us to join in a Novena that will prayed with the Catholic Bishops of Ukraine in union with Pope Francis. Please offer the following prayer, which began on the feast of St Patrick. 

God of реасе and justice, 

we pray for the реорlе of Ukraine today. 

We pray for реaсе and the laying down of weapons.

We pray for аll those who fear for tomorrow, that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them.

We pray for those with power over war or реасе, for wisdom, discernment and compassion to guide their decisions.

Above аll, we pray for аll your precious children, at-risk and in fear, that you would hold and protect them.

We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Реасе. 

Amen.

Further viewing: "Did Fatima priest Fr. Gruner predict Francis' consecration of Russia?" on the John-Henry Westen Show, 18/3/22. And please note, you can buy Fatima Priest, the (partial) biography of Father Gruner, on our sponsor's Webstore. Tell `em Walt sent ya!

2nd in 2 weeks! Brazil consecrated to Immaculate Heart of Mary

Incredible! For the second time in a week, a nominally Catholic nation has been consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, on the initiative of a conservative political leader. Just yesterday, Walt was pleaed to report that Matteo Salvini, Italy's Deputy Premier, dedicated his country to the Immaculate Heart on May 18th, at a rally in Milan. See "Salvini commends Italy to the Blessed Virgin Mary - Pope displeased", WWW 24/5/19.

Sig. Salvini was criticized by hierarchs of the Church (Hello, Cardinal Parolin!) for his fervent expression of faith. At the rally, the crowd of 1000s responded with jeers and catcalls to the mention of the name of the alleged Pope. Francis has reportedly refused to meet the Italian leader because of the latter's policy of stopping by invasion of Italy by hordes of "refugees" and asylum-seekers.

Hard on the heels of last weeks week's stunning news comes this report from Planalto, the website of the Presidency of Brazil, that on Tuesday last, that country was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in a ceremony that included President Jair Bolsonaro and Bishop Fernando Areas Rifan.

The consecration was an initiative of national deputy Eros Biondini and Brazil's Catholic Parliamentary Front in reparation for sin and to ask for divine protection. Said Senhor Biondini, “We are doing this for Brazil, for our love for our nation." A statue of Our Lady of Fatima, revered in Brazil, which has more Catholics than any other country, graced the ceremony and will remain in a place of honour in the presidential palace.

Signing the proclamation of national consecration were President Bolsonaro, cabinet minister Floriano Peixoto, and Sr Biondini. The other signatories were Bishop Areas and Bishop Emeritus João Evangelista Martins Terra of Brasilia, the nation's capital. During the ceremony, participants prayed the Rosary and sang a Marian hymn, accompanied by a number of nuns.

Bishop Areas leads the Personal Apostolic Administration of St. Jean Marie Vianney, devoted exclusively to celebrating the pre-1965 Roman rite of the Mass. The prelate said that consecrating his country to the Immaculate Heart means that "Brazil recognizes the presence of God." Pro-life advocates, among them a priest, displayed banners emblazoned with the motto "Brazil is alive: no abortion.”

Sr Peixoto thanked President Bolsonaro for his participation in the event, saying, "This space and all our public buildings are places in which the Christian faith is professed.... May God illuminate everyone so that we can achieve our goals of lifting up fellow citizens and bringing to our children, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews and cousins, a better and more just condition for everyone."

Salvini commends Italy to the Blessed Virgin Mary - Pope displeased

On Tuesday, Walt told you about Italian Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini's speech on May 19th at a rally of populist leaders in Milan, in which he decried unchecked migration, pledging to close Europe's borders to migrants. He also attacked Islam, saying it mistreats women. He said Turkey would never be a part of Europe and rejected the label of extremists for the leaders with him.

"In this piazza, there are no extremists," said Sig. Salvini. "There are no racists. There are no fascists. If anything in Italy and in Europe, the difference is between who looks ahead, between who speaks of the future...instead of making trials of the past." The "piazza" to which he referred was the huge square in front of Milan's Duomo cathedral, in which 10s of 1000s had gathered to support the right-wing populist parties contesting the European Parliament elections, which are under way at this very moment.

In my earlier report, I concentrated on politics, but the fact is that the struggle to keep Europe European -- so to speak -- is not just political but religious, for European values, the values of civilization, are Christian values, and are under attack by both Islamists and secular humanists. Make no mistake! Europe is, at this very moment, a key battleground in the war against Christianity!

Sig. Salvini did not neglect to mention the religious struggle, and we are indebted to LifeSite News for reporting on this aspect of last Saturday's rally. In "Vatican leaders outraged as anti-immigration politician commends Italy to Mary", LS reveals that Sig. Salvini kissed a rosary as he commended his country, Italy, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to the cheers of the crowd.

He also appealed to the patron saints of Europe: Sts. Benedict of Norcia, Brigid of Sweden, Catherine of Siena, Cyril and Methodius. And he said, "I entrust Italy, my life, and your lives to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who I'm sure will bring us to victory."

You would have thought that the leader of the world's billion-plus Catholics, the man who calls himself "pope" and professes his devotion to the Blessed Virgin, would applaud the Deputy Premier's action. You would be wrong. Francis (whose name was greeted with boos and catcalls) immediately sent out his henchmen to denounce Sig. Salvini's action.

Among them was the Jesuit editor Antonio Spadaro, a close confidant of Pope Bergoglio. Fr Spadaro is notorious among true Catholics for opposing an Italian law mandating that crucifixes be placed in all Italian public buildings. Further rebukes were added by the President of the European Bishops' Conference, and the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin (aka The Man Who Would Be Pope - see "'Peter the Roman' ready to take over from Pope Francis", WWW 14/1/18).

Dear Catholic readers, the teaching of the true Catholic Church is: De Maria nunquam satis (Of Mary, never enough). Those like Pope Bergoglio and his Modernist acolytes and sycophants place themselves outside the True Faith on this as on so many other teachings. It is the Pope (if such he be) himself who should be publicly calling upon the Blessed Virgin Mary to turn him and his Modernist minions away from their heresies and back to the Catholic Faith. For that, let us pray.

Another Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary... not enough?

At the specific request of Pope Francis, the bishops of Portugal consecrated that country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Our Lady of Fatima. This week Béchara Cardinal Boutros Raï, the patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church, consecrated Lebanon and the entire Middle East to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin. Click here to read the report from Fides.


During the consecration, Cardinal Boutros Raï prayed:
Our Lady of Lebanon, we ask you to bestow your tenderness upon our beloved country Lebanon and all the Middle East, this region which soil witnessed the fulfillment of the events of His plan of redemption and from where the Church, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, took off to bring the Good News to the entire populations, bearing witness to the Lord Jesus until martyrdom and acting as the guarantor of the treasure of faith, in order to transmit it from generation to generation, until it reached us.

It is wonderful to see the aid of the Blessed Virgin being sought, for the intervention of Heaven is the only way the world will ever know a period of peace, as She promised when She appeared to the seers of Fatima.

Click here to read the report from Fides.

However... the princes of the Church and Pope Francis himself need to recall that what Our Lady asked for was the solemn and public Consecration of Russia, by name, by the Pope in union with all the bishops of the world. Nothing more...and nothing less. As Pope John Paul II said himself, Our Lady is still waiting.

Pope Francis: a traditional Catholic's view

Christopher A. Ferrara, Esquire -- that's the way he likes his name to appear -- has written several books and numeours articles on the struggle to uphold the traditional Catholic Faith against the onslught of secular humanism, modernism and syncretism within the Church itself. Walt has received in the overnight e-mail Mr. Ferrara's reaction to the election of Pope Francis.

What are we to make of the new Pope? In the journalistic arena from which this is being dispatched, one feels the pressure to say something definite almost immediately or risk dying the death of being ignored amidst a welter of “first impressions.” But this writer is going to let the story evolve.

It is said that as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, the former Cardinal Bergoglio was hostile to the traditional Latin Mass, but it is far too soon to make any prognostications in that regard. And now that he is pastor of the universal Church, in which the Latin Mass is returning to use on every continent, it is difficult to see him implementing any such merely parochial prejudice contrary to the letter and spirit of Summorum Pontificum and the liturgical restoration it has already launched. Indeed, as we learned today at the Vatican press conference, the first papal Mass, this evening in the Sistine Chapel, will be in Latin, even if it will not follow the 1962 Missal.

As further revealed at the Vatican press conference, after he prayed before the famous icon of Mary under the title Salus Populi Romani (Protectress of the Roman People) at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major early this morning, Pope Francis made it a point to pray as well before the tomb of Saint Pius V, who canonized the traditional Mass in perpetuity with his Bull Quo Primum. As one Italian traditionalist blog site observed of this gesture:

The conciliatory gesture escaped no one, seeing the terror that was wrongly spread among traditionalists and that some of their expressions of opinion have emphasized. Of Ratzinger it was said that he was a Rottweiler of the Catholic Faith, but instead he was a very sweet German pastor. Of Bergoglio they now say he is a South American revolutionary, and instead is seen a Pope in the line of his predecessors, who salutes the Pontiff of the Missal rehabilitated by Benedict XVI.

This much we know with surety from what we have seen thus far: that the new Pope is a humble man with evident Marian devotion. His first devotional act as Pope was to brush aside all concerns about security in order to pay a visit to the largest Marian church in Rome, bringing Our Lady a bouquet of flowers and leaving it before the icon of Mary as Protectress of the Roman People.

The most important question now before us respecting the new Pope is this: Will he perform the Consecration of Russia to Mary's Immaculate Heart? For this we must pray, wait, and hope with renewed determination.

How can the Church defend pedophile priests?

Enraged by a recent report of the Archiocese of Philadelphia's cover-up of child sex abuse crimes committed by some of its priests, an assiduous reader writes:
I am getting so tired of this constant parade of kiddy-diddling priests. I had hoped that the publicity in the past decades would force the Pope to forcibly address this. But the archbishops and others are still covering and protecting these priests who think it is open season. The papers are full of the church fighting contraception but IMHO they seem to be doing very little about this disgusting behavior. How can you, as a Catholic, defend not just the crimes but the Church's failure to do anything about them?

Walt's reply:
You are quite right. Both the abuse and the denials and cover-ups are a source of shame and disgust to traditional Catholics and the many holy priests who keep their vows.

A website published by a "sede vacantist" -- one who says that the post-Conciliar popes are illegitimate, thus not popes at all -- lays the blame right at the feet of the Holy Father, who he calls "the Pedophile Pope", suggesting that Pope Benedict protects the bishops who protect the priests who commit these sins that cry out to Heaven.

This was foretold by Our Lady of Fatima, and corresponds with the words of Apocalypse 12:3-4:
And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns: and on his heads seven diadems:
And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth...
The dragon is Satan and the stars of Heaven are the bishops and priests.

Many Catholics, including yr obdt svt, believe that the Church needs to be cleansed. Pope Paul VI said "The smoke Satan has entered the Church" and he should know because he was one of those who opened the windows. But how the Church will be reformed, only God knows. All the faithful can do is pray is pray for the triumph of Our Lady's Immaculate Heart.

Further reading from Walt's previous posts: "Benedict XVI admits Church's problems come 'from within'"; "Another fallen star".

Remember, if you have questions or comments or just want to vent, you're welcome to e-mail Walt [and Ed. Ed.]