The so called, third message of Fatima, or third secret of Fatima, disturbs me greatly. I had been reading about the subject on the Vatican website. After some contemplation and prayer, it dawned on me that unfortunately, Pope John Paul's health is failing. When he is called by God, the Bishops will be summoned to the Vatican.

A great majority of the Church leaders, ordained and lay, will be in one place at one time. This could be a ripe target for terrorists.

I couldn't help but think about the vision at Fatima.

May we all pray for, (first) the health of our leaders, the safety of our leaders, and the change of heart needed for extremeists throughout the world.

May God Bless us all.

-- john placette (jplacette@catholic.org), May 11, 2003

Answers

Jmj
Hello, John P.

I think that your concern is admirable, but I don't think that we need to worry very much. Security will be tight, I'm sure, to prevent entry into the Sistine Chapel, where the next pope will be elected. An attacker would probably have to drop a bomb or fly a plane into the top of just the right building to cause the envisioned catastrophe.

You wrote:
"A great majority of the Church leaders, ordained and lay, will be in one place at one time."

That's not actually correct, because we are not talking about an Ecumenical Council here. The "conclave" for electing the next pope will consist mainly of the 120 (or fewer) cardinals who are eligible to vote. That will leave most of the (roughly) 4,000 non-cardinal (arch)bishops, as well as lay leaders, in their home dioceses.

As the pope never ceases saying: "Be not afraid."
God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), May 11, 2003.

John G's right, John P. Whenever there's a gathering of Church Leaders and/or VIPs stringent security measures are always taken. No doubt all of these measures have already been worked out, and contingency plans put in place, for many years.

Only Cardinals under the age of 80 are actually eligible to vote in the Conclave for the election of the new Pope. (Incidentally, all bishops must offer their resignation at aged 75, but the Holy Father may ask them to continue in their post).

-- Sara (sara_catholic_forum@yahoo.co.uk), May 11, 2003.