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These Last Days News - October 7, 2010

Russia's Challenge to Christian Unity...

"Russia has but one plan: to capture the whole world. They will do this without heart or conscience. Therefore, know that I ask you again, as your God in the Trinity, I ask you to contact the Holy Father—through pen or prose, or the written script—to contact the Holy Father and beg him to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of My Mother. This has not been done, My children." - Jesus, May 17, 1986 

The Catholic-Orthodox theological discussions, taking place in Vienna this week, hit a snag when the leader of the Russian Orthodox delegation lodged an emphatic dissent against the consensus that the early, undivided Church recognized the primacy of the Bishop of Rome.

That position is a definite deal-breaker, because the theme for discussion at this session of the joint theological commission is the understanding of papal primacy during the first Christian millennium—that is, prior to the schism that split the Christian world into East and West. The head of the Russian delegation, Metropolitan Hilarion, argued that the primacy of the Bishop of Rome had never been recognized in the East. If that’s the case, the entire discussion is moot.

It’s ironic that such an objection would be lodged by the Moscow Patriarchate, rather than one of the older Orthodox bodies. The Russian Orthodox Church traces its origin back to 988, when Prince Vladimir I made Christianity the official religion of his people. Thus the Russian Orthodox Church entered the Christian world at the tail end of the 1st millennium, and cannot claim any institutional memory of relations with Rome were handled in the early centuries.

Nevertheless a Russian prelate is certainly entitled to his opinions on the history of Eastern Christianity. Moreover, the opinions of the Moscow Patriarchate cannot be lightly dismissed. The Russian Orthodox Church is by far the largest of the Eastern churches. Any movement to restore Christian unity must include the Russian Church; without Russia, the Christian world would remain dramatically divided, East from West.

Relations between Moscow and Rome have improved markedly during the past 5 years, and Vatican officials specializing in ecumenical affairs see real promise for closer ties. But relations between Moscow and the other major Orthodox patriarchates have been troubled recently. The Russian delegation walked out of the last previous round of Catholic-Orthodox theological talks-- not because of any Catholic-Orthodox dispute, but because of a quarrel between Moscow and Constantinople over the seating of an Orthodox delegation from Estonia. The Moscow Patriarchate has frequently challenged claims that the Patriarch of Constantinople should be recognized as the arbiter of disputes among Orthodox prelates.

There is a pattern here. Other Eastern churches agree that the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople has a certain degree of authority over other Orthodox patriarchs—not as a superior, but as a “first among equals. The Moscow Patriarchate objects to that understanding. Other Orthodox churches recognize that in the 1st millennium, before the East-West schism, the Bishop of Rome enjoyed some authority over other bishops—although the extent of that authority is still subject to discussion. But Moscow rejects the premise on which the discussion is based. In short, Moscow rejects claims that any other Christian prelate, in Rome or in Constantinople, has any authority over Russia.

Moscow’s stand on these questions sounds unfamiliar to the Catholic ear, and unhelpful to the cause of ecumenism. But it is consistent with other arguments that have been raised on a regular basis by the Moscow Patriarchate—such as, for example, the complaint that Catholics are meddling in the “canonical territory” of the Russian Orthodox Church when they try to evangelize in Russia or even in neighboring Ukraine. The Russian hierarchy takes a proprietary interest in the welfare of Christianity within the geography boundaries that is has traditionally controlled, and jealously defends against efforts by any other Christian body to establish authority within or beyond those boundaries.

This is not an entirely unreasonable stance. The Catholic Church also teaches that a diocesan bishop has both the authority and the matching responsibility for the welfare of the faithful within his diocese. The Roman Pontiff has a measure of supervisory responsibility for that diocesan bishop, but it is the bishop to whom the local faithful should look for leadership. What’s more, the bishop is responsible not just for the welfare of Roman Catholics who are registered in the parishes of his diocese, but for all of the local Christian community. If Russian Orthodox bishops claim the same jurisdiction, accepting their own moral responsibility for the souls living within their geographical limits of their dioceses, Catholics will have a hard time finding a logically consistent objection. In fact we might applaud their willingness to accept responsibility for evangelizing the people within their regions (if that is what they are doing).

Why, then, does the claim of the Russian Orthodox Church sound so strange to us Catholics? At least in part, the question really can be reduced to one of geography.

The Russian Orthodox Church is perfectly willing to accept the authority of the Holy See over those expatriate Catholics who happen to be living in Russia today, having been baptized into the Catholic Church elsewhere. The tension arises when the Catholic Church in Russia’s “canonical territory” welcomes new members who have not previously been affiliated with any religious community. From the Catholic perspective these are converts: souls newly won for Christ. From the Russian Orthodox perspective they are Russians, and so it follows (again, from the Orthodox perspective) that if they are won for the Christian faith, they should become members of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The question of “canonical territory” is at the heart of the matter. The Holy See, while acutely sensitive to other complaints from Moscow, has resolutely rejected the idea that Russia (let alone Ukraine) can be classified as the “canonical territory” of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Geography and theology do not make for stable mixtures. National boundaries change. Ethnic alliances change. Christ’s Church endures. The ancient Christian patriarchates of Alexandria and Antioch were not national or regional churches, but local communities belonging to a universal Church. The Church of Rome, remember, was founded in Jerusalem.

The history of the Russian Orthodox Church, established by a Slavic prince, suggests an entirely different model: a model for a Church that is not merely located in Russia, not merely the Russian manifestation of a universal Church, but specifically a Russian Church.

How can that Russian model be reconciled with the understanding of a universal Church, founded by the apostles (not the tsars) and dedicated to the universal mission of evangelization? I don’t know the answer to that question. I do know that the question must be answered before we can restore the unity of all Christ's faithful.

"When I came to Fatima many years ago, I knew that communism would go throughout the world destroying many nations and attacking My Son's Church. Therefore, I made a promise that if the Pope, the Pope of those days and the Pope today, would unite with all the bishops of the world, all together on one day—not the world—but the bishops and the Pope will unite and pray for the consecration of Russia. I do not mean the world, My children; I mean Russia—Russia, the scourge of mankind. You will pray for Russia." - Our Lady of the Roses, October 2, 1987 

Our Lady of the Roses awesome Bayside Prophecies... https://www.tldm.org/../Bayside/
These prophecies came from Jesus, Mary, and the saints to Veronica Lueken at Bayside, NY, from 1968 to 1995.

SCORNED,  DISCARDED,  HIDDEN
"Many years have gone by, My children, since I tried to warn you at Fatima. My message was scorned then by many, discarded and hidden from the world, but My message now cannot be discarded or kept hidden, for you have reached now a point in your life, My children, your lifetime upon your earth, when your days are now being counted." - Our Lady, February 10, 1977

FATIMA  
"My child, how many warnings have I sent upon the world, and yet they go unheeded.
   "I wish that you make known, or refresh the memory of My children with My visit to the land of Fatima." - Our Lady, April 13, 1974

THIRD  SECRET
"My child, they converse of the secret that I gave at Fatima. It is a simple explanation. It could not be fully revealed because of the drastic nature of My message. How I warned and warned that satan would enter into the highest realms of the hierarchy in Rome. The Third Secret, My child, is that satan would enter into My Son's Church." - Our Lady, May 13, 1978

"YOU  DID  NOT  LISTEN"
"My Mother came to you at Fatima warning that unless man stopped his path to perdition, Russia would spread her errors throughout your world causing misery, sufferings, and death and enslavement. My children, you did not listen and act upon Her counsel then, just as many now do not listen and act upon Her counsel. It is a part of human nature to exercise too free a will to reject. And this, I say, falls also onto My pastors who are scattering My sheep in My House." - Our Lady, May 27, 1978

CAST  ASIDE
"My warnings at Fatima were cast aside as they are being cast aside now, My children. It is a failing of human nature, My child, that that which does not give pleasure to the carnal nature of man is not accepted. Man shall blind himself to the truth, as he does not wish to face the truth. And those who seek to bring him the truth are cast aside and do much penance, My child." - Our Lady, September 13, 1975

THE FIGHT FOR POWER HAS BEGUN
"The forces of evil are gathering.  666 now controls all the world, and sad to say, My children, 666 has entered upon Rome, and the fight for power has begun.  Pray for your Vicar.  Pray for all men of sin, and above all, My children, pray for your children, for many parents shall shed tears of great remorse—too late!" - Jesus, September 28, 1976  

IN THE YEAR 1972
"Satan, Lucifer in human form, entered into Rome in the year 1972. He cut off the rule, the role of the Holy Father, Pope Paul VI. Lucifer has controlled Rome and continues this control now.
    "And I tell you now, My children, unless you pray and make My counsel known to all of the ruling fathers of the Eternal City of Rome, My Son's Church, His House, will be forced into the catacombs. A great struggle lies ahead for mankind. The eventual outcome is for good of all, for this trial in My Son's Church will be a true proving ground for all the faithful. Many latter-day saints shall rise out of the tribulation." - Our Lady, September 7, 1978

HIGHEST REALMS OF THE HIERARCHY
"My child, they converse of the secret that I gave at Fatima. It is a simple explanation. It could not be fully revealed because of the drastic nature of My message. How I warned and warned that satan would enter into the highest realms of the hierarchy in Rome. The Third Secret, My child, is that satan would enter into My Son's Church." - Our Lady, May 13, 1978

Directives from Heaven...  https://www.tldm.org/directives/directives.htm

D10 - Consecrate Russia  PDF
D105 - Fatima  PDF
D127 - Vatican II   PDF
D130 - THIRD SECRET EXPLAINED: PART 2 - Satan entered the Church in 1972   PDF
D131 - THIRD SECRET EXPLAINED: PART 3 - Satan entered the highest realms of the hierarchy   PDF
D132 - THIRD SECRET EXPLAINED: PART 4 - There shall be bishop against bishop and cardinal against cardinal, as satan has set himself in their midst.   PDF
D133 - THIRD SECRET EXPLAINED: PART 5 - The Apocalypse / Revelations PDF

Articles…

Consecration of Russia:

The “conversion of Russia”: what does it really mean?
https://www.tldm.org/News7/ConversionOfRussia.htm

The meaning of the "consecration" of Russia
https://www.tldm.org/News7/Alonso.htm

Pope John Paul II concerned about persecution of the Catholic Church in Russia
https://www.tldm.org/news6/persecution.htm

Russia's persecution of the Catholic Church back in high gear
https://www.tldm.org/news5/ruse.htm

Besiege the Pope to consecrate Russia to Our Lady
https://www.tldm.org/News6/consecration4.htm 

Third Secret of Fatima:

New Italian book claims Third Fatima Secret still hidden
https://www.tldm.org/News9/NewBookOnThirdSecret.htm

Fr. Alonso, official achivist of Fatima: The REAL Third Secret of Fatima warned of apostasy in the Church
https://www.tldm.org/news7/ThirdSecretFatherAlonso.htm

Cardinal Oddi on the REAL Third Secret of Fatima: "The Blessed Virgin was alerting us against the apostasy in the Church"
https://www.tldm.org/news7/ThirdSecretCardinalOddi.htm

Sister Lucy talked about the "diabolical disorientation" in the Church as 1972 approached
https://www.tldm.org/news5/1972.htm

The REAL Third Secret of Fatima explains the chaos
https://www.tldm.org/news6/ThirdSecret.htm

Evidence of a fabrication: Sister Lucy's handwriting notably different in document released by Vatican as the "third secret"
https://www.tldm.org/news/lucys_writing.htm

Evidence of a fabrication: The REAL Third Secret of Fatima specifically mentioned the year 1972, as Jacinta revealed to Mother Godinho
https://www.tldm.org/news/StTheresa3rdSecret.htm

Evidence of a fabrication: World-famous forensic expert believes Vatican's released "third secret" is not in Sister Lucy's authentic handwriting
https://www.tldm.org/news/speckin-p2.htm 

More evidence of a fabrication: Jacinta's vision of the Holy Father, "the poor little one," was Pope Paul VI
https://www.tldm.org/news/vision_of_jacinta.htm  

Two big blunders of the Fatima experts
https://www.tldm.org/news5/blunders.htm

Third Secret was to be revealed no later than 1960, "because the Blessed Virgin wishes it so"
https://www.tldm.org/news/in_1960.htm

Third Secret: "Words" of Our Lady, not a vision
https://www.tldm.org/news3/contradictions.htm

Flaws in the "two-document" Third Secret theory
https://www.tldm.org/news5/flaws.htm

Which Third Secret meets the litmus test?
https://www.tldm.org/litmus_test.htm

Fatimagate
https://www.tldm.org/FatimaGate.htm

The Deception of the Century - the Impostor Pope Paul VI  
https://www.tldm.org/News3/impostor.htm

Sister Lucy:

Sister Lucy was silenced
https://www.tldm.org/news/sister_lucy_silenced.htm 

Sister Lucy talked about the "diabolical disorientation" in the Church as 1972 approached
https://www.tldm.org/news5/1972.htm 

A forgery to replace the REAL Third Secret; an impersonator to replace the REAL Sister Lucy
https://www.tldm.org/News7/ConspiracyToSilenceSisterLucy.htm

The REAL Sister Lucy has repeatedly stated that Russia must be consecrated by name
https://www.tldm.org/news7/SisterLucyConsecrationOfRussia.htm 

Vatican-Moscow Treaty:

Rescind the Vatican-Moscow Treaty
https://www.tldm.org/news/treaty.htm