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Issued: March 26, 2000 Value: 5,000 L Scott 1189 Perforation 13 ¼ Saint John Paul II’s bond with Our Lady of Fatima is rooted in Our Lady’s plea that world peace will come from devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It was at Fatima that Our Lady asked for prayers for the conversion of Russia. The first apparition was on May 13, 1917. She appeared six times to three shepherd children. The last apparition was on October 13, 1917. A coincidence or a fulfillment of a prophecy was that Saint John Paul II was shot on May 13, 1981, the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima. Fatima put Saint John Paul II into action for the overthrow of the anti-religious communist governments in Eastern Europe. Other coincidences of the times were that the Communist rule in Poland was not able to eliminate religious beliefs of the Polish people. In 1980 Solidarity was formed in Poland and there were protests in the streets for more freedoms. For the Polish people the Pope was their leader. A staunch anti-communist US President Ronald Reagan was elected and shot three months after his election on March 30, 1981. In a matter of one and a half months there were assassination attempts on two anti-communist world leaders. President Reagan saw religion as a fundamental right for freedom. A Pope, a US President and the miraculous warning of Our Lady of Fatima made for a historic change in the landscape of Eastern Europe and Russia. Paul Kengor, author of “A Pope and a President”, gives substantial evidence that the attempted murder of Saint John Paul II had its origin in the Russia communist’s leadership. With Saint John Paul II’s massive receptions in his native Poland, the Russian government saw no way of stopping the call for freedom in Poland other than by an invasion of Poland or the death of Saint John Paul II. To date not all of the evidence on the assassination attempt has been released. The plot involves a number of pieces and political connections. Connecting the dots without all the documentation would lead only to unsubstantiated assumptions and denials. In the interest of diplomacy, it was determined by the Vatican and the US that “the less said about the plot the better”. Most likely the truth will come out in the historical writings of the century. The Pope and US President Ronald Reagan set the stage for an upheaval in Eastern European Communist controlled countries and in Russia itself. President Reagan saw the two assassination attempts as part of a Divine Plan. President Reagan was a religious man and had a sense of Divine Providence. He had an interest in the calling for prayers for world peace while a man who saw actions as a way towards freedom for people. President Reagan saw the advantage of the Pope and himself standing up to the Russian and East European communists. President Reagan rejected the idea of détente (easing of relations) as practiced in previous administrations and by West European nations towards Russia. He felt that détente enabled the communist goal of world domination. The combination of the Pope speaking from a philosophical and theological position (especially with the people of Poland ecstatically behind him) and the President, leader of the free world, speaking truth to power on a practical level (with increasing arms spending and speaking directly about Russia being an “Evil Empire”), provided a joint message the people of the world needed to hear. Communism was a threat to people who believed in individual freedom, and the anti-thesis to the individual right of religious freedom. Communism was a force for secularism for those in power. Russia’s leadership knew this message spoken by both a spiritual leader and the leader of the free world, along with the rebellion of the Polish people against domination by the central Polish communist party, were powerful forces to deal with. The Pope and the President met face to face only five times, but diplomatic correspondence was significant especially when there existed the possibility of Russia using troops in Poland. Geographically and politically, Poland was the linchpin of Russian influence in Eastern Europe. To the west you had East Germany and to the north, south and west of Poland there were other Slavic counties. A free Poland meant a free Eastern Europe. These two leaders along with the Polish people changed the world dramatically. But, prayers for peace among among the faithful, as asked by Our Lady, still stands as a necessity to realize the goals of Our Lady of Fatima: world peace. REFERENCES: |
