“The Fatima Crusader” : Searching the Scripture

Fr. Nicholas Gruner, of The Fatima Crusader, states that it is important to research his work for ourselves in order to determine whether he has anywhere falsified, in substance, the Fatima message. Moreover, he says that he is supposed to continue explaining these things until enough people realize that what he has been saying publicly is exactly true, that no one has found fault yet. He states that they will attack his person, his reputation, his intention, but they cannot attack what he says; neither theologically nor factually.
There can be no such attack because what he says is true. It is true that we humans cannot judge the intentions of a person’s heart. However, we are commanded by Jesus Himself to judge with a righteous judgment thus, we are we are to judge doctrine and behavior (see Acts 17:11 and below).

The problem is that Fr. Nicholas Gruner places the emphasis in the wrong place. It really does not matter if he has anywhere falsified the Fatima message, if the message is false in the first place. It is irrelevant whether what he says is true, if the original is not. For example, the fact that the New Testament is the best preserved book of antiquity, that it has been preserved in more manuscripts than any book of antiquity, and that the time between the events occurring and the earliest manuscript is closer than any book of antiquity, does not mean that it is true; it could be a well-preserved fraud (hypothetically speaking, of course—find evidence here and here). We know it to be the very Word of God not simply because God has preserved the document but because of evidence such as history, archeology, prophecy, etc. Regardless of Fr. Nicholas Gruner’s faithful proclamation and preservation of the Fatima message, it is the message itself that must be scrutinized in light of the Scripture.

It is clearly evident that when we obey the Word of God and compare the Fatima message, the Fatima message falls far short of deserving our allegiance regardless of scare tactics such as the following:

If we do not accept this message and its mercy, we will be all the more guilty….

The Message of Fatima also predicted that if the requests of the Virgin Mary at Fatima are not honored, many souls will be lost….

[The message of Fatima] warns that if the requests of Our Lady of Fatima for the Consecration of Russia and the First Saturday devotion are not honored, the Church will be persecuted, there will be other major wars, the Holy Father will have much to suffer and various nations will be annihilated. Many nations will be enslaved by Russian militant atheists. Most important, many souls will be lost….

one would be very foolish to disregard such an obviously authentic message from Heaven….

Jesus taught, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgement you judge, you will be judged; with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you” (Matthew 7:1-2).
Therefore, if we judge righteously we will be judged righteously. Moreover, we know that we are called to righteous judgment because Jesus also said, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24).

We are clearly called to discern, test, and judge, prophets, spirits and all things:

Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge (1st Corinthians 14:29).

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1st John 4:1).

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil (1st Thessalonians 5:19-22).

One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is “discerning of spirits” (1st Corinthians 12:10).

We cannot judge the motivation of a person’s heart only God knows the heart, “for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts” (1st Chronicles 28:9).

Ultimately God is the judge, “…He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained.” (Acts 17:31).

Moreover, we are called to judge doctrine and hold false teachers accountable by making them known by name:

Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them (Romans 16:17).

And their messages will spread like cancer. Hymenaus and Philetus are of this sort (2nd Timothy 2:17).

Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works (2nd Timothy 4:14).

I wrote to you in my epistle no to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.
But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore put away from yourselves the evil person (1st Corinthians 5:9-13).

Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded (or noble) than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so (Acts 17:10-11).

While Fr. Nicholas Gruner is a false teacher, The Fatima Crusader promulgates false teachings and the Fatima message is false doctrine what we see is well in keeping with The Fatima Crusader’s radical views:

Heaven wants the Message of Our Lady of Fatima to be central to our world view.
Anything that happens in the Church or in the world, we will judge as good or bad, adequate or inadequate, on the basis of whether it is in conformity with Our Lady’s words at Fatima or not.1

1. 1. John Vennari, “A World View Based on Fatima, This edited transcript of a speech given at the Fatima: World Peace 2000 conference, October 1999 helps us better understand the real background to the full Fatima Secret,” The Fatima Crusader, Summer 2000, Issue 64 (Published by the National Committee for the National Pilgrim Virgin of Canada), p. 113