On Russia and Fatima

Our Lady said at Fatima that there be only be peace in the world when Russia is converted. Our Lady promised that when Russia is converted, it will be the harbinger of peace, the main defender of Christendom, and will spread the true faith again across the whole world. However, Our Lady was very clear that the conversion of Russia means that the Russian Church must be Catholic. It must be in communion with Rome and recognise the Successor of Peter, the Pope, as Vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ, head of the Church on earth.

Our Lady told the children at Fatima in 1917: "If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world."

By "errors", Our Lady meant communism.

Of course, Russia is no longer communist. As Bishop Schneider said in his book "Christus Vincit", there have been few Christian revivals of the kind experienced in post-Soviet Russia, where in merely 30 years, around 30,000 Orthodox churches have been opened. Christian life has returned to the very heart of Russia, and even the President professes to be an Orthodox Christian, something unthinkable for 75 years under atheistic communism. Russia is again one of the main Christian powers.

But this is not enough. Because the fullness of Christianity is only in those Churches that recognise the Successor of Peter, the Pope, as Supreme Head of the Church on earth. Otherwise, we play around with the words of Our Lord, who gave Saint Peter the Keys to the Kingdom and placed him above all the other apostles.

The Russian Orthodox Church has a valid diaconate, priesthood, and episcopate. It has valid sacraments. Its priests validly consecrate the Most Holy Eucharist.

But in order for Russia to be truly converted in a real sense, it is necessary for the Russian Orthodox Church to recognise the authority of the Pope. There is no other way.

The Russian Orthodox Church could be received into communion with Rome as a sui iuris Eastern Catholic Church. Its liturgy, structure, and traditions would be preserved entirely, in the words of Pope Saint Pius X, "Nec plus, nec minus, nec aliter" - "adding nothing, taking away nothing, changing nothing."

The only change would be the recognition of the Pope as Supreme Pontiff and Vicar of Christ, subordination to his authority, and acceptance of the dogmas pronounced as revealed truth by the Church.

Then, that which Our Lady promised will certainly be made true, for Our Lady will spread her veil of peace across the whole world, and everybody will rejoice in "the peace of God, which passes all understanding." [Philippians 4:7].

Then, all the ancient prophecies, which the Russian Orthodox believers hold to be true, of Holy Russia as the centre of world Christendom, the defender of apostolic truth, and guardian of the faith, will be made evident.