Return to Tradition doubts the Third Secret was published in full; the record it relies on is second-hand
On the anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun, Return to Tradition says the 2000 text of the Third Secret of Fatima was not the real or complete secret, and that churchmen who saw it spoke of an apostasy “led from the top”. The Holy See, Sister Lucia and Benedict XVI said otherwise, and the key quotations come through intermediaries.
By TradWatch™ staff
4 min read
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Verdicts at a glance
- Unsupported
The text of the Third Secret published in 2000 was not the real secret, or not all of it. · Anthony Stine
- Needs context
Bishops and cardinals who had read the secret all said it describes an apostasy in the Church led from the top. · Anthony Stine
In this brief · 7 sections
On 13 October 2026, the anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun, Return to Tradition published “Vatican Officials Tried Leaking The Third Secret Of Fatima And No One Listened” (podcast). Anthony Stine reads from a LifeSiteNews article listing churchmen said to have hinted at the secret’s contents. Two of his statements can be checked.
What was said
Statement 1: Anthony Stine
Return to Tradition · October 13, 2026
I do not buy for a second that what we got in 2005 or 2000 was the actual third secret of Fatima or at least not a complete reading of it
In brief: The text of the Third Secret published in 2000 was not the real secret, or not all of it.
Our verdict: UnsupportedNo evidence was offered, and we found none to support it.
See the recordThis content is embedded for purposes of commentary, criticism, and news reporting. TradWatch is not affiliated with Return to Tradition. Views quoted are those of the speaker.
Statement 2: Anthony Stine
Return to Tradition · October 13, 2026
a number of bishops Cardinals who had been in the room as well as some of the parades some of their experts They're skilled secretaries basically who had been in the room all said the same thing That the third secret of Fatima details an apostasy in the church led from the top
In brief: Bishops and cardinals who had read the secret all said it describes an apostasy in the Church led from the top.
Our verdict: Needs contextThe words are accurate, but missing context changes how they read.
See the recordThis content is embedded for purposes of commentary, criticism, and news reporting. TradWatch is not affiliated with Return to Tradition. Views quoted are those of the speaker.
Context
The authenticity and completeness of the 2000 publication have been disputed in traditionalist circles for over two decades, notably by The Fatima Center. The Church does not require Catholics to believe in private revelations, Fatima included.
On statement 1 · Anthony Stine
He says one reason is that churchmen who saw the secret described an apostasy, while the published vision shows a scene of persecution and martyrdom.
On statement 2 · Anthony Stine
The episode then reads quotations attributed to Cardinal Silvio Oddi, Cardinal Mario Luigi Ciappi, Bishop Alberto Cosme do Amaral and, through Fr Gabriele Amorth, St Padre Pio.
The record
What the sources show, statement by statement.
Verifiable factcan be checked against the sources cited.TradWatch analysisis our interpretation, clearly labelled.Statement 1 · Anthony Stine
The text of the Third Secret published in 2000 was not the real secret, or not all of it.
Verifiable fact What the Holy See published
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published the text in June 2000 and said “There is only one manuscript, which is here reproduced photostatically.” Its account of a meeting on 27 April 2000 says that when shown the envelope, Sister Lucia said “This is my letter”, and while reading it, “This is my writing” (The Message of Fatima).
Source
- 2
Official Church source
The Message of Fatima (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 26 June 2000)
Holy See (vatican.va) · June 26, 2000
- 2
Verifiable fact Benedict XVI on the question
In May 2016, answering reports that he had called the publication incomplete, the Holy See Press Office said Benedict XVI “confirms decisively that ‘the publication of the Third Secret of Fatima is complete’” and called the remarks attributed to him “pure inventions, absolutely untrue” (EWTN News).
Source
- 3
Journalism
Vatican: recent stories about Benedict XVI and Fatima secrets are ‘absolutely untrue’
EWTN News · May 21, 2016
- 3
Statement 2 · Anthony Stine
Bishops and cardinals who had read the secret all said it describes an apostasy in the Church led from the top.
Verifiable fact Only one quotation says “from the top”
Of the statements read in the episode, only the one attributed to Cardinal Ciappi speaks of an apostasy that “will begin at the top”. The episode describes it as a communication to a professor in Salzburg and cites no text from Ciappi himself. The words attributed to Cardinal Oddi speak of “apostasy in the church”, and those of Bishop Amaral say the secret’s content “concerns only our faith” (quotations read at 03:20–07:16).
Source
- 1
Primary source
Vatican Officials Tried Leaking The Third Secret Of Fatima And No One Listened
Return to Tradition · October 13, 2026
- 1
Verifiable fact Who is recorded as reading it
The Holy See’s account names those who opened the envelope before 2000: John XXIII in 1959, Paul VI with Archbishop Angelo Dell’Acqua in 1965, and John Paul II after 1981, with Cardinal Franjo Šeper and Archbishop Eduardo Martínez Somalo handling it (The Message of Fatima). Neither Cardinal Oddi nor Cardinal Ciappi is named.
Source
- 2
Official Church source
The Message of Fatima (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 26 June 2000)
Holy See (vatican.va) · June 26, 2000
- 2
TradWatch analysis Possible, but not shown
Second-hand reports from respected churchmen are a reason people find the question open, and some of them were close to the popes concerned. But reported conversations are not the text, and the people the Holy See names as having handled the secret, including Benedict XVI, said the publication was complete.
Bottom line
The Holy See, Sister Lucia and Benedict XVI all said the 2000 publication was the complete secret. The claim that churchmen who saw it “all said” it foretold an apostasy “from the top” rests on one second-hand quotation, attributed to a cardinal the Holy See does not list among those who handled the text.
The original
This content is embedded for purposes of commentary, criticism, and news reporting. TradWatch is not affiliated with Return to Tradition. Views quoted are those of the speaker.
Open on YouTubeSources
- 1.Primary sourceCited in statement 1
Vatican Officials Tried Leaking The Third Secret Of Fatima And No One Listened
Return to Tradition · October 13, 2026
podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anthony-stine/episodes/Vatican-Officials-Tried-…
- 2.Official Church sourceCited in statement 1
The Message of Fatima (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 26 June 2000)
Holy See (vatican.va) · June 26, 2000
vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_2000062…
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