Cardinal Sin, An Instrument of Fatima
By Richard Salbato
"My duty is to put Christ in politics. Politics without Christ is the greatest
scourge of the nation."
Cardinal Jaime Sin, People Power icon, is dead.
By 1981 - 73% of the world was Communist, 170
million had died since Fatima - 50 million in world war II, 115 million under
Stalin and Mao, 1 million in Afghanistan, 1 million in Cambodia and 1 million
in Vietnam. On May 13th 1981 ( the
feast of Fatima) the Pope was Shot. On March 25, 1984 Pope John Paul and the
bishops throughout the world consecrated Russia and the world to the IHM. Even
Russian Orthodox Bishops entered in.
What happened after the Consecration
on March 25, 1984? Well, two months later,
on the Feast of Fatima, May 13, an explosion in Sever-o-mor-ski destroyed 80%
of Russia’s missals making them no longer a superpower. America did not know
the extent of this explosion. Again there was another strange happening on Dec
13. An explosion in Siberia destroyed Russia’s largest ammunition base. On Dec
19 Marshal Ustinov, the Minister of Defense died or was killed. Three days
later Marshal Sodolov, the 2ed Minister of Defense died or was killed. All in 9 months
In March of 1985 (one Year after
consecration) President Chernenko died and Mikhial Gorbachev was made
President. He was the First Baptized Christian President although still a
communist. He instituted glassnoss and perestroika (freedom of the press and
freedom of religion) This was the downfall of communism. 15 republics were
freed from communism, and the Warsaw pact ended.
People Power
In 1986, Cardinal Jaime Sin did something that had never been done before in all history. Without guns, he stood up against the
dictator, Marcos. He organized the
Rosary Crusade and "People Power" known as the "Rosary
Revolution". In February 1986, Sin rallied a million people to form human barricades
on Manila's main highway and protect a puny band of 300 army rebels against
advancing Marcos tanks. His radio broadcasts in support of mutineers ignited
the now legendary "People Power" revolt, or "The Rosary
revolution" that drove Marcos into exile and swept political novice
Corazon Aquino to the presidency.
I was there. I watched as people prayed the rosary
outside poling booths day and night. I
watched as people policed the counting of ballots. I was there as nuns protected ballot boxes from being
stolen. I was there as people protested
the counting of ballets at the computer headquarters. I was there as people stood in front of tanks to protect the army
that went against the dictator. I was
standing by as an American chopper came in and took Marcos prisoner and into
exile. This was "People
Power".
Cardinal Sin achieved
the same years later in 2001, when he called people onto the streets in
protests which finished the allegedly corrupt government of Joseph Estrada. It
was his skill in rallying people that earned him the nickname "divine
commander-in-chief". Even after his retirement, Cardinal Sin remained a
key backer of current president Gloria Arroyo, who lamented his death in a
statement describing him as a "blessed man who never failed to unite
Filipinos during the most crucial battles against tyranny and evil"
.
Cardinal Sin was always clear in his view that religion had a role to play in
affairs of the state, a conviction he summed up at his retirement ceremony:
"My duty is to put Christ in politics. Politics without Christ is the
greatest scourge of the nation." A staunch opponent of
artificial birth control, Cardinal Sin used his ability to organize
demonstrations to protest against state endeavors to curb population growth. In
August 1994, he mobilized hundreds of thousands of people in a rally denouncing
a state policy encouraging use of condoms and pills.
Born on August 31,
1928 on the Philippine island of Panay, Cardinal Sin was the 14th of 16
children. He was ordained priest in 1954, becoming a bishop in 1967 and
archbishop in 1974. He was appointed a cardinal in 1976 at the age of 47,
becoming the youngest member of the Vatican's College of Cardinals. He may be
the highest educated Cardinal of all time.
What Cardinal Sin achieved
inspired faith and confidence to other peoples throughout the world. Because of his success, it was repeated in
places like Nicaragua, Poland, and Mexico.
Starting with People Power and Rosary in the
Philippines, 87 dictatorships fell throughout the world within 10 years.
May 1, 1991 was the 100 anniversary of Rerum Novarum, the
encyclical "On the Condition of Human Labor by Pope Leo XII, and the Feast
of St. Joseph, the Worker, and the end of May Day as a communist
holiday. But on Aug 19, 1991 the communists attempted to overthrow Gorbachev.
They picked the wrong day for it was the 74th anniversary of the Aug
appearance at Fatima. On Aug 22 the attempt failed and the communists were
defeated. This was the feast of the Queenship of Mary. And Dec 8th was the start of the
Commonwealth of republics, and the end of the USSR. On Dec 25, 1991 the Communist Flag came down for last time over
Russia, 15 republics were freed from communism. In 1992 another attempt was made to overthrow the government and
Yelson stood against the entire communist army and no one died. On March 14, 1992 Pravda ended. Then on Christmas day, 1992 Communism was
declared illegal in Russia
People Power, the legacy of Fatima and
Cardinal Sin.
The Lesson of Cardinal Sin is the lesson of Fatima
Starting in
Portugal and Mexico in 1910 governments tried to push God out of governments
and to teach extreme secularism and government power over people. This they did with brute force of power
throughout the world until all seemed lost.
But one thing they cannot do.
They cannot have power over people if the people just say
"No!" because without the masses of people, they have no power. Guns cannot control people who do not care
if they die or not. The women saved
Portugal from two dictatorships by standing up against them and simply threw
them out of power.
Using Cardinal
Sin's "People Power" one country after another freed themselves from
governments throughout the world. We
need Cardinal Sin now more than ever as countries throughout Europe and America
are doing everything in there power to push God out of societies through fake
laws like, "Separation of Church and State" and the elimination of
the natural moral code.
Churches must get
involved in Governments, in people's lives outside the Church. It is in caring about the physical that we
win the spiritual war. From the time of
the emperors of Rome until the French Revolution, Church leaders felt it their
obligation to care for the total man, but since the French Revolution, many
Church leaders have made politics their taboo.
If Fatima and Cardinal Sin can teach us anything it is that God is
involved in governments and so should we be.