Father Gabriele Amorth, the famous exorcist of Rome, claims Saint John Paul II was pressured not to name Russia in his consecration of the world and Russia as requested during the historic Fatima apparitions.

"We don't have time to analyze this subject, but I do hold it very dear," he said of the consecration to an outlet called Fatima TV. "Sister Lucia always said Our Lady requested the consecration of Russia and only the consecration of Russia. She also asked the consecration of the world to another great and young Portuguese saint, Alexandrina Maria da Costa. But these two things are very different and very separate. Now Our Lady requested a consecration of Russia in a very solemn and public ceremony to be performed by the Pope with all the bishops of the world. This was specified in detail by Our Lord Jesus, Who continued to appear to Sister Lucy, as Our Lady also did. He wanted this consecration to be recognized as the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary so that she would be honored together with His Sacred Heart. These are the words of Our Lord, but the time has passed and the consecration not done and Our Lord is deeply offended. You see, with our free will we can affect world events.

"Our Lady said the consecration would be done, but that it would be too late. I feel shivers run down my spine when I remember the words 'it will be too late,'" the exorcist said in a 2012 interview that only now has come to our attention.

"Unfortunately, they didn't open the secret up in 1960 and Russia spread her errors all over the world. The conversion of Russia would have been a triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary," the priest, now in his eighties, added.

It was an event, said Father Amorth, that would have changed the world.

"In 1984 the Pope quite timidly attempted to consecrate the world to Mary in St. Peter's Square," the exorcist told the organization, which long has argued about Fatima issues. "I was there, just a few feet away from him. I was the organizer of the event in St. Peter's Square. It was March 25 and the Pope had the statue of Our Lady of Fatima coming over from Fatima, the statue that usually stays in the large sanctuary at Fatima. But on that occasion he wanted the statue there. Kneeling in front of the statue, he attempted the consecration, but all around him were politicians who told him, 'You can't name Russia. You can't.'  And he asked again, 'Can I name it,' and they said, 'No, no, no.'"

There are no details from the priest on who the "politicians" allegedly were, nor any substantiation of what was said and when it was stated. It is a hot-button issue, with the Vatican maintaining that the 1984 consecration met the requirement (as outlined in the secrets of 1917) and Sister Lucia herself, in interviews during the 1990s, saying that the consecration was accepted by Our Lady. The seer asked that those who disputed this stop.

It also has been pointed out that Communism miraculously fell immediately after that consecration -- and that Russia itself appears to some as being in the throes of a Christian revival -- in some ways more Christian, at least in the public square, than the United States.

For our discernment. The interview arrives at a time when an Italian journalist has released alleged comments from Sister Lucia in an unpublished diary in which the seer seemingly relates additional details about the third secret, including a description of huge geologic events occurring as an angel touches the earth's axis with the flame of a spear.

It also comes at a time when others have pointed out that another major request from Fatima -- the First Saturday devotion -- has never spread in a significant way, which was another requirement for world peace.

Meanwhile, tensions between Russia and Ukraine remain a cause for acute international concern.

"Whoever thinks the prophetic message of Fatima is over deceives himself," asserts the exorcist. "The apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima are unique in the history of the Church. They have a great influence over the course of human history. They have religious importance as well as historical significance."

Thus far, mankind has headed down the wrong road, he believes, as has the Church. "Vatican Two: instead of a Renaissance, a disaster," intoned the well-known expert on demonology.

"But the end is glorious and in the end Russia will be converted and the Immaculate Heart will triumph. It hasn't yet, but it will, and the world will experience a period of peace."

"Before this finale it is probable that man will suffer some kind of chastisement by God due to the sin and cold hearts. But we're not facing the end of the world, not as some crazy men are saying. We're going toward the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart."

The video was dispensed by a group that staunchly insists three consecrations by the Vatican have not been valid responses to the request of the Virgin, who in 1917 had said, "When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that he is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father. To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the Consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of reparation on the First Saturdays.

"If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she shall be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world."

How a request meant to forestall what turned out to be World War Two is still relevant and is a matter of debate. The tragic war is now a chapter in history.

Sister Lucia said in the 1990s that we were currently in a "period of peace" due to the fall of Communism in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Others dispute that -- among them, it seems, Father Amorth (a proponent also of Medjugorje). He believes that by 1984 Russia had not yet completed its dispersal of errors.

[resources: First Saturday devotions and Father Amorth's books]

[see video]

[Michael Brown's books]