Novel: The Third Secret

	Author:	Steve Berry
	Genre:	Suspense, Thriller
	Publisher:	Ballantine Books
	Year Published:	May 17, 2005

Berry may have started writing this novel in 2000, when Pope John Paul II revealed the third secret of Fatima and a number of Catholics began questioning if everything was revealed. After all, after hints from Sis. Lucia and then Cardinal Ratzinger of the apocalyptic theme of the third secret, people were disasppointed with what was ultimately released to the public, accompanied with an interpretation that dwelled on the attempted assasination of the pope. There were even accusations of forgery and a Vatican cover-up that prodded the Vatican Secretary of State to respond.

After a few years, the controversies surrounding the Fatima secret took the backseat. By a stroke of luck, however, Berry's book was released a month after Pope John Paul II died (April 2, 2005). For a brief moment, Catholics around the world revisited the prophecies of St. Malachi, wondering if by choosing to be called Pope Benedict XVI, Ratzinger is the 2nd to the last pope labeled "Gloria Olivae". Berry's novel has become "current". What is uncanny though is that Berry's Pope Clement XV and the current pope are both Germans. Even Berry found the similarities uncanny.

In this novel, Berry invested more time discovering his characters and digging into his faith rather than using plain logic to string together events. I cared about the characters in this book more than the Romanov Prophecy characters.

More than telling its readers about the Third Secret of Fatima and the St. Malachi prophecies, this book tackles the questions of celibacy, women priests, abortion and homosexuality. These are issues that divide the Catholic church.

If you are aware of the movement Call to Action (CTA), then you would know the seriousness with which radical reforms in the Catholic Church are being pursued by some Catholics. In fact, the reforms this group is calling for are all included in Berry's "real 3rd secret": optional celibacy, ordination of women as priests, rights over one's body which includes the choice of abortion, and total non-discrimination - which means active homosexuals are accepted. These are incompatible with Catholic teachings, and have earned the group excommunication.

There are other groups like CTA. There are just as many groups on the other side of the fence - ultra-conservatives who hold on to the old form of Catholicsim. A number prefer and attend only the Latin mass. Some consider any form of feminism heresy. Some of them even list Sis. Mary John Mananzan, the Mother Prioress of St. Scholastica's College (SSC) Manila, as a heretic for being an active feminist (for starters, she is the chairperson of Gabriela). Ofcourse, finding out the latter made me wonder if the same groups would also brand students of SSC heretics for being taught Mananzan's brand of feminism.

I find it interesting that Berry's version of the "real" 3rd secret has in effect proclaimed that CTA, and similar groups, are on the right path. A lot of Catholics, including most Filipinos in the Philippines will find CTA, and Berry's conclusion, too radical. I do. But Berry is a lawyer and a Catholic in North America, where the movement for Catholic reform is strongest. I respect the fact that for someone like him, his story makes perfect sense.