The miracles of Fatima, «a perfect instrument» to regain power and influence
Regarding the supposed Miracle of the Sun, Oliveira has no doubt that «it is obvious that the sun did not dance in Fatima in 1917 (...) It is shameful that the Church continues to talk about this supposed event, clearly impossible on a scientific level». Regarding what could have motivated the Catholic Church to promote and make profitable this «fraud», Father Oliveira argues that «the Portuguese Church was in a very bad state in 1917: since its establishment in 1910 the Republic had worked to reduce the power of the Portuguese clergy and secularize the country. One of the first laws to be enacted after the arrival of the Republic was the nationalization of huge parcels of episcopal land and the suppression of many of the ancestral privileges of the clergy, whose political and economic influence had been enormous up to that time. The diocese of Leiria, in particular, had lost many faithful and was increasingly impoverished. The miracles of Fatima were a perfect instrument to obtain the funds that were sought to restore ecclesiastical properties and get the people to return to worship. On a national level, the alleged apparitions gave the Church the relevance it needed in its crusade against the Republic».
«The Sanctuary is a money making machine»
Regarding the three little shepherds, according to Oliveira, in addition to being used and manipulated, «the clergy are responsible for the deaths of Francisco in 1919 and Jacinta in 1920. The priests encouraged the children to practice absolutely crazy mortifications and penances. Their prolonged fasts – which included abstaining from drinking water in the middle of summer – made them physically weak, unable to resist the epidemics of the time. They died of pneumonia and pleurisy, respectively, without the 'miraculous' Lady of Fatima helping them. It is a crime against humanity that has gone unpunished.»
Oliveira believes that everything that surrounds Fátima «is a business that is very good for the State since it generates many millions of euros. The Sanctuary is a money making machine. It's nauseating: its only mission is to promote religious tourism, to attract people in the name of a toxic faith, based on lies. Today the entire area of the Sanctuary, and the businesses scattered throughout the village, are created to take advantage of the poor who come there. It is well known that many of them serve to launder money.»