Fulton Sheen, ‘Mary,’ and the End Times

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

The late Fulton Sheen has been in the news:

Venerable Fulton and Our Families…

Archbishop Sheen is one step closer to sainthood.

For a 1950s TV Evangelist, a Step Toward SainthoodNew York Times

Famed American Archbishop Fulton Sheen moves closer to sainthood

Fulton Sheen was known for his preaching and especially his work on television and radio.

I mentioned Fulton Sheen in a couple of articles at COGwriter. Here is a quote from him:

Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1950) We are living in the days of the Apocalypse–the last days of our era…. The two great forces of the Mystical Body of Christ and the Mystical Body of Antichrist are beginning to draw up the battle lines for the catastrophic contest. (Flynn T & L. The Thunder of Justice. Maxkol Communications, Sterling (VA), 1993, p. 20)

When he stated that, the Philadelphia era of the Church of God had started to rise up (the most faithful representation of “body of Christ”), the Vatican officially came out against the millennial doctrine, and the one who is likely to be the final Antichrist may have been born (and one who was going to, in a major way, support a doctrine of Antichrist had certainly been). The stages for the final confrontation, which should occur in the 21st century, had taken place.

Fulton Sheen was a big believer in Mary being a factor in uniting the world to follow an ecumenical religion that would call itself Catholic in the end times. Here are some of his comments related to followers of Islam:

It is our firm belief that…Islam…will be converted to Christianity…It is our belief that this will not happen through direct teaching of Christianity, but through a summoning of the Muslims to a veneration of the Mother of God. (Sheen, Fulton Archbishop. The World’s First Love. Reprint, Ignatius Press, 1996, p. 201)

He also wrote he believed that the apparition in 1917 Fatima, Portugal:

…chose to be known as “Our Lady of Fatima” as a pledge and sign of hope for the Muslim people… so that they one day would accept…(Ibid, p. 203)

Archbishop Sheen felt that a Marian “miracle” would be a factor in Muslims and others together and become end time Catholics in the Day of Wrath (Dies Irae):

And as Mary revealed herself in that first Miracle of the Sun, so may we look forward to another revelation of her power when the world has its next rehearsal for the Dies Irae. (Ibid, p. 274)

I would caution all as apparitions, like Fatima (the site of the claims “Miracle of the Sun”), were not actually appearances of Mary.

Presuming Fulton Sheen does get the designation of sainthood by the Church of Rome, more will expect that a “Marian miracle” will be real, presuming some related apparition many will claim to be Mary shows up.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Fatima Shock! What the Vatican Does Not Want You to Know About Fatima, Dogmas of Mary, and Future Apparitions. Whether or not you believe anything happened at Fatima, if you live long enough, you will be affected by its ramifications (cf. Isaiah 47; Revelation 17). Fatima Shock! provides concerned Christians with enough Catholic-documented facts to effectively counter every false Marian argument.
Fatima Shock! YouTube Dr. Thiel highlights a few points of why no one would support Fatima, etc. as discussed in the documented book Fatima Shock!
Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism? Was the millennium (sometimes called chiliasm) taught by early Christians? Who condemned it? Will Jesus literally reign for 1000 years on the earth? Is this time near?
The Philadelphia Church Era was predominant circa 1933 A.D. to 1986 A.D. The old Radio Church of God and old Worldwide Church of God, now essentially exists as a remnant.