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CC#44--How Close We Came To Nuclear War
FAN MAIL--We would love YOUR feedback--Send us a Text Message
What if the closest brush with nuclear war didn’t happen in 1962, but in the 1980s—and what if a prayerful act in Rome influenced events that rewired the calculus of the Cold War? We follow that thread from a field in Portugal to a tense global standoff, connecting the story of Fatima to a series of world-shaping decisions.
We begin with a clear, accessible Fatima 101: the 1917 apparitions, the three shepherd children, the call to pray the rosary for peace, and the Miracle of the Sun that drew tens of thousands. From there, we introduce Sister Lucia’s later testimony and the scholarship behind Fatima’s Mysteries: Mary’s Message to the Modern Age, highlighting the spiritual and historical stakes that kept drawing popes, pilgrims, and skeptics to the same question—can prayer and penance really influence history?
The narrative pivots to 1984. Pope John Paul II consecrates the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25. Weeks later, on May 13, the Soviet Northern Fleet suffers the catastrophic Severmorsk explosion, crippling its missile stockpiles and degrading strike capacity. Around the same time, intelligence revelations—codenamed Albatross—signal to Soviet leadership that their command-and-control bunkers are compromised, tilting deterrence and making escalation look suicidal. Whether you see providence, prudence, or a powerful mix, the timing and implications are hard to ignore.
Across the episode, we reflect on how Fatima’s core message—conversion, prayer, and responsibility—intersects with realpolitik, shaping choices that defuse crises and open paths to peace. We share recommended readings, connect to past episodes on John Paul II and modern Catholic history, and ask a practical question for today’s world: if moral strength helped bend the arc of the twentieth century, what would it look like to exercise that strength now?
If this exploration challenged your assumptions or gave you new insight, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so others can find it. Your support helps keep thoughtful conversations like this alive.
Key Points from the Episode:
• Fatima 101: the children, messages, and miracle of the sun
• Sister Lucia’s later warnings and interpretation
• John Paul II’s 1984 consecration and timing
• Severmorsk disaster and loss of Soviet strike capacity
• Albatross intelligence and deterrence dynamics
• Why Fatima’s message matters for modern crises
• Reading list and past Catholic Corner references
Check out our show page at teammojoacademy.com, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast as well as other great resources
Other resources:
Want to leave a review? Click here, and if we earned a five-star review from you **high five and knuckle bumps**, we appreciate it greatly, thank you so much!
View all episodes
By David Kaiser
4.2
55 ratings
FAN MAIL--We would love YOUR feedback--Send us a Text Message
What if the closest brush with nuclear war didn’t happen in 1962, but in the 1980s—and what if a prayerful act in Rome influenced events that rewired the calculus of the Cold War? We follow that thread from a field in Portugal to a tense global standoff, connecting the story of Fatima to a series of world-shaping decisions.
We begin with a clear, accessible Fatima 101: the 1917 apparitions, the three shepherd children, the call to pray the rosary for peace, and the Miracle of the Sun that drew tens of thousands. From there, we introduce Sister Lucia’s later testimony and the scholarship behind Fatima’s Mysteries: Mary’s Message to the Modern Age, highlighting the spiritual and historical stakes that kept drawing popes, pilgrims, and skeptics to the same question—can prayer and penance really influence history?
The narrative pivots to 1984. Pope John Paul II consecrates the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25. Weeks later, on May 13, the Soviet Northern Fleet suffers the catastrophic Severmorsk explosion, crippling its missile stockpiles and degrading strike capacity. Around the same time, intelligence revelations—codenamed Albatross—signal to Soviet leadership that their command-and-control bunkers are compromised, tilting deterrence and making escalation look suicidal. Whether you see providence, prudence, or a powerful mix, the timing and implications are hard to ignore.
Across the episode, we reflect on how Fatima’s core message—conversion, prayer, and responsibility—intersects with realpolitik, shaping choices that defuse crises and open paths to peace. We share recommended readings, connect to past episodes on John Paul II and modern Catholic history, and ask a practical question for today’s world: if moral strength helped bend the arc of the twentieth century, what would it look like to exercise that strength now?
If this exploration challenged your assumptions or gave you new insight, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so others can find it. Your support helps keep thoughtful conversations like this alive.
Key Points from the Episode:
• Fatima 101: the children, messages, and miracle of the sun
• Sister Lucia’s later warnings and interpretation
• John Paul II’s 1984 consecration and timing
• Severmorsk disaster and loss of Soviet strike capacity
• Albatross intelligence and deterrence dynamics
• Why Fatima’s message matters for modern crises
• Reading list and past Catholic Corner references
Check out our show page at teammojoacademy.com, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast as well as other great resources
Other resources:
Want to leave a review? Click here, and if we earned a five-star review from you **high five and knuckle bumps**, we appreciate it greatly, thank you so much!