Sister Lucy Truth (SLT) has responded to my recent article debunking its “Priest Who Knew Too Much” video about Fr. Alonso. The founder of SLT, Dr. Peter Chojnowski, posted on his RadTrad Thomist blog about the matter[1] along with a 10-page PDF entitled “SYMONDS EDIT 4” (via a Google Drive link).[2] SLT’s response invites me to answer why Alonso put the disputed texts in brackets.[3] Regretfully, it appears the organization has dug in its heels on this point about who authored the brackets. It is necessary for me to be crystal clear in response to its invitation:

Sister Lucy Truth, the brackets were the work of a later editor.

They were not the work of Fr. Alonso.

SLT’s reply can be divided into two categories: “substantial” and “personal.” In the “substantial” category, we can place matters pertaining to factual information. The “personal” category concerns statements or characterizations made about myself or my work. In light of what will be demonstrated momentarily, there is no need to say much about the personal remarks. Therefore, I will primarily address information in the substantial category.

Substantial Claims

Among other things, SLT makes two particular claims:

1. It was Fr. Alonso who “literally put Lucia’s name in brackets with question marks.”[4]
2. The disputed text is also in the original 1976 edition of Alonso’s book.[5]

I have owned a physical copy of the original 1976 Centro Mariano edition for a few years now.

SLT states that the brackets are in the original 1976 edition. Take a look and judge accordingly:

A close-up of the text in question:

Here is the backside (page 116) of the above image and text. Contrary to claims between the “Priest Who Knew Too Much” video and SLT’s response to my article, there is no “Figure 09” that questions the lip size of Sr. Lúcia:

The Paul VI/Sr. Lúcia image with the caption appears between pages 115-117 of the 1976 edition. Both the image and the caption are reproduced in the 1988 edition between the exact same pages (though according to the scans I received, the image appears to have been reversed in the 1988 edition). They do not appear anywhere near pages 90-91 (contrary to SLT’s assertion in its reply[6]) of the 1976 edition.

In my original response to SLT, the third footnote contained a link to the National Library in Spain (BNE) with a copy of the 1988 edition of Alonso’s book. There, one can request digital scans of the 1988 book from BNE for a nominal cost. In fact, I made such a request back in January and received scans of the 1988 edition. The texts SLT claims are present in this edition simply do not exist.

Pages 114-115 (1988 edition):

Pages 116-117 (1988 edition):

An Encouragement

Anyone looking to request scans of the 1988 edition of Alonso’s book can do so. Here is where to click once one is on the 1988 edition’s entry on the BNE catalog:

From there, one can proceed to fill out the information. Knowledge of Spanish is helpful when filling out the form, but if a browser with an automatic translator is being used, it should be fine. For the NIF/Pasaporte area of the form, the BNE will accept a valid U.S. driver’s license number. Lastly, a credit card is necessary. After the currency conversion, I paid $12 and change.

Some Questions

From which edition was SLT working? Who added the brackets (etc.)? Why did SLT publish a ten-page accusation of gaslighting and intellectual dishonesty without first verifying that the evidence exists in the original source? These matters are not trivial oversights. If an organization presents itself as a serious investigative enterprise – one that solicits donations, produces documentary content, and levels grave accusations against the Catholic Church – then it bears the burden of basic source verification. That burden was not met here. Readers who have followed SLT’s other claims would do well to ask: if the organization’s flagship argument about Fr. Alonso was built on a text that doesn’t exist in the book it cites, what else in SLT’s body of work rests on similarly unverified foundations?

The above is all the most perplexing considering the fact that the organization has/had a male “professional investigator” with family in Spain. Chojnowski himself wrote that this man was very good when investigations “take him to Spain and Portugal,” and that “he is very much familiar with how things operate there.”[7] Did SLT take advantage of this resource with its professional investigator to see if he could obtain the texts in question prior to publication? If not, why?

Conclusion

Sister Lucy Truth is clearly and factually mistaken when it comes to what is in the hard copies of Alonso’s 1976 and 1988 editions of La verdad sobre el secreto de Fátima. It is apparent that the organization didn’t consult the original hard copies before publishing its response. Had it done so, SLT might have thought twice before publishing such egregious errors of fact, and leveling baseless characterizations. The criticisms levied against SLT in my original response to the organization’s video not only stand unrefuted, they are confirmed by SLT’s recent response.

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Notes:

[1] Dr. Peter E. Chojnowski. “Sister Lucy Truth’s Response to Kevin Symonds’ Denial.” RadTrad Thomist (February 13, 2026).

[2] Dr. Peter E. Chojnowski (edit.). “SYMONDS EDIT 4.” Sister Lucy Truth (February 13, 2026).

[3] Ibid., page 9.

[4] Ibid., page 6, see also 7, 8, 9.

[5] Ibid., page 7, see also 8.

[6] Cf. “SYMONDS EDIT 4,” pages 3 and 10.

[7] Dr. Peter E. Chojnowski. “Sister Lucy investigation needs $10,000 to begin.” RadTrad Thomist (December 8, 2017).