argon once obscured meaning. Today, institutional language often goes further: it defines the permitted interpretation before discussion begins. When words carry an approved moral judgement and an intended conclusion, language ceases to serve inquiry and begins to police thought.
Erich von Däniken’s interpretation of Fátima is speculative, but he is careful to present it as a question rather than a certainty. The Vatican’s published version of the Third Secret raises a wider issue: institutions tend to preserve the narratives upon which their authority depends.