The legacy of Fr. Malichi Martin

[Desert Walker]

I don't know when or where this Fr. Martin said this, but I do know that he was a Jesuit who worked in Rome as a professor and a Vatican "beurocrat." He requested release from his religious vows and claims that he was asked by I think Paul VI to be a "special advisor" to whatever man occupied Peter's Chair. As to what exactly he was supposed to advise pope's about I'm unsure. I suspect it was clerical corruption. He spent his last years in the U.S. in New York City and is the author of several books and novels about Catholicism. He has an "official" web site (which I'm having trouble believing was actually made by him), which is clearly radically traditionalist (and poorly designed ta boot).

Anyway, I pulled this quote off of an anti-Catholic, protestant web site which holds him up as a "disillusioned" Catholic priest who decided to "leave the Church." The former detail about his life is definitely true, but I'm not so sure about the latter.

[quote]In 1981 [Fr. Malichi] Martin lambasted the Roman Church as "a church with depopulated seminaries, politico bishops, lipsticked and mini-skirted nuns, bewildered lay people, plus a Vatican that housed Communist moles, clerical financial wizards, career diplomats, Marxist prelates, a brothel, overworked exorcists, hostile bureaucrats, some silent good people, and a hard-core 37 per cent of clerics and people who yearned for the church Paul VI had smothered". By 1997 he had come to the conclusion: "Lucifer, the biggest archangel, the leader of the revolt against God, has a big 'in' with certain Vatican officials."[/quote]

This priest is now deceased but leaves a legacy among the trad segment of the Church, and among extreme fundamentalist protestants that I think needs to be addressed by some of the more mellow minds here on Phatmass.

I have begun reading this guy's novel [i]Windswept House[/i]. It's a novel about the Church in the 20th century based on the actual historical events of that century. It examines the geo-political dynamics of that century and the ways in which the successors of the Apostles involved themselves in them. It also tells tales of clerical corruption and anti-Catholic and pro-Luciferian conspiracies conducted by members of the Roman Catholic clergy from Cardinals to priests. This book is basically about the battle between God and Lucifer for souls and especially about the weak human beings who decide to take a stand on either side. That's the simplest way to describe it.

Anybody else heard of this guy?

[b]edited to say:[/b]

BTW like many controversial people Fr. Malichi Martin contradicted himself in speech and writing. He seems to indicate that he does not approve of Paul VI's instigation of reform in the Church (not that his approval matters that much anyway), but in [b]Windswept House[/b] it is clear in many places that he not only thinks the Council was valid, but is CERTAIN that it was mis-interpreted, mis-represented and frankly not taught properly by most of the clergy in the Church.

Edited March 6, 2006 by Desert Walker

[OLAM Dad]

I've read Windswept House and enjoyed it as a novel. The ending was frustrating but also very appropriate (at least it was when I read it a few years ago).

The 1981 quote you posted is hard to dispute. He did say that and he clearly was in a position to know what he was talking about.

depopulated seminaries - check
politico bishops - check
lipsticked and mini-skirted nuns - check
bewildered lay people - check
communist moles - ?
clerical financial wizards - ?
career diplomats - check
marxist prelates - check
brothel - ?
overworked exorcists - check
hostile bureaucrats - check
some silent good people - check
37% trads - ?

[Desert Walker]

communist moles - ?
clerical financial wizards - ?

Both claims have been proven accurate. I'll find the sources if you like, but there was at least one cleric in the Vatican who came forward and revealed himself as a spy for the Kremlin during the Cold War period. He wrote a lengthy testimony after his defection which is published by TAN. And recently the Italian government released information about a number of individuals who had placements in the Vatican who were spying for the Kremlin, one of whose primary goals was to gain information critical to the attempt to assassinate John Paul II.

Prior and during WWII, relatives of Pope Pius XII did indeed engage in financial wizardry of the unethical kind. I've heard that they referred to themselves as "Vatican princes" and caused lots of trouble for Pius during the war. I don't know if that stuff still goes on because succeeding popes lifted a heavy hand against that kind of activity. But money has a certain recurring power of human beings that no doubt still infects the Vatican to some degree. It's a bunch of fallen men after all.

The brothel claim is quite dubious in my mind, but can one really discount it entirely in light of the Fall?

Edited March 6, 2006 by Desert Walker

[cmotherofpirl]

Why would anything think the Vatican would be exempt from sinners.?
Mr Martin always seemed paranoid to me.

[Cam42]

While he was most certainly a controversial figure.....he was a great author.

[u]Windswept House[/u] is a great book. I would also suggest reading [u]The Jesuits[/u] and [u]Hostage to the Devil[/u]. [u]The Keys of Blood[/u] is pretty good too.

Incidentally, the rumors surrounding him are false. He was priest his whole life. He received dispensation from his vows as a Jesuit, except chastity, by Pope Paul VI. He also had permission to celebrate Mass only in private.

[Norseman82]

He also wrote "The Final Conclave".

[Desert Walker]

Does anyone who read [u]Windswept House[/u] remember the part about the ritual to enthrone Lucifer in the Vatican? I have to say that was one of the most morbid things I've ever read.

Fr. Martin was asked if that really took place, and he said "yes." My question is why would he lie about something like that if it didn't happen?

In the end it probably isn't important if it happened or not. Men who put faith in that fallen angel will be sorely disapointed. I imagine if Benedict were to find out about it he'd probably say "So the boys are getting into trouble, eh?"

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Desert Walker' date='Mar 7 2006, 09:10 AM']Does anyone who read [u]Windswept House[/u] remember the part about the ritual to enthrone Lucifer in the Vatican?  I have to say that was one of the most morbid things I've ever read.

Fr. Martin was asked if that really took place, and he said "yes."  My question is why would he lie about something like that if it didn't happen?

In the end it probably isn't important if it happened or not.  Men who put faith in that fallen angel will be sorely disapointed.  I imagine if Benedict were to find out about it he'd probably say "So the boys are getting into trouble, eh?"
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I think Mr Martin enjoyed the aura of conspiracy, intrigue and mystery.

[OLAM Dad]

[quote name='Desert Walker' date='Mar 7 2006, 09:10 AM']Does anyone who read [u]Windswept House[/u] remember the part about the ritual to enthrone Lucifer in the Vatican?  I have to say that was one of the most morbid things I've ever read.

Fr. Martin was asked if that really took place, and he said "yes."  My question is why would he lie about something like that if it didn't happen?

In the end it probably isn't important if it happened or not.  Men who put faith in that fallen angel will be sorely disapointed.  I imagine if Benedict were to find out about it he'd probably say "So the boys are getting into trouble, eh?"
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If I recall, the book starts with that ritual. It is very disturbing...not for the faint hearted.

If I recall, some of the sinister characters in the book represented real people that Fr. Martin knew or knew of. There is a listing somewhere. I believe the former Archbishop of Milwaukee Weakland, who has since resigned in disgrace, was one of them.

[Desert Walker]

[quote]I think Mr Martin enjoyed the aura of conspiracy, intrigue and mystery.[/quote]

Of course. It's great fun! Especially when it's true.

Edited March 7, 2006 by Desert Walker

[OLAM Dad]

It would be much more fun were it not true. I pray that it isn't.

Edited March 7, 2006 by OLAM Dad

[ironmonk]

Malachi is not worth reading. He's an anti-Catholic Catholic. He spreads lies and rumors, causes scandal. Malachi is the "Art Bell" of the Catholic world.

[OLAM Dad]

[quote name='ironmonk' date='Mar 7 2006, 09:30 AM']Malachi is not worth reading. He's an anti-Catholic Catholic. He spreads lies and rumors, causes scandal. Malachi is the "Art Bell" of the Catholic world.
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I'm not sure how seriously to take Fr. Martin's work but he clearly was in a position to know a lot more than your average kook radio talk show host would know about alien invasions and the like.

fwiw, I find Art Bell entertaining as well.

[Desert Walker]

The Art Bell show is the most entertaining thing on the radio. It's awesome, and not always untenable. Labeling Fr. Malichi "anti-Catholic" is a bit of stretch. It is necessary for we the laity to hold our clergy accountable for irreligion, heresy and bad management, because clergy who act that way don't hold themselves accountable very often. Vatican II empowered the laity in that way. Some lay people have taken it too far and attempted to userp the teaching authority that only clergy possess. Fr. Malichi, like Fr. Paul Marx of HLI, opened my eyes to the hard fact that not every priest, not every bishop is intent on the salvation of souls. And those who aren't, but have allowed themselves to be corrupted by power or swayed by emotion to the cause of Lucifer, need to be held accountable for the sheep they've led astray. The lay people of the Church need to understand that there are blind shepherds in their midst. We need to pray for them, but we also need to be wary of the influence that Satan might have through them.

[Norseman82]

[quote name='ironmonk' date='Mar 7 2006, 08:30 AM']Malachi is not worth reading. He's an anti-Catholic Catholic. He spreads lies and rumors, causes scandal. Malachi is the "Art Bell" of the Catholic world.
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Specific examples please to back up your assertions?????

[Aloysuis]

wasn't he an exorcist?

[Desert Walker]

Yes he was an exorcist. I think he was a very active one. He was very highly educated in Church matters, and was really good at Catholic Theology. The only thing that gives one pause about him is his apparent, and I must stress apparent, dissatisfaction with the results of Vatican II. But there is NO evidence that he has ever disobeyed Rome or been disloyal to the Church. He represents a segment of Catholicism that is aware of something that too few Catholics care to think much about anymore: the war between Light and Dark in this world; the war St. Paul speaks about in Scripture.

[Desert Walker]

[quote name='ironmonk' date='Mar 7 2006, 08:30 AM']Malachi is not worth reading. He's an anti-Catholic Catholic. He spreads lies and rumors, causes scandal. Malachi is the "Art Bell" of the Catholic world.
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You do realize that the only scandal from which the Church could NEVER recover is the teaching of error.

[Myles Domini]

[quote name='ironmonk' date='Mar 7 2006, 02:30 PM']Malachi is not worth reading. He's an anti-Catholic Catholic. He spreads lies and rumors, causes scandal. Malachi is the "Art Bell" of the Catholic world.
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I dont know. Its rare that Cam42 recommends an author who is untrustworthy. Anything to add Cam?

[ironmonk]

He's on bad terms with the Vatican. He has claimed Satanism happens in the Vatican. I had his book about the Jesuits... he's demented. He supports SSPX. He is an anti-Catholic Catholic conspiracy-monger.


[quote]http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1997/9707drag.asp
Catholic Answers has received a number of inquiries about Malachi Martin in the wake of his five-hour interview on the Art Bell radio talk. The confusion is not surprising. A charming and persuasive conversationalist, Martin makes a good impression on listeners. But his message (satanic rituals in the Vatican, an impending cataclysm, conspiracies galore) seems to appeal to our propensity to expect the worst—a tendency that hardly needs reinforcing these days.

An ex-Jesuit, Martin has long claimed for himself the status of Vatican insider. In his "exposé" of the Jesuits, for example, he reported verbatim discussions at which he could not have been present—implying that he was in the confidence of the principals. In The Keys of This Blood, he showed the inner thoughts of the Holy Father himself: "Most frighteningly for John Paul, he had come up against the irremovable presence of a malign strength in his own Vatican and in certain bishops’ chanceries. It was what knowledgeable Churchmen called the ‘superforce’" (p. 632).

But his most disturbing charges he has couched as fiction in his novel Windswept House, which "reveals" diabolical forces at work in the very See of Peter. Martin told U.S. News and World Report that the plot of the book is "not very" fictional. A coalition of cardinals, academics, and others who want to remake the Church for secular ends is campaigning to change doctrine and elect the next pope. "It’s not a conspiracy, but it’s deliberate. Conciliarists [those who want to liberalize Church doctrine] and non-globalists think the same way. Neither like the Pope’s policies. They are preparing for the selection of the next pope."

So why not expose them, rather than disguising fact as fiction? "I plan to write a monograph in the fall that names some names," Martin told U.S. News last summer. While awaiting that publication, one can note that Martin is a favorite "quotee" of certain non-Catholics—and not to the greater glory of the Church.

Besides Art Bell’s listeners (who probably think The X-Files is a government cover-up), Martin’s brand of apocalypticism is taken by enemies of the Church as proof of its corruption.

"It is startling to listen to the Jesuit [ sic] author, Malachi Martin, asserting in his book, The Keys Of This Blood, that now ‘the Dove is loose, the Dove is loose,’" declares Grace Baptist Church and Old Paths Ministries in a radio program. "The entire theme of this book is that the drive to the New World Order is a competition between the worldwide forces of Communism, Western Capitalism, and Roman Catholicism. Martin clearly believes that Catholicism will prevail in this struggle because of the intervention of the Virgin Mary. Martin did not specify what he meant by this phrase, ‘the Dove is loose’; clearly, however, he might have been referring to this common Roman depiction of the Virgin Mother. What Martin is saying, then, is that the ancient worship of the Pagan Virgin Mother is now loosed in the world." (A better guess might be the Holy Spirit, but let us press on.)

At McDonald Road Seventh-day Adventist Church, the congregation was likewise incited against Catholicism using Martin’s material: "You remember that big book that Malachi Martin wrote called The Keys of This Blood. . . . We have studied it quite extensively at Southern Adventist University. In this book he says this: ‘[Pope John Paul] is waiting . . . for an event that will fission (split) human history, splitting the immediate past from the oncoming future. It will be an event on public view in the skies, in the oceans, and on the continental landmasses of this planet. It will particularly involve our . . . sun.’ Catholics believe that . . . the Virgin Mary, so called, is telling them and warning them of what is going to be happening. And they say in here, ‘This Warning will be an explosive, global incident of such paralyzing force and magnitude that it is unprecedented in the history of man.’"

Martin is also quoted extensively by televangelist Jack Van Impe and others who find his twin themes of cataclysm and collapse of the Church irresistible. The author himself believes the structure of the Church is moribund. He told Paul Likoudis of The Wanderer: "My book is radical, because it says the organization is spent and can’t go on. That’s the implication of Windswept House."

Although Martin styles himself a Church insider—and talks at length about his career as an exorcist—in fact he was, according to the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life, dispensed from his religious vows in 1965 and has had no priestly faculties since then. Yet he did not correct Bell, who repeatedly addressed him as "Father."

It may be true that the Church needs pruning, that individual Churchmen or whole bureaucracies are unfaithful to the gospel. But the Church is the world’s first and greatest "renewable resource." It would be a shame if orthodox Catholics lost hope because of Martin’s doomsaying. As Fr. Mitch Pacwa has said, "progressives" are spiritual geldings. They make no converts, but we do. Our task is to know, live, and spread our faith, whether the world ends next year or ten thousand years from now. [/quote]