Exclusive to RadTrad Thomist: Bernard Janzen Defends Fr. Malachi Martin Against Taylor Marshall's Attack. Read the Statement of the Famous Interviewer of Fr. Martin Below.

The Controversy Over Malachi Martin Heats Up

By: Bernard Janzen

 

     During the pontificate of Pope Francis, there has been a renewed interest in the work of Malachi Martin.  His conclusions on the state of modern-day Catholicism have not only stood the test of time, but have become more glaringly apparent as the institution of the Roman Catholic Church has descended ever more deeply into the process of self-demolition described by Pope Paul VI.  

 

     Accompanying the renewed interest in Malachi Martin has come a renewal of the controversy surrounding him.  Usually the controversy surrounding him takes the form of rumors circulating in cyberspace and concerns details of his personal life rather than debates over his conclusions on geopolitics and the state of the Church.

 

     To assess the accuracy of these rumors, it is essential to identify their origins.  Who started these rumors?  These rumors mostly began with the publication of the book The Jesuits.  This book was devastatingly critical of the direction taken by the Jesuits after Vatican II.  It is not surprising that the modern Jesuits would seek to deflect the book’s message that since Vatican II the order had betrayed the principles of its founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola.

 

     Prior to the book’s publication, Malachi Martin’s oldest sister begged him not to publish it.  In a letter, Fr. Martin responded, “Will there be trouble?  Yes.  For me.  The Jesuits involved are going to throw every bit of mud and dirt they can pick up from the terrain I have travelled since 1964.  And then some of their own arbitrary choosing.  Do I fear it?  Yes, I fear it.  I fear all hate and humiliation.  So did Christ Our Lord.  Should I not publish on that account?  Come on.” 

 

     Fr. Martin moved ahead with the publication of The Jesuits because he believed that it was his duty to do so, despite his sister’s pleadings.  What Fr. Martin foresaw did happen; he had to endure for the rest of his life a misinformation campaign directed against him.  

 

     It is very difficult to refute the book’s central thesis that the Jesuit order had betrayed its founder’s principles.  Thus, the attempt to counter the effect of The Jesuits would have to take the form of deflecting the book’s message by attacking the messenger, the person of Malachi Martin, rather than attempt to muster a refutation of the book itself.

 

     It has been documented that the Soviet Union spread misinformation during the Cold War.  Today, the mainstream media spreads misinformation; that is why the term “fake news” has gained so much traction.  For example, in 2019 the mainstream media reported that a group of Catholic high school students from Covington, Kentucky taunted a native American elder when they were returning from the annual March for Life rally in Washington, D.C.  It was later proven that this story was completely false.  There has been much skulduggery in the Church since Vatican II; there is no reason to doubt the existence of a misinformation campaign directed against Malachi Martin, most likely originating with modernists disenchanted with the book The Jesuits.

 

     The rumors circulating about Malachi Martin reek of misinformation.  They usually are about details of his private life and are unprovable.  The most common rumors are accusations of womanizing.  This is the oldest trick in the book.  St. Athanasius was accused by Arian Christians of having affairs with women.  St. Gerard Majella was accused of committing sins of the flesh and later was completely exonerated of any wrongdoing.

 

     There is also a certain logical weakness with these rumors.  Even if the rumors were true, it wouldn’t mean that Fr. Martin’s conclusions on the state of the Jesuits or the condition of the Church are incorrect.  Those who spread misinformation about Malachi Martin are hoping that by wounding his reputation, his arguments won’t be taken seriously.  Yet, it is illogical to state that if there is a scandal in Fr. Martin’s life, it follows that his arguments are incorrect.

 

     It is critical to understand why Malachi Martin is the subject of so much controversy.  It is because his communications are so effective.  His work has brought many souls over to tradition.  When he was alive, Catholics wrote to him, stating that his communications had convinced them to change where they were going to Mass.  The webmaster of one of the largest of the traditional movement’s websites told me that a large number of Catholics have come to the traditional Mass through Malachi Martin.  Triumph Communications has published testimonials from Catholics who have become traditional through Malachi Martin.

 

     It is understandable that modernists would make attacks on Malachi Martin, but traditional Catholics who do so are harming their own cause.  Why would any traditional Catholic want to use ex-Jesuit and journalist Robert Kaiser as a source of information?  He was a modernist, described by Canadian author Anne Roche Muggeridge as a journalist who was incapable of distinguishing fantasy from reality.  Traditional Catholics who spread these unprovable rumors are doing the modernists’ dirty work.  

 

     Despite the existence of these rumors, people are still buying the books and recordings of Malachi Martin.  These rumors fail to stick because they lack substance.  There is an article on the Triumph Communications website entitled In Defense of Malachi Martin, which identifies and analyzes some of the most commonly heard rumors about Malachi Martin.  A systematic analysis of these rumors shows that you cannot believe everything that you hear and read.

 

     In contrast to the rumors about Malachi Martin, his arguments do have substance.  In fact, his message is more compelling than ever.  Events are unfolding as he said they would.  For example, he foresaw a papal resignation.  There is a prophetic nature to his work.  The underlying dissolution of the institutional Church described by Malachi Martin has become more apparent during the reign of Pope Francis.  It is important for Catholics to become familiar with the work of Malachi Martin to more fully understand what has befallen the Catholic Church.

 

     Finally, it is necessary to apply some common sense to the subject of Malachi Martin.  Read Fr. Martin’s books and listen to his recordings and then make a conclusion for yourself as to whether he was genuine or not.  Would someone who was not genuine be able to do the vast amount of work he did in the fields of writing, media interviews, counselling, and exorcism?  “By their fruits you shall know them.”  (Matthew 7:16).  Malachi Martin was an incredible man, a prophet for our times.  That is why his critics have not been able to take him down and why interest in his work has persisted right up to this day.

For a Detailed Defense of Fr. Malachi Martin Against His Accusers, see

http://www.triumphcommunications.net/9indefenseofmalachimartin.html