In defense of Father Malachi Brendan Martin

Seattle Catholic ^ | March 2003 | William H. Kennedy

[thor76]

In his formation as a Jesuit Martin received three earned doctorates in Semitic languages, archaeology and Oriental history and was subsequently made Professor of Semitic Languages at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome . Ordained in 1954 Martin was a top-level advisor to Popes John XXIII and Paul VI as well as working closely with the Jesuit Cardinal Bea. Martin worked in the Vatican ’s intelligence division and conducted secret missions into Eastern Europe to fund the oppressed Church which suffered under Communism . Martin left the organizational Church in 1964 and resigned from the Society of Jesus but he in no way, shape or form ever stopped being a priest of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Paul VI released Martin from all his vows except for chastity and agreed to allow him to act as a Roman Catholic priest in other ways. The Pope gave Martin permission to say Mass privately and he continued to conduct the Tridentine Mass, for the rest of his life. Under canon law the Pope has the right to limit the faculties of any priest. Martin falls into the category of a fully functioning [i.e., allowed to administer all the sacraments] Roman Catholic Priest whose faculties [rights] excluded him from working full time in a parish or in a religious order. As those who knew him can tell you Martin never slowed from his priestly duties - saying Masses at his apartment chapel, hearing confessions, conducting marriage ceremonies, administering last rights et al on a daily basis. Father Charles Fiore, who knew Martin for years, states that when Martin came to New York his written faculties - which Fiore saw - were accepted by then Cardinal Cooke. Consequently, Martin's status as a bone fide Roman Catholic Priest with legitimate faculties is beyond reproach.

[thor76]

This is a very enlightening article - well footnoted and documented - which attests to the truth of Martin's priestly status, and dismisses many of the false claims which were made against him. It also show the assertions about the "superforce" in the Church were all too true, and became front page headline items after his untimely demise.

[thor76]

ping

[thor76]

ping

[AlbionGirl]

Excellent read, thor, excellent!

Martin's stated reason for leaving the Jesuits and the institutional Church was that he felt that Roman Catholicism was changing too fast and the institution he had grown up with was becoming an alien form of religion for him.

True, without question. And imagine being away for a couple of decades and coming back, and witnessing the alien. Dumbfounded, dumbstruck. I shouldn't be shocked anymore, but sometimes I still am.

Sacrilegious actions and rites were not only performed on Christ’s Altars, but had the connivance or at least the tacit permission of certain Cardinals, archbishops, and bishops . . .

Indisputable. The plague could have never spread without said connivance, never.

What Martin termed the Superforce is a real power in the World. Considering that Cardinal Law protected Father Paul Shanley for many years - even after Law knew Shanley was as vile as to take a child out of his religious knowledge class [CCD] and molest him in a Church confessional - Martin was correct...If molesting a child in a confessional does not constitute an act of Satanic worship than nothing does.

Cardinal Law should be breaking rocks in the hot sun. I see him, very much, as an evil man.

There is even proof of overt Satanic Ritual Abuse [SRA] among the hierarchy of the Boston Archdiocese. Monsignor Frederick Ryan – the Vice Chancellor of the Archdiocese and close advisor to Cardinal Law - plied a teenage boy with alcohol, had him tattooed with a cartoon devil and sexually abused him in Rhode Island two decades ago. This was not the act of some isolated and demented priest – it was the work of a major figure in the Boston Chancery. In this instance the Mark of Satan was pressed into the boy’s flesh by the perverted Devil Worshiper Msgr. Frederick Ryan. [Source: Boston Herald June 25, 2002 Ex-Bruin deposed in church abuse case by Robin Washington

That is nearly impossible to absorb. What Saint was it that argued that homosexuality was a graver sin than most? It is, was and always shall be a profoundly spiritually debilitating disease. And I think it, as well as other perversions are directly from Satan.

A taste for your own sex, for little boys and young men is one of the worst crosses I can imagine. I don't believe the first urge is willed, but once given in to becomes not only willed, but obsessively willed. God grant those who are tempted, the immediate strength to resist.

Think about this piece, then contemplate that Cleveland Diocese logo. Dear God, please send us someone who can and will extirpate these demons from our midst. Because the heirarchy and the laity don't seem to have the energy or the power to do it.

[thor76]

"And imagine being away for a couple of decades and coming back...."

In either 1960 (or was it 65?) Martin made the prediction that by the year 2000 the church would be unrecognisable at that point. How is that for an accurate prediction! If you were alive in 1960, and then transported to today, you would not believe all that has happened to the Catholic church.

The Church of 1960 had more relation to the church of 1500, the the church of 2004 has to the church of 1960!

He clearly saw what was coming, and in that manner he was a prophet. He once made the analogy of the Church as one of the Great Lakes...and as if suddenly somebody had pulled a plug and drained all of the water from it. like all the life was sucked out of it!

As an example (which has been conveniently forgotten), one of the vice chancellors of the Diocese of Brooklyn, NY, was found dead in his car, parked under the Brooklyn Bridge, in the middle of the night. He had picked up a teenaged male prostitute, who them mugged and fatally stabbed him. This was in 1983. Of course, folks in that diocese are mystified as to why they have gay priests, sex abuse cases, invalid/irreverent masses, heresy preached openly, etc. This dead priests (whose name now escapes me) dealt with vocations, the seminary, parish life, etc. as part of his job in running the Chancery.

In the Arch of NY there is a Msgr. White, who was in charge of the minor seminary, who was arrested with two other men in a car some 20 miles from the seminary, with enough cocaine to supply a small village! Cardinal O'Connor protected him, and took personal custody of him, sheltered him from the law, and then appointed him as pastor of a parish in the Bronx. A big parish with a school. His arrest on the drug charges was in all the papers.

Also in the Arch of NY, a Fr.Moore - who was pastor of a church on Staten Island - was arrested by the FBI in 1997, when he came to meet a 13 year old boy whom he had met on the net for sex, in a parking lot in New Jersey. It was a sting operation....the 13yo was in fact an adult FBI agent posing as one in chat rooms. That priest is now a pastor of a church in the Bronx today.....in a parish with a school.....and 13 year olds! This was in all the local papers......but the local Chancery took advantage of the fact that people have short memories, and appointed Moore to the Bronx parish a few years after the incident.

So, as you said, this is corruption and connivance in high places.

[Jaded]

Ping

[Arguss]

There's no doubt that Fr. Martin is one of the champions of the traditionalist cause, and I'm not trying to cloud his memory, but didn't his troubles with the Church start and end over a love affair with a married woman?

His bio sounds like the hero of one of his books, "Windswept House", who as a Priest was working undercover in the Balkans.

If anybody is interested "Windswept House" and "Vatican" are excellent books covering the inside workings of Rome.

[P-Marlowe]

Its too bad he was not elected Pope.

[thor76]

First, if Martin had been elected pope, he would have never lived.....just like JPI.

Second, if you open the link and read the whole article you will se mention made of those false allegations about womanizing. If my memory serves me right, the first probelm, in the 60s, was the subject of much slander against Martin. He threatened lawsuit against more then one person to quiet it. Obviously, if there was any real evidence/truth to the matter, he would not have been able to make such a threat stick.

In regard to the latter accusation, Martin was an elderly, celibate man in his 70s, who had already undergone at least 2 minor strokes that I know of before his final illness. Regardless of the alleged circumstances, he would hardly seem to be a candidate for romantic dalliances in that condition.

In both Windswept House and Vatican, the protagonist is a priest whose story is at least partly autobiographical. He did quite a lot of undercover work for the Church in his youth.

[fishtank]

M.Martin was truly an unusual and powerful person. How many orthodox Catholic priests have ever been a featured guest on the Art Bell radio show?

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Martin's stated reason for leaving the Jesuits and the institutional Church was that he felt that Roman Catholicism was changing too fast and the institution he had grown up with was becoming an alien form of religion for him.

It may also have had to do with Fr. Martin being assigned certain diplomatic missions regarding the church in persecuted areas like behind the Iron Curtain. Also, it's not really that uncommon for someone to request being taken out of the jurisdictional authority of a religious order or diocese where the superiors in question cannot be trusted to make prudent decisions. The case of Fr. Joseph Fessio, SJ, being just one example of the kinds of things that happen to priests who are considered too conservative or too orthodox by their superiors.

There is actually a scene in the film The Exorcist where the Jesuit character Fr. Karras, SJ mentions to another Jesuit that he thinks he needs a new assignment because he is having trouble dealing with the situations involved in the role of psychiatrist for the religious community. Not uncommon.

At the time that Malachi Martin left the Society of Jesus, I believe he would have had to have his writings approved by superiors in the order. That may have been a significant consideration. Another likely possibility is that the Pope may have wanted someone reliable that he could trust to observe and report back on trends in the U.S. That would be a completely valid reason and an honorable ecclesiastical assignment.

The reports of Malachi Martin having played some role in actual exorcisms in the U.S. would be another valid reason. And that also would explain the aura of confidentiality and secrecy which surrounds all cases of alleged diabolical possession and any official exorcisms performed. That he wrote a book on the subject is revealing.

[AlbionGirl]

Didn't know anything about Fr. Malachi until I read this piece, and now I'm fascinated. Plan on getting to the Library this week, and looking over some of his stuff.

[thor76]

"Another likely possibility is that the Pope may have wanted someone reliable that he could trust to observe and report back on trends in the U.S. That would be a completely valid reason and an honorable ecclesiastical assignment."

You are on the right track. Indeed he was to report back to the pope and to his successors on the throne. Hence his use of linguistic, literary, espionage, skills, and extensive network of contacts. An interesting side issue is that if one is to work and function in such a manner, one needs to travel both incognito, and at the same time cultivate acquaintaces on the "other side". If you catch my drift......

One should know your friends well.......but your enemies better!

[k omalley]

I have read a number of his books and they all make for a fascinating read. I am presently reading "Keys of This Blood" and it is quite informative. I also highly recommend "Windswept House" and "Final Conclave." This man knew the inside story.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

The diplomatic missions of the church - the "secret service" if you will - are a fascinating area of research. Anyone familiar with the history of the Jesuits in England during the penal period has some sense of this. The 20th century and particularly the conciliar and post-conciliar periods of the church presented a lot of challenges, obstacles, and dangers for the church. The recent visit of the acting leader of Iraq at the Vatican to confer with John Paul II was a case in point.

The trials of the church in Russia, China, and the communist nations of Eastern Europe required priests with a number of different skills and specialized knowledge. As we have seen with the horrific and sensationalist scandals of recent history, good men of strong character and a high degree of intelligence and advanced knowledge are needed in such situations.

Every pope acts perfectly within his authority to choose the men needed to work directly at his bidding. The more sensitive the mission, the greater the need for confidentiality and discretion. If, for instance, there were strong reasons to suspect that certain church organizations had been infiltrated by hostile elements, all the more important to keep men assigned with sensitive duties out of the reaches of such internal problems. The protection of priests is always an important matter for popes and bishops.

[AlbionGirl]

For some reason I'm under the impression that the Jesuit Order of old amounted to what could be classified as the Catholic Army, figuratively for the most part, but also literally should the need arise.

I can't remember where I read it, but a long time ago I read some piece that stated that parts of the German Army studied some facets of Jesuit organization and/or strategem that they then employed at various times during the Second World War.

[marshmallow]

From the linked article:

Martin watched the rise of Wojtyla in the Church with great hope. However, as the Superforce began to dominate the Vatican hierarchy and eventually the Petrine Office itself, Martin became more and more disenchanted with the Holy Father. In this regard Martin began to move toward a position called sedevacantism - the belief that the Throne of Saint Peter is empty because of doctrinal heresy.

And also:

Towards the end of his life Martin began to associate more and more with sedevacantist Churches like that run by Bishop Robert McKenna in the Tri-State area.

The last straw for Martin as far as the current Church of Rome goes came with his final visit to the Holy See after the publication of Windswept House when Vatican officials - including the Pope - scoffed at his last ditch effort to get the Institutional Church to redress the errors into which it had fallen. Upon his return to the United States Father Malachi Martin had adopted a full sedevacantist stance.

That's a shame. However, it's something which those who may be drawn to Martin through his books and writings, should be aware of.

I'd tread extremely warily where Martin is concerned and take his writings with a grain of salt.

[AlbionGirl]

Thanks for the recommendations. Should the books you mentioned be read in any particular order?

You know who else had a fascinating life? Damian the Leper! I can't remember his full name, but Mia Farrow's Dad penned a biography of him back in the 60s or 70s, and it was a non-stop read. What a will! What a Priest! Admirable in the extreme.

[bornacatholic]

Date: Thu, 23 Jan 2003 14:18:05 -0500

From: "Allen W Thrasher"

Subject: [Cet] General Opinions on Malachi Martin?

Chris Zehnder said:

"One thing I think that makes it suspect. Though the incidents Kaiser alleges happened over 30 years ago, he didn't publish his book until a year or two after Malachi Martin died."

That's a significant point. However, I can think of some good and virtuous or at least not unvirtuous reasons for the delay:

1. He would be afraid of turning up in Martin's next novel as an identifiable character looking very bad.

2. He might be less interested in revenge, in hurting Martin in his feelings, his human relations, his career, and his good name, than in just getting his story on record, for whatever reasons a person writes an autobiography, and therefore delayed writing until it wouldn't hurt Martin except in the last of the above.

3. The autobiography may have been more topical and publishable because of the current clerical sexual scandals; he might not have been able to get it published earlier.

4. Martin's death may have made it easier for him to look at the past with some small degree of serenity and to write about it. If Kaiser was searching for revenge, that implies he thought Martin had hurt him in a grave matter. Taking his wife is one of the more obvious ways one man can so wound another. Otherwise one must think that the real offense was something quite different and Kaiser invented the adultery. But I don't think a man will make up accusations of adultery except to help himself out in a divorce case, but Kaiser's divorce was more than 30 years ago. I think even now adultery is in a way regarded as more humiliating to a cuckolded husband than a cuckolded wife; it produces a suspicion in both the man and others that there was something defective in him as a man, whereas in a wronged wife it is more likely to be attributed to the innate wickedness of the male, whatever private self-doubts the woman may feel. So to reveal one's wife's adultery is especially humiliating for a _man_, which makes it less likely for him to make it up.

I have been told that the Martin-Mrs. Kaiser affair was generally known in the circles that covered Vatican II, and turns up barely disguised in Michael Novak's novel "Naked I Leave," which I have not been able to examine, and a Ralph McInerny's "Connolly's Life."

If Kaiser is right, and Martin was defrocked, he continually misled others for many years that he still had his priestly faculties, with a special status direct from the Pope. If he has been lying about this,it reflects on his credibility on other things, whether or not he repented of his alleged sexual misdeeds.

I will grant that Kaiser says that Martin was "a kept man" of the lady in whose house he lived the last period of his life. He doesn't say how he knew this, which makes me suspect he just took the worst interpretation of the menage, out of resentment.

To his credit, I have heard from reliable sources that Martin gave a lot of his royalties away.

In peace,

Allen Thrasher

Allen W. Thrasher, Ph.D.

Senior Reference Librarian

Southern Asia Section

Asian Division

Library of Congress

Jefferson Building 150

101 Independence Ave., S.E.

Washington, DC 20540-4810

tel. 202-707-3732

fax 202-707-1724

athr_at_loc.gov

[bornacatholic]

From EWTN

Malachi Martin

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Note: Although Mr. Martin died in 1999 the following comments are still useful, given the continuing interest in his writings and positions.]

We get many questions about Malachi Martin, his books and his credentials. Not all of them can be answered due to an absence of information. The following is what is known.

Malachi Martin states, and the Holy See will confirm if asked, that "In 1965, Mr. Martin received a dispensation from all privileges and obligations deriving from his vows as a Jesuit and from priestly ordination." [Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, 25 June 1997, Prot. N. 04300/65].

Concerning the allegations about churchmen found in Windswept House under the guise of fiction, they would certainly be sad if true, and other sources have suggested the basic factualness of some of the accounts. However, even if they were based on fact the Church is in no more danger of being overcome by the gates of hell today than it was during any of the other crises of history. Jesus had his Judas and history shows that His Mystical Body has had its share, as well. To deny the past and present Judases within the Church would be wrong. However, to act as if it made any difference to our obligations of obedience would be to take scandal (called passive scandal) from those who are giving scandal. Jesus warns us about those who would give scandal to his little ones (Mt. 18:6) and thereby sought by that warning to provide an antidote for passive scandal, as well. In his Summa Theologiae St. Thomas Aquinas tells us,

Passive scandal implies that the mind of the person who takes scandal is unsettled in its adherence to good. Now no man can be unsettled, who adheres firmly to something immovable. The elders, i.e. the perfect, adhere to God alone, Whose goodness is unchangeable, for though they adhere to their superiors, they do so only in so far as these adhere to Christ, according to 1 Cor. 4:16: "Be ye followers of me, as I also am of Christ." Wherefore, however much others may appear to them to conduct themselves ill in word or deed, they themselves do not stray from their righteousness, according to Ps. 124:1: "They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Sion: he shall not be moved for ever that dwelleth in Jerusalem." Therefore scandal is not found in those who adhere to God perfectly by love, according to Ps. 118:165: "Much peace have they that love Thy law, and to them there is no stumbling-block [scandalum]." [ST II-II question 43, article 5, answer]

Perfect men sometimes fall into venial sins through the weakness of the flesh; but they are not scandalized (taking scandal in its true sense), by the words or deeds of others, although there can be an approach to scandal in them, according to Ps. 72:2: "My feet were almost moved." [ibid., response to objection 3]

So even if the crimes alleged in Windswept House actually occurred they do no more than confirm what the Catholic striving to be perfect should already know, human beings, even priests and bishops, are potentially capable of the most heinous acts of insubordination to God. This knowledge, as we conclude from St. Thomas' teaching, must not change our own unswerving fidelity to ecclesiastical authority in matters that fall under the competence of that authority.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Answered by Colin B. Donovan, STL