TRADCATKNIGHT INTERVIEWS BERNARD JANZEN ON THIS CRISIS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

TradCatKnight Written Interview with Bernard Janzen

Current State of the Catholic Church 

Bernard was kind enough to answer some questions as it relates to this crisis in the Church.  Bernard will be joining me again soon on TradCatKnight Radio.  

Tell us a little more about your background and why you are a Catholic.
I am a cradle Catholic. Growing up as a Catholic in the post-Vatican II Church, I felt that something was wrong, but at first, I wasn’t sure what. There were two clues which showed to me that something was wrong in the Church. First, many churchmen and mainstream Catholic publications were sympathetic towards communism, an avowed enemy of authentic religion. This didn’t make sense. Secondly, the catechisms I was taught as a youngster lacked any real content. The question you could ask about these catechisms is: “Where’s the beef?”

After a search, I found Fr. Yves Normandin. In my opinion, he is a living saint. For many years, he almost single-handedly kept the traditional Latin Mass alive in the large country of Canada. Week after week, he traveled thousands of miles by airplane and bus, providing the Mass and sacraments in chapels, halls, and homes from coast to coast in Canada. After attending one Mass said by Fr. Normandin, I embraced the cause of Catholic tradition, eventually starting an audio recording apostolate, Triumph Communications, to spread the word.


What are Catholics to make of the Second Vatican Council?
There is a point of view, commonly held by good, middle-of-the-road Catholics, that there are no errors in the documents of the Second Vatican Council; the problem is that the Council was misinterpreted and misapplied. The facts don’t support this assertion. If the problem were only one of misinterpretation and misapplication, then Vatican II should have had a negative impact in only a limited number of geographic locations. Yet, one of the characteristics of the current crisis in the Church is its universality. Secondly, the crisis should not have been as deep as it was. The results of the Council can only be described as catastrophic. For example, vocations to the sisterhood have collapsed in Canada to the point where almost every convent in the country has been closed.
I would highly recommend the series of books Eli, Eli, Lamma Sabacthani? This monumental series of books by Atila Sinke Guimarães is an exhaustive analysis of the Second Vatican Council. This work clearly proves that there are serious errors in the documents of Vatican II. The problem is with the Council itself.


Why is there so much confusion in the Church?
The first volume of Eli, Eli, Lamma Sabacthani? is entitled In the Murky Waters of Vatican II. Its main thesis is that the documents of Vatican II are ambiguous. Ambiguity goes against the ethos of the Catholic religion. Clarity is a hallmark of our faith. For example, the documents of the Council of Trent are crystal clear, leaving little room for misinterpretation. Because the documents of Vatican II are ambiguous, they can be interpreted according to the beliefs of the individual. Because the documents of Vatican II and most other ecclesiastical documents published since then are ambiguous and can be interpreted in various ways, there is confusion.

There is another reason for the confusion. Modernist churchmen create confusion when they contradict the age-old teaching of the Church. For example, modern theologians often cast doubt on the existence of hell and purgatory and are not penalized for doing so. When the laity are being told one thing by some churchmen and another thing by other churchmen, is it not surprising that there is so much confusion?


What should Catholics make of the direction "Pope" Francis is pursuing?
Like many Jesuits, Pope Francis is highly intelligent and very cunning. He knows where he is taking the Church. Fr. Malachi Martin stated that the goal of the modernists is to produce a church which is focussed on building mankind’s habitat here on earth, not on the supernatural and the salvation of souls. Today,
the modernists have for the first time one of their own as Pope (the pontificates from John XXIII to Benedict XVI had both traditional and modernist characteristics). It is clear from the writings and statements of Pope Francis that he has a this-world mentality. He is more concerned about earthly matters such as global warming than spiritual matters. Fr. Malachi Martin’s final book, which was never printed, was to be entitled Primacy: How the Institutional Roman Catholic Church Became a Creature of the New World Order. With Pope Francis at the helm, we are there now.


Can traditionalists ever get along? Or will it be a fruitless struggle between all the varying camps?
Traditional Catholics have been marginalized; they are excluded from the nerve centers of power in the Church. The traditional movement is functioning as an underground, preserving in the catacombs the faith of all time which has been abandoned by the leading churchmen of today. It is a characteristic of underground movements that they are fragmented. For example, the underground church in Slovakia was divided into a number of different networks. We ought to be grateful for this characteristic of underground movements, as it is a survival mechanism. If there were only one organization, it would be too easy for the communists or the modernists to infiltrate and ruin it.
What is the best way to deal with the divisions in the traditional movement? Perhaps it is best to ignore these divisions, obtaining spiritual sustenance from wherever one can find it.


Given that Pope St. Pius X, Fr. Malachi Martin, Cardinal Biffi, and Archbishop Lefebvre all stated that the Antichrist was close, why do Catholics have such a hard time accepting this declaration?
The difficulty that some Catholics have with accepting that the Antichrist may be close at hand partly stems from different interpretations as to who the Antichrist will be. Some Catholics believe that the Antichrist is only a figure of speech. They interpret the idea of the Antichrist symbolically. Anyone who opposes Christianity is representative of Antichrist. However, an accurate interpretation of the scriptures and the writings of the Church fathers on the Antichrist is that he will be an actual person. A good scholarly book on this subject is The Antichrist, by Fr. Vincent Miceli.
The way for the Antichrist is today being prepared by the architects of the new world order, who are working for a one-world government along side a one-world religion. The Antichrist will mimic Christ in some ways, while actually opposing Him. He will rule the world for a terrible three and a half years. We must pray that our minds will be kept clear from the ideas of the new world order, the diabolical disorientation of men’s minds spoken of by Sister Lucy, which are making it possible for the Antichrist to eventually rule.


So many Catholics are falling into despair. What can Catholics do to keep the Faith and preserve unto the end?
To fall into despair is to sin against hope. To avoid falling into despair, it is necessary to understand the nature of our earthly lives. This life is by its nature a hard one. The prayers said at the end of the traditional Latin Mass refer to this life as a vale of tears. Our Lord did not promise us an earthly paradise or even a flourishing civilization. What we were promised is eternal salvation in the next life, if we pass a test. In this test, we must willingly embrace whatever crosses are sent our way. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.’” (Matthew 16:24). In these times, Catholics are being tested by the betrayal of churchmen and an anti-Christian social and political environment. There are strong pressures to conform to the zeitgeist, or spirit of the times. In order to attain our salvation, we must be willing to resist the temptation to succumb to the worldly opinions of others.
We can remain hopeful because even in these times we still have the means to achieve salvation. There are still many holy priests who offer the traditional Latin Mass. We need to receive the sacraments of confession and holy communion as often as possible, as they are a source of grace, which strengthens us in the trials that we face each day. The Church has bequeathed to us a rich treasure chest of devotions, such as the rosary. We can easily obtain good books for spiritual reading. If we are willing to make sacrifices, we can reach our eternal destiny. Today, it takes more effort to keep the faith than it did before Vatican II. We may have to drive an hour or two to get to a holy Mass. We must first do our daily duty and then do what we can to defend our faith and work towards the restoration of a Christian civilization.

Bernard Janzen "Fr. Malachi Martin: Camouflaged Apostasy"