Interview with Bernard Janzen about Fr Malachi Martin’s message for our times
by Jason Kippen
While many churchmen during that time had been leading a “reform” of the Church; Martin and Janzen were expounding the school of thought that Vatican II had gone too far with its subsequent initiatives and the so-called “spirit” of the Council that many clergy and churchmen used to radically change the Faith and its practice.
The interview is timely because recently the documentary, Hostage to the Devil which chronicles Fr. Martin’s life and his work in the field of exorcism was released on Netflix. For those of you who wish to examine and further explore Mr. Janzen’s work with Fr Martin, his website is www.triumphcommunications.net. The interviews are also available on Youtube.
What did you think of the recently made documentary Hostage to the Devil which examined Fr. Martin’s life and his work in the mysterious world of exorcisms?
This documentary was not produced from a Catholic perspective. It received funding from the Irish government, examining the life of an Irishman who attained success in the larger world. Hostage to the Devil was intended for a general audience, thus engaging the scepticism which the general public has about the existence of the devil and exorcisms. Due to time constraints, the documentary did not attempt to cover all aspects of Fr. Martin’s life; it focused on his work as an exorcist.
Hostage to the Devil did a good job of recreating the drama surrounding the mysterious circumstances of Fr. Martin’s death, portraying the heightened emotions of this tumultuous time. The documentary introduces its audience to Fr. Martin’s unique perspective on exorcism, possession, and the activity of the devil in the modern world.
The documentary gave a platform to Robert Kaiser to malign the reputation of Fr. Martin. Many of the statements made by Kaiser were not true. In her book, The Desolate City, Anne Roche Muggeridge describes Kaiser as a journalist who is incapable of distinguishing fact from fantasy. As a modernist, it could not be expected that Kaiser would have a favourable opinion of a staunch traditionalist like Fr. Martin, but his accusations often descended to the level of calumny. Kaiser said that Fr. Martin eventually began to believe his own lies. What lies? In my years of interviewing Fr. Martin, he made a deeply felt defense of Catholic truth. I would invite anyone to listen to these interviews and decide for themselves if Fr. Martin was genuine or not.
On balance, the production of Hostage to the Devil is a positive development because it increases the awareness of its viewers of Malachi Martin and his message for our times.
How did you come to do multiple interviews with Fr. Martin in the 1990’s and why are these recordings important today?
I was impressed with the writings of Fr. Martin, especially his book The Jesuits. During the late 1980’s, Fr. Martin was reaching out to some of the authors of the traditional movement. Two of these authors helped me to make contact with Fr. Martin, who agreed to do a set of interviews. The first set of interviews, Catholicism Overturned, was successful and so we decided to do a set of interviews annually, a process which continued until Fr. Martin’s tragic death.
These interviews are important today because they were so prophetic. He foresaw developments such as homosexual marriage and papal resignation long before they became a reality. Today, with the Catholic religion in the iron grip of an unprecedented crisis, Fr. Martin’s warnings on the state of the Church are more apparent than they were in the last decade of his life, in the evening of Pope John Paul II’s reign.
Fr. Martin not only explained what was happening. He explained why these events were happening. He provided a unique perspective on geopolitical and ecclesiastical events by explaining the critical role of the supernatural realm.
What do you suppose Fr. Martin would say about the current situation in the Church?
He would almost certainly say that events are unfortunately unfolding as he expected. The modern-day apostasy, or loss of belief, is deepening. In the last decade of his life, Fr. Martin stated that we are in the early stages of what could be called the great apostasy. Today, we are in the midst of it.
The Church has recently crossed three thresholds in what Pope Paul VI described as the auto-demolition of the Church. First, the papal resignation that Fr. Martin prophetically foresaw has happened, diminishing the status of the Papacy. Monarchs don’t resign; ordinary officials do. Secondly, there are now open divisions in the College of Cardinals. Prior to this pontificate, differences in opinion obviously existed, but public disagreements did not exist. Today, cardinals are publicly taking opposing positions on matters of faith and morals. Some cardinals state that to give the sacraments to divorced and remarried couples is contrary to traditional practise; other cardinals openly support this innovation. Thirdly, different jurisdictions in the Church have conflicting rules on a matter of moral discipline. In Poland, the traditional practice of not giving Holy Communion to divorced and remarried couples is retained. In the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, divorced and remarried couples may receive Holy Communion. This situation of discrepancy on a matter of moral discipline is unprecedented. Is the Catholic Church still universal?
The core of Fr. Martin’s message remains unchanged. Fr. Martin is like the Old Testament prophets who rebuked their people for falling away from their faith. Fr. Martin has rebuked today’s political leaders and churchmen who have departed from the faith of our fathers and decided to go their own way. In the book The Eternal War, Fr. Martin states, “This new world order is not the rule of God. It cannot succeed! It cannot have God’s blessing.”
Fr. Martin was a devotee of Fatima and also spoke of other twentieth century apparitions like Akita and Garabandal. He spoke often to you about “Our Lady coming in the sky to rescue us.” Can you elaborate about his thoughts in this area and what it means to our present day.
What I believe Fr. Martin is referring to is the warning spoken of by Our Lady in her appearances at Garabandal. Fr. Martin believed that Garabandal was an authentic apparition of Our Lady. According to the warning, there will be some unforeseen astronomical activity. This is why Fr. Martin has sometimes said to watch the skies. Everyone at a certain point in time will know the state of their soul. They will know how they stand before God. It will be a most frightening experience for many souls.
What do you want people to know about Fr. Martin and his life and times?
Fr. Martin said that when he grew up in Catholic Ireland, one could hardly ever fail, morally or spiritually. If your parents didn’t catch you, then your school teacher, your neighbors, your pastor, or the local policeman would catch you. In our day, this idyllic world has been transformed into a hostile environment, where a degenerate culture acts to break down the faith and morals of today’s families. Fr. Martin’s wide range of experiences and incredible mind enabled him to become God’s instrument in explaining what has happened to our Church and civilization. No other individual has developed as complete and prophetic an explanation of our times. This explanation includes the pivotal and largely undetected influence of the supernatural dimension, which of course goes unreported by mainstream media coverage of news events.
Where can one access your work with Fr. Martin to learn further of his life and work?
During the last decade of Fr. Martin’s eventful life, I conducted eight sets of recorded interviews with this incredible mind. Our apostolate, Triumph Communications, has transcribed these recorded interviews and published them as a box set of eight books, entitled The Wisdom of the Ages. More information about these books is available on our website at http://www.triumphcommunications.net. On our website, there are also several articles about Fr. Martin and his message for our times.
Bernard Janzen "Fr. Malachi Martin & Current Crisis"
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