Windswept House

Rating:
Summary: Excellent explanation of crisis in the Catholic Church
Review: I was absorbed with this book and couldn't put it down. Since 99.9% of the people in the world are in the dark and don't see what is going on in the Catholic Church and in the world, some of the people who read this book will give it a bad review. Fr. Malachi Martin is one of those Vatican insiders who knows what is going on in the Vatican and I trust his writings. Anyone who can see the evil that exists in this world, knows that this book, while fiction, contains about 80% truth. Anyone who cannot see the evil cannot see the truth.

Rating:
Summary: Do not buy this book!
Review:

I bought this book on a whim and now wish I hadn't. I did manage to get all the way through "Windswept House," but only because I kept hoping it would get *better*. Alas, it never did.

In fact, unless you're a logic teacher looking for some textbook examples of faulty reasoning, I recommend against buying this book. In a very thinly disguised screed against what the author takes as heretical turns in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council, we are asked to imagine that the United Nations is really a covert plot by Satanists and homosexuals (the two classes seem to be co- extensive in Martin's mind) to dominate the world and destroy the Catholic Church. Nor is this by any means the strangest fantasy the reader is asked to swallow.

If you're looking for a *good* Vatican novel, I heartily recommend Morris West's books on that subject, particularly his last novel, "Lazarus," or Andrew Greeley's. My own copy of "Windswept House" has been saved from paying a visit to Mr. Dumpster only by my inherent regard for the printed word and my reluctance to admit that I really *did* waste good money on this tripe. I may yet decide to use it to start a good holiday blaze this season, or I may wait until the weather improves and use it for a marshmallow roast some fine spring night. I could always use it as a doorstop, I suppose--but it will certainly not be finding a permanent home on my bookshelves: I have far too many *good* candidates for not nearly enough places as it is, for me to be willing to waste the space with "Windswept House."

Rating:
Summary: A MUST Read
Review: Nobody who loves the Catholic Church and has despaired over what has happened to Catholicism since 1960 can afford to ignore this powerful allegorical novel . . .

Rating:
Summary: All-too-true depiction of the state of the Catholic Church
Review: Although a novel by form, the book paints an all-too-realistic picture of the Catholic Church of the 1990s (and still today). Though written as a suspenseful novel, one could interpret the book essentially as a plea to Pope John Paul II to save the Church from evil forces (and the forces of Evil) before it is too late. (Sadly, JPII's present age, infirmities, and apparent lack of control over the Vatican as of 2004 probably indicate that it *is* now too late.)

Devotees of the Third Secret of Fatima will be intrigued by the author's references to its full contents. (What was revealed by the Vatican in the year 2000 was only a part, and not the worst part, according to many experts.) Here on Amazon.com, you can search the book for references to "conversion of Russia" and "last Pope of these Catholic times."

Rating:
Summary: A "MUST READ" for every Catholic!
Review: Traditionalist Roman Catholic Father Malachi Martin's novel _Windswept House_ takes a look into the strange world of Vatican politics and intrigue within the larger setting of the world at large. Father Malachi Martin, Roman Catholic priest, former Jesuit, exorcist, and an associate of Pope John XXIII and Cardinal Augustin Bea, presents the reader with a fictionalized account of a global conspiracy in league with Satanists and freemasonry to take control of the Roman Catholic church and to oust "the Slavic Pope" (Pope John Paul II). While this book is a work of fiction, Malachi Martin has stated that much of what is presented here is in fact based upon truth, including allegations of Satanic activity within the Vatican during the 1960s. The book consists of endless plots and counter-plots among Cardinals and prelates of the church in an effort to unseat the Slavic Pope and place a liberal, modernist pope upon the Throne of Peter in league with Satan's plan for the church. Only a small band of those who adhere to the traditional teachings of the church (with emphasis on the Tridentine mass), including two brothers from a wealthy Texas family (the Gladstone's), are able to offer resistance against the forces of evil within the church hierarchy. The book alleges conspiracy of the highest order, Satanic activity and possession within the Vatican and within the church hierarchy (especially in America), pedophilia and homosexual activity within the church and among its priests and bishops, as well as the prevelance of freemasons among the Catholic Cardinalate. While the book is written under the guise of fiction, one cannot help to see many of the current problems within the church in wide-angle focus after reading this book. Father Martin is not the first to point these problems out, and he belongs to a group of Traditionalist Catholics who look askance upon (some of) the documents of Vatican II, adhere to the Tridentine mass, and believe that current problems in the church could be resolved if the Pope were to take a stronger stance (and listen to the warnings of the Virgin Mother, especially as revealed at Fatima). The book ends with a cliffhanger and one is not sure what to make of it at the end, much as one is not sure what to make of modern day Roman Catholicism (especially in America) which has become infested with the heresy of modernism and liberalism. Much of the book consists of geopolitical intrigue (of the old-school variety), showing how a club of elite businessmen and politicians have turned towards Satan and his "humanistic" offerings in their efforts to create a New World Order. For these elite, the Roman Catholic Church represents an outmoded medieval residue; nevertheless, they believe the takeover of this institution is useful because it has so many members which can be unified. Indeed, the theme of unity plays an important part in this book, in which the chief conspirators (cardinals) call upon the ideal of "unity" to force the Slavic Pope's hand in a "Protocol of Resignation". Indeed it is these global unity schemes, which are of greatest danger to Christ and His Church today. For those individuals who feel disaffected by the modern post-Vatican II church, a book such as this may offer some guidance in trying to maintain the traditions of the church. For others who read this book, it will provide food for thought at the very least. While I believe it is wrong to leave the church (especially during a time of mass apostasy) as some in the more narrow reaches of "traditionalism" or the extremist position of "sedevacantism" have decided to do, we must be wary of those developments which have taken place within the church and among its hierarchy which are directly opposed to its traditional teaching. The book leaves one with a question, and the question is how is one to remain true to the teachings of the church within the modern world and given the influences of the modern world on the church itself. Of course, in the book, not even the pope is capable of making such a decision (at least not easily).

Father Malachi Martin (who will be sorely missed among traditionalists) recently died as he was working on another book about the Vatican and the New World Order. While his books should be read with caution (and perhaps some skepticism), they offer the ready a unique look into the mind of a traditionalist Catholic living in the modern world.