Peter in Chains Letter

Ordering Information

 

Dear Friends and Benefactors:

Triumph Communications has just published Peter in Chains, the fifth book in our series of books by Malachi Martin.  The title of the book, Peter in Chains, probably applies more accurately to the situation of Pope Benedict XVI than to his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.  The pontificate of Pope Benedict has recently come under ferocious attack from the media.  This did not occur during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, who often enjoyed a favorable press.

Certainly, flaws exist in the pontificate of Pope Benedict.  For example, Pope Benedict has continued much of his predecessor’s policy of ecumenism.  Yet, he has done enough good to incur the hostility of the liberals in the Vatican and in the media.  Liberals are furious at Pope Benedict for initiatives such as: the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, which strengthened the legal position of the Traditional Latin Mass; the lifting of the excommunications of the four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X; and the overtures made to conservative Anglicans.

The liberals’ attacks on Pope Benedict focus on his handling of the clerical sexual abuse scandals.  Yet, are these scandals the liberals’ real concern?  If the scandals were their real concern, then why did they not go after Pope John Paul II on this issue?  These scandals have been going on for decades.  Pope  Benedict has actually done more than his predecessor to deal with this problem.  The obvious answer is that the liberals have seized on this issue, using it as a battering ram against Pope Benedict’s pontificate, because, unlike most of their agenda, it is an issue which resonates with the public.  They scent blood and hope to use the issue to cripple Pope Benedict’s pontificate.  A parallel from the field of politics is the media’s approach to the scandals of the Nixon and Clinton administrations.  The media used the Watergate scandals to mortally wound the Nixon administration, while glossing over the scandals of the comparatively more liberal Clinton administration.

It is an act of incredible nerve for the liberals to make use of these scandals.  It was the liberals who caused the problem!  Before Vatican II, scandals of this kind were rare.  For the most part, the clergy lived lives of discipline and prayer, which gave them the inner strength to resist the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.  Seminaries screened out undesirable candidates for the priesthood.  After Vatican II, the clergy’s discipline was relaxed and their prayer life was diminished.  There is another factor.  In Goodbye, Good Men: How Liberals Brought Corruption into the Catholic Church, Michael S. Rose documents how modern seminaries systematically screened out good candidates for the priesthood, while accepting less desirable candidates.  I know of a case where a seminarian was dismissed from his seminary because he “exhibited rigid piety” by praying the rosary daily.

It is a characteristic of liberals to propose phony solutions to problems.  For example, they promote the establishment of safe injection centers as a solution to the drug problem.  Often, liberals promote the idea of getting rid of priestly celibacy as a solution to the problem of the scandals.  Yet, priestly celibacy existed in the Church prior to Vatican II, when there were comparatively few scandals.  Of course, liberals would not consider as a solution to restore the discipline and prayer life that the clergy followed before Vatican II.  And they certainly would not support a return to the traditional criteria for screening candidates for the priesthood.

In addition to publishing Peter in Chains, by Malachi Martin, Triumph Communications has produced a series of recordings entitled Catholic vs. Modern Culture, by Bishop Richard Williamson.  In this series, Bishop Williamson shows that modern culture is not real culture at all, but a dagger pointed at the heart of Christianity.  Bishop Williamson argues that parents have a duty to safeguard their homes from being invaded by a degenerate culture created by men who hate everything the Church stands for.  It is essential to take a strong stand on the issue of culture because, at present, the spread of modern culture within our homes is weakening the faith of a high percentage of Catholic families.   For parents, dealing with the onslaught of modern culture may well be the number one issue facing them.  With the evil one’s offensives in the spheres of religion, culture, and politics accelerating, Bishop Williamson’s strong voice is needed more than ever.

We urge you to support our work of publishing traditional Catholic books, CDs, and cassette tapes.  We invite you to send us any names and addresses of anyone that you think would be interested in our work and ask you to pray for the success of our endeavors.  May it all be for the greater honor and glory of God.

God Bless,

Bernard Janzen

 


CATHOLIC RECORDINGS & BOOKS
Produced and Distributed by
Triumph Communications
P.O. Box 479, Davidson, SK S0G 1A0 Canada
(306) 567-3336
(306) 561-8188