Windswept House: A Vatican Novel
Encyclopedia
Windswept House: A Vatican Novel is a novel by Catholic priest and theologian, Malachi Martin
. The book charts the turmoil within the Roman Catholic faith and within the very walls of Vatican City
.
ic ritual - the enthronement
of Lucifer
- which took place at Saint-Paul's Chapel inside Vatican City, on June 29, 1963. The book gives a scary depiction of high ranking churchmen, cardinals
, archbishop
s and prelate
es of the Roman curia, taking oaths signed with their own blood, plotting to destroy the Church from within. It tells the story of an international organized attempt
by these Vatican insiders and secular internationalists to force a pope
of the Catholic Church to abdicate, so that a successor may be chosen that will fundamentally change orthodox faith and establish a New World Order. Martin speaks of an agenda to desupernaturelize Roman Catholic teaching in order to produce good - desupernaturelized - human beings.
In an interview with Canadian journalist Bernard Janzen Martin stated that the principal point the book wants to make is that the Roman Catholic Church - as an organisation consisting of people, e.g. cardinal
s, bishop
s, priest
s, religious, who have authority in catholic structures, e.g. schools, colleges, universities, parishes and dioceses - is today in a state of apostasy
. He expressly maintains that a sizable minority of cardinals and bishops are in this state.
In a 2010 book entitled Why He's a Saint Monsignor Slawomir Oder, the leading advocate for John Paul II's saint
hood cause, stated that Pope John Paul II wrote a letter of resignation to be used in case of emergency, confirming the statement of Martin:
A key purporting to reveal the true identity of most of the characters exists, which Martin did not compile but to which he remarked was "well done". The book falls into a literary genre known as roman à clef
(French for 'novel with a key').
. Benthoek is a long time friend of Cardinal Secretary of State Maestroianni and is held in the highest regard by those in the highest reaches of global power and is one of the main players in the New World Orders plan for worldwide change.
and a special committee of industrialist advisors. Appleyard is ordered to oversee the EC's plan for Greater European Market in relation to US interests.
and goes on to challenge both the head of the Vatican Bank
, and the Slavic Pope, to boot.
Malachi Martin
Malachi Brendan Martin Ph.D. was a Catholic priest, theologian, writer on the Catholic Church, and professor at the Vatican's Pontifical Biblical Institute. He held three doctorates and was the sole author of sixteen books covering religious and geopolitical topics, which were published in eight...
. The book charts the turmoil within the Roman Catholic faith and within the very walls of Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
.
Plot
Windswept House describes a satanSatan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
ic ritual - the enthronement
Enthronement
An enthronement is a ceremony of inauguration, involving a person—usually a monarch or religious leader—being formally seated for the first time upon their throne. This ritual is generally distinguished from a coronation because there is no crown or other regalia that is physically...
of Lucifer
Lucifer
Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
- which took place at Saint-Paul's Chapel inside Vatican City, on June 29, 1963. The book gives a scary depiction of high ranking churchmen, cardinals
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
, archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
s and prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
es of the Roman curia, taking oaths signed with their own blood, plotting to destroy the Church from within. It tells the story of an international organized attempt
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
by these Vatican insiders and secular internationalists to force a pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
of the Catholic Church to abdicate, so that a successor may be chosen that will fundamentally change orthodox faith and establish a New World Order. Martin speaks of an agenda to desupernaturelize Roman Catholic teaching in order to produce good - desupernaturelized - human beings.
In an interview with Canadian journalist Bernard Janzen Martin stated that the principal point the book wants to make is that the Roman Catholic Church - as an organisation consisting of people, e.g. cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
s, bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s, priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
s, religious, who have authority in catholic structures, e.g. schools, colleges, universities, parishes and dioceses - is today in a state of apostasy
Apostasy
Apostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...
. He expressly maintains that a sizable minority of cardinals and bishops are in this state.
Fact or fiction
The author describes the book as containing "real events and real people masked in the form of a novel", a device he refers to as "faction". According to Martin, 95% of events in the book are real, and 85% of the characters are real people.In a 2010 book entitled Why He's a Saint Monsignor Slawomir Oder, the leading advocate for John Paul II's saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
hood cause, stated that Pope John Paul II wrote a letter of resignation to be used in case of emergency, confirming the statement of Martin:
- In a document signed and dated February 15, 1989, he wrote that if he was unable to sufficiently do his job because of an incurable illness, he would renounce his sacred and canonical office and leave it up to the top cardinals to carry out his wishes,
- In a 1994 document he wrote that he intended to resign in the case of an illness determined to be incurable and which impedes the (sufficient) exercise of the function of the petrine ministry.
A key purporting to reveal the true identity of most of the characters exists, which Martin did not compile but to which he remarked was "well done". The book falls into a literary genre known as roman à clef
Roman à clef
Roman à clef or roman à clé , French for "novel with a key", is a phrase used to describe a novel about real life, overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction...
(French for 'novel with a key').
The Slavic Pope
A geopolitical genius in his own right, the Slavic Pope is embattled against the forces of the New World Order and Satan in his defence of the Roman Catholic Church.Christian Gladstone
A conservative and passionate young priest who descends from the all-powerful Roman Catholic family of the American southwest, the Gladstones. Becomes a pawn in the advancement of the destruction of his beloved Church.Father Aldo Carnesecca
A simple and unassuming priest who has lived through four popes, Father Carnesecca is valued by his Vatican superiours as "a man of confidences." Unwilling to compromise his principles on the one hand or to cross the threshold of disillusionment and bitterness on the other, he has acquired a detailed knowledge of significant facts, friendships, incidents and decisions in the Rome of the popes. An expert in the rise and fall of the greats, he acts as a valued and intimate advisor to the embattled Slavic Pope, and becomes a valued and intimate friend to Christion Gladstone. Ultimately, his knowledge of hidden things leads not only to a maniacal scheme against his life, but to the unraveling of the darkest mystery lying at the heart of papal Rome.Master General Damien Slattery
Father-General of the Dominican Order, the Irish giant, Father Damien Duncan Slattery is a man of extraordinary appetite, and the dimensions to go with it. Slattery is Irish to the core, and the staunchest of the staunch among the small band of supporters dedicated to the papacy and to the Slavic Pope. Archenemy of Cardinal Maestroianni.Cardinal Silvio Aureatini
A, quick-witted man who is a young Cardinal of international accomplishment and huge ambition. A close associate of Cardinal Maestroianni and by his role in the Vatican's powerful Christian Adult Renewal Rite, Aureatini has improved his standing as a mover and shaker in the grave matters of foreign policy.Cyrus Benthoek
The American head of a powerful transnational law firm based in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Benthoek is a long time friend of Cardinal Secretary of State Maestroianni and is held in the highest regard by those in the highest reaches of global power and is one of the main players in the New World Orders plan for worldwide change.
Gibson Appleyard
A US State Department agent who is tasked as an international trouble shooter for the President of the United StatesPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
and a special committee of industrialist advisors. Appleyard is ordered to oversee the EC's plan for Greater European Market in relation to US interests.
Francesca 'Cessi' Gladstone
The matriarchal leader of the powerful Gladstone family. A devout, conservative Catholic who does not recognise the legitimacy of the church after the Second Vatican CouncilSecond Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
and goes on to challenge both the head of the Vatican Bank
Vatican Bank
The Institute for Works of Religion , commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a privately held institute located inside Vatican City run by a professional bank CEO who reports directly to a committee of cardinals, and ultimately to the Pope...
, and the Slavic Pope, to boot.