The Decline, But Not Quite the Fall, of the Catholic Church: A Review of "Infiltration" by Taylor Marshall

Infiltration is a book for Catholics who wonder what has become of their Church. It responds to the current hippie-inspired liturgy, the insipid sermons, and the sight of elderly laypeople squirting hand sanitizer on their hands before plunking the Body of Christ into bored Catholics’ palms. No, it wasn’t always this way, and no, it wasn’t one thing that brought everyone to this point.

Dr. Taylor Marshall’s newest book explains how the enemies of the Church have infiltrated the Vatican in order to destroy it from within. Unlike previous attempts to destroy the Church from without, through wars, intimidation, and persecution, this long-term corruption may prove the most ruinous of all since it not only deprives Catholics of their Church but also the means to save it.  

For those who try to excuse this decline as the natural progression of history and a result of the sexual revolution, globalization, new technology, modern welfare states, and whatever else, Marshall rebuts these arguments by way of history. The Church’s current dysfunction is no accident; it the result of a conscious effort first started during the pontificate of Gregory XVI (1831-1846) of Freemasons planning to take down the Catholic Church. Before one dismisses this argument (which tends to happen when someone mentions Freemasons or the Illuminati), Marshall is careful to document and outline how this all works.

In the first portion of the book, he begins with a discussion of who exactly the Freemasons were, why the Catholic Church took such a harsh stance with them, and how they set their plan in motion—all of which was foretold by Our Lady of Sallette. It formally starts with the loss of the Papal States, robbing the Church of its political independence and making the pope “a prisoner in the Vatican.” At this time, Pope Leo XIII even has apparitions of the devil at work in the form of secret societies spreading error among the clergy and laity.

This sets the stage for book’s main section that charts the rise of Modernism and how it culminates into the reforms of Vatican II—which, this time, was all foretold by Our Lady of Fatima. After the anti-modernist stance of Pope St. Pius X, each succeeding pope from Pius XI to Paul VI pushes the Church a little further into the relativistic, meaningless waters of the Modernist heresy. One may find fault in Marshall’s conflation of Freemasons, Socialists, and Modernists who all do their work in undermining Church teachings, but he continues to provide solid evidence to show that as Church gradually changes, so too does its enemies.

As Marshall discusses Vatican II, he starts to call out the infiltrators by name. Traditionalists will likely nod along, but non-Traditionalist Catholics (that is, the vast majority of Catholics) may become uncomfortable with the indictment of so many well-respected individuals. At the top of the heap sits Blessed Paul VI who aggressively pushes the liberal reforms of Vatican II which devastates the Church more than any scandal—though he has those too. Then there is St. John XXIII who opens Vatican II on the basis of Freemason logic and suppresses and tampers with the third secret of Fatima. The best that can be said of their predecessors, Pius XI and XII, was that they were mainly incompetent and not necessarily morally compromised. Even celebrated conservative popes St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI play a part in relaxing standards, eliminating traditional devotion, and allowing corruption to fester. For the sake of argument and brevity, Marshall leaves out the great achievements of these men—which wouldn’t change the facts, in any case—though he does offer some context to the mistakes of John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

In the final section, Marshall discusses the aftermath of Vatican II and the last group to infiltrate and destroy the Church: the Sankt Gallen Mafia—otherwise known as the Lavender Mafia. Much of this section centers around the scandals of the Vatican Bank, John Paul II’s harsh treatment of traditionalist Archbishop Lefebvre (in contrast to his loosening the rules against priestly sexual deviancy), Benedict’s subsequent reversal, and the curious ascent of the disgraced Cardinal McCarrick through his ties with the Sankt Gallen cabal.

Those seeking the latest gossip on Pope Francis may be disappointed with Marshall’s brief treatment at the very end of his book, which is more recent history than outright criticism , though enough is implied. He explains how Bergoglio became the pope by allying with the Sankt Gallen Mafia, continues to make a mess of Catholic teachings, and has done next to nothing about the Church’s scandals.

All of this leads to Marshall’s conclusion in which he considers possible ways forward. Interestingly, he takes a Thomistic approach weighing the pros and cons of each option. Again, he considers almost exclusively the concerns of traditionalist Catholics, thinking little of other groups. Up to this point, mainstream Catholic readers may agree that some poisonous elements have brought down the Church, but they may not understand Marshall’s concern with the loss of Thomistic theology or the recent popes’ attempts to be more inclusive or relevant.

However, this is only a minor criticism that stems from Inflitration’s great strength, which is objectivity, clarity, and, concision. Marshall remains focused in his purpose of identifying what happened and tracing the effects. He does not stray into the minutia of theology (although he is well qualified to do so) or dwell on the various gossip of Catholic leadership (which, again, he is well qualified to do). For this, one can visit Marshall’s website and learn more.

In light of Marshall’s previous books, which cover more general topics in Catholicism, Infiltration clearly aims to articulate a specific argument of increasing importance for today’s Catholics. At a time where the traditional Catholics are growing in number and mainstream Catholics suffer from so much revisionist history or outright ignorance, Infiltration sheds some welcome light on some inconvenient truths. This book works to clear away the “Smoke of Satan” that has settled over the past century so that the faithful can find a way towards the light of Truth and rediscover their faith in Jesus Christ and His Bride the Church.