The Devil is no Medieval, Fanciful Figure

From John Lee, Johannesburg

It is said that in our day there are no devils left in hell: they have all been let loose on earth destroying marriages, disrupting communities and governments, and causing wars, in addition to tempting individuals, particularly in the weaker areas of their lives, as never before.

Yet there are many today, including clergy, who consider the devil and his cohorts to be a medieval superstition, and that psychology can cure what was formerly, even in scripture, attributed to the evil one.

The very reason for Jesus’ coming was to confound the works of the devil and to make heaven a possibility for those who repent and live lives in tune with the Gospel.

There remain, nevertheless, those who see this area as savouring of superstition and primitive religion.

It is true that every temptation is not necessarily the result of direct demonic activity. Many temptations are due to our weakness and sinfulness.

On November 15, 1972, in a general audience, Pope Paul VI made the following statement (which was, incidentally, much criticised) in reply to the question, “What is the greatest need of the Church today?”

The pope said: “Do not let our answer surprise you as being over-simple or even superstitious or unreal. One of the greatest needs is defence from the evil which is called the devil. Evil is not merely a lack of something, but an effective agent, a living, spiritual being, perverted and perverting, a terrible reality.

“It is contrary to the teaching of the Bible and the Church to refuse to recognise the existence of such a reality, or to explain it as a pseudo-reality, a conceptual and fanciful personification of the unknown causes of our misfortunes.

“That it is not a question of one devil but of many is indicated by various passages of the Gospel (Lk 11:21, Mk 5:9) …a whole mysterious world upset by an unhappy drama of which we know very little. What are the signs of diabolical action and what are the means of defence against such an insidious danger?” (L’Osservatore Romano, November 23, 1972)

In Turin in Italy, for instance, the activity of Satan is so strong that several official exorcists have been assigned to the archdiocese. No wonder, this is the city where the Shroud of Turin is kept.

There was the publicised event, some years ago, when a possessed woman caused such a tumult in St Peter’s Square during one of Pope John Paul II’s audiences that even the Holy Father was prevailed upon to try to exorcise the woman, well known in the area, on whom several exorcisms had been attempted in the past.

The activity of the evil one in our day is certainly not a fanciful medieval superstition as some would suppose.