{"id":12928,"date":"2018-10-12T10:36:53","date_gmt":"2018-10-12T14:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=12928"},"modified":"2018-10-12T10:36:53","modified_gmt":"2018-10-12T14:36:53","slug":"pope-blames-devil-church-scandals-division-urges-catholics-pray-special-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2018\/10\/pope-blames-devil-church-scandals-division-urges-catholics-pray-special-prayer","title":{"rendered":"The Pope Blames Devil For Church Scandals and Division, Urges Catholics to Pray Special Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Benhur Arcayan\/WikiCommons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pope Francis believes that the devil is to blame for the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church and the issues dividing the Church. Francis is calling on Catholic around the world to recite a special prayer every day in October to try to beat him back according to Reuters<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The Church must be] saved from the attacks of the malign one, the great accuser and at the same time be made ever more aware of its guilt, its mistakes, and abuses committed in the present and the past,\u201d Francis said in a message.<\/p>\n

The devil is alive and well and working overtime to under the Roman Catholic Church, Francis says.<\/p>\n

The pope has mentioned the devil countless time since he was elected in 2013 and has made it is clear he believes the devil is at work. In a document in April on the topic of holiness in the modern world, Francis mentioned the devil more than 12 times.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should not think of the devil as a myth, a representation, a symbol, a figure of speech or an idea. This mistake would lead us to let down our guard, to grow careless and end up more vulnerable,\u201d he said in the document.<\/p>\n

This is a very troubling time for the Catholic Church. They have recently been hit by countless sexual abuse scandals in different parts of the world.<\/p>\n

The term \u201cthe great accuser\u201d that Francis used didn\u2019t sit well with one of the pope\u2019s strongest conservative critics, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, a former Vatican envoy to Washington.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis said \u201csilence and prayer\u201d were the answer to those \u201cseeking scandal\u201d as the Catholic Church faces countless attacks from ultra-conservative Catholics.<\/p>\n

To many ultra-conservatives, the Pope is viewed as a dangerous progressive who is more interested in social issues than traditional Church matters.<\/p>\n

The pope so far has not yet responded directly to allegations made last month that he for years covered up sexual abuse allegations against a prominent US cardinal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith people who lack goodwill, with people who seek only scandal, who seek only division, who seek only destruction, even within the family: (there is nothing but) silence. And prayer,\u201d Francis said during a service at St Martha\u2019s.<\/p>\n

His comments came after Vigano claimed in August that Francis ignored sexual abuse allegations against US cardinal Theodore McCarrick for five years.<\/p>\n

The latest sex abuse allegations, specifically those raised by Vigano former nuncio to the U.S. have increased public pressure on Francis to resign to save the Church.<\/p>\n

A top Vatican official recently issued a scathing open letter accusing Vigano of mounting a \u201cpolitical frame job devoid of real foundation\u201d and contesting his accusations against the pope.<\/p>\n

Francis feels so strongly that Satan is to blame for the sexual abuse scandal and the divisions within the Church that he has enlisted the help of St. Michael the Archangel. Michael is mentioned a number of times in Scripture as the leader of the angels who ousted Lucifer, the fallen angel.<\/p>\n

In October, Catholics are being called to recite the rosary daily and conclude it with a prayer to St. Michael. This is the prayer:<\/p>\n

\u201cSt. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pope Francis believes that the devil is to blame for the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church and the issues dividing the Church. Francis is calling on Catholic around the world to recite a special prayer every day in October to try to beat him back according to Reuters. \u201c[The Church must be] saved…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[623],"tags":[2400,2410,2348,2223,2411,2402],"class_list":["post-12928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catholic-news","tag-catholic-church-abuse-scandal","tag-church-abuse-scandal","tag-pope-francis","tag-prayer","tag-rosary-prayer","tag-sex-scandal"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Pope Blames Devil For Church Scandals and Division, Urges Catholics to Pray Special Prayer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2018\/10\/pope-blames-devil-church-scandals-division-urges-catholics-pray-special-prayer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Pope Blames Devil For Church Scandals and Division, Urges Catholics to Pray Special Prayer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pope Francis believes that the devil is to blame for the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church and the issues dividing the Church. Francis is calling on Catholic around the world to recite a special prayer every day in October to try to beat him back according to Reuters. \u201c[The Church must be] saved…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2018\/10\/pope-blames-devil-church-scandals-division-urges-catholics-pray-special-prayer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Beliefnet News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-10-12T14:36:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lesli White\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/files\/2018\/09\/Pope_Francis-e1537564968525.jpg\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Pope Blames Devil For Church Scandals and Division, Urges Catholics to Pray Special Prayer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2018\/10\/pope-blames-devil-church-scandals-division-urges-catholics-pray-special-prayer","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Pope Blames Devil For Church Scandals and Division, Urges Catholics to Pray Special Prayer","og_description":"Pope Francis believes that the devil is to blame for the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church and the issues dividing the Church. 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