Pope Francis Blames Satan for the Sexual Abuse Within the Catholic Church

Pope Francis Blames Satan for the Sexual Abuse Within the Catholic Church

Pope Francis Blames Satan for the Sexual Abuse Within the Catholic Church
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The devout must recite a special prayer to keep the devil at bay

Pope Francis has blamed Lucifer, the devil, for the troubles undermining the beleaguered Roman Catholic Church.[/tweetit] The church is now being bombarded by ever-increasing revelations of sexual misconduct by the clergy and cover-ups in connivance with other church officials. The pontiff claimed that the devil is leaving no stone unturned to divide the church. Francis is so certain about the devil's handiwork he has requested Catholics present all over the globe to recite a certain prayer every day all through October.

Pope Francis Blames Satan for the Sexual Abuse Within the Catholic Church[/tweetthis]

The pope has requested the faithful gathered at St. Peter's Square to pray to Michael the archangel to counter the devil's continuous attacks. Michael is the angel who ejected Lucifer out of heaven. In Francis' own words, the Vatican must be saved from the maligned one's attacks, terming the devil as the "great accuser." He, however, admitted the church was guilty, saying the institution must be made aware of its shortcomings and crimes committed in its name in the past and also in the present.

For the long-term Vatican observer, such statements by the incumbent pope should not come as a surprise. From the time he got elected to head the papal office in 2013, Francis has made it clear that he believes in the actual existence of the devil. He even mentions the malevolent figure multiple times in a document which elaborates on the subject of holiness in the modern world. The pope has warned the faithful that they should not think of Satan as a representation and a myth or a symbol. It is not merely an idea or a figure of speech. This mistake would relax the church to lower its guards and be careless. It would make the Catholic Church vulnerable to attacks.

For the Vatican, 2018 has been a terrible year. The Holy See has been nearly capsized from its high pedestal by multiple sexual abuse allegations posted by victims who said priests took advantage of their tender age to sodomize them. Carlo Maria Vigano, a conservative archbishop, and who once represented the Vatican in Washington, has claimed in a detailed document that Francis along with a number of other church officials knew for many years the charges of sexual misconduct by Theodore McCarrick, the now former Cardinal but chose to ignore such charges. Vigano is angry that the pope has compared him to the devil.

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