Satan

“Not to oppose error is to approve it, and not to defend the truth is to suppress it” - Pope St. Felix III

Note: In this report I may occasionally use bold print, Italics, or word underlining for emphasis. This will be my personal emphasis and not that of the source that I am quoting.

Q: Hi Ron. I have been working for this Nun at my parish in the Religious Education Office for several years now. Last week, the subject of the devil came up and she said she does not believe the devil exists or that he is a creature or a person or whatever you want to call him.  She said she believes there is evil in the world but only because of original sin.  I immediately told her that the devil exists and she just shrugged it off like she does with everything else.  She leads the RCIA team every week and she told me that she never speaks of the devil to them.  She said they never heard about the devil and she only teaches them about how God loves them. My question is: "Should I write to the Bishop and tell him this?"  This nun is doing a great deal of damage to the Church.  She is ultra-liberal and I feel like I am guilty by association. Patricia

A: There are two types of teachings that we are required to accept and believe as Catholics – doctrine and dogma. Doctrine is the ordinary teaching of the Church on a given subject matter, such as who the angels are. Dogma is a specifically defined teaching, such as the Immaculate Conception. The 1994 Catechism of the Catholic Church contains all of the doctrines and dogmas that we are required to believe! No Catholic, including this Nun, specifically may pick and choose what doctrines or dogmas that they want to accept; we must totally accept them all!

Although you did not ask for it in your question, I will include some doctrine on satan or the devil in case you want to provide this information to the Nun that you are inquiring about. Doctrine: “He (the devil) tempts Adam and Eve and speaks through the serpent, disguising himself as an angel of God. The reason for his hatred is that he was expelled from heaven by Michael (the archangel) because he refused to adore man, the image of God. Satan is the strong one (Mt. 13:29), the evil one (Mt. 13:19 and the prince of the world. He (satan) can inflict evils on human beings, for virtue is not genuine unless tested. He (satan) seduces some of the faithful (I Tim. 5:15). (Could satan have seduced this Nun?). The Devil is not just a personification of evil, and the existence of the Devil must not be denied. The doctrine of the Devil affirms that there is an evil domain into which humanity has been plunged and is redeemed from that only by God. Evil spirits are fallen angels, among whom one - called the devil or satan - is traditionally held to exercise leadership.¹ Doctrine: Scripture witnesses to the disastrous influence of the one Jesus calls ‘a murderer from the beginning’, who would even try to divert Jesus from the mission received from His Father. It is a great mystery that providence should permit diabolical activity (on earth).”² Doctrine: “Jesus’ exorcisms free some individuals from the domination of demons.”³ We might ask: If there is no satan or demons then why does Holy Church continue to do exorcisms even today?

Based on the limited information that you provided to me about this Nun in your e-mail, it suggests that she learned her catechism from Holy Church from the old Baltimore Catechism, which I will quote from. Doctrine: “One of these angels (that God created) was most beautiful, and was named Lucifer, which means light-bearer. He was so perfect that he seems to have forgotten that he received all his beauty and intelligence from God, and not content with what he had, became sinfully proud and wished to be equal to God Himself. For his sin he and all of his followers were driven out of Heaven, and God created Hell, in which they were to suffer for all eternity. The same Lucifer is now called satan, and more commonly the devil.”⁴

I do not know the Church hierarchy in your area for reporting purposes or what your experience with them has been. In a letter, quote precisely what this Nun has said about satan. In the same letter counter these errors with quotes such as those that I have used showing Church doctrine on satan and demons. First, report this matter to your pastor, in charity. Tell him kindly that you would like a response within 30 or 45 days, etc. “In accord with the knowledge, competence and preeminence which they possess, they have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and they have a right to make their opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard for the integrity of faith and morals and reverence towards their pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons.”⁵ After this time has passed or if you get a non-committal response, write to the Mother Superior of the Nun’s religious order. She has a duty to correct errant Nuns within the order. I would also give her a reasonable time frame in which to respond. In charity you might suggest to her that if these serious teaching errors are not corrected that you will need to report the matter to the bishop. With each step that you go up the ladder, advise the recipient of whom you have already reported the matter and what their response (or lack thereof) has been. In the end, if nothing changes, you have a right and even duty to report to the Vatican. I can give you the proper Vatican Dicastery to contact at that time.

I hope that I have provided enough information to help you resolve this most serious matter. If I can be of further assistance, please ask!

This report prepared on January 20, 2008 by Ronald Smith, 11701 Maplewood Road, Chardon, Ohio 44024-8482, E-mail: hfministry@juno.com Readers may copy and distribute this report as desired to anyone as long as the content is not altered and it is copied in its entirety. In this little ministry I do free Catholic and occult related research and answer your questions. Questions are answered in this format with detailed footnotes on all quotes. If you would like to be on my list to get a copy of all Q&A’s I do, please send me a note. If you have a question(s), please submit it to this land mail or e-mail address. Answers are usually forthcoming within one week. If you find error(s) in my report(s), please notify me immediately!

+ Let us recover by penance what we have lost by sin +