Paul VI – confronto col’Inferno (November 15, 1972): the magisterial address on the devil

Paul VI’s address at the General Audience of November 15, 1972, known in history as “Confronto col Diavolo” or by the celebrated phrase “Si è creduto vedere il fumo di Satana entrare nel tempio di Dio” (delivered on June 29, 1972), is the most famous intervention of the contemporary Magisterium on the Devil. Full text in L’Osservatore Romano, November 16, 1972.

Context: the famous “Smoke of Satan”

On June 29, 1972, at the Mass of Saints Peter and Paul, Paul VI had delivered a phrase that shook the Church:

“Si è creduto che dopo il Concilio sarebbe venuta una giornata di sole per la storia della Chiesa. È venuta invece una giornata di nuvole, di tempesta, di buio, di ricerca, di incertezza… Crediamo in qualcosa di preternaturale venuto nel mondo proprio per turbare, per soffocare i frutti del Concilio Ecumenico, e per impedire che la Chiesa prorompesse nell’inno della sua gioia di aver riavuto in pienezza la coscienza di se stessa. Si è creduto vedere il fumo di Satana entrare nel tempio di Dio”.

English: “It was believed that after the Council a day of sunshine would come for the history of the Church. Instead there came a day of clouds, of storm, of darkness, of searching, of uncertainty… We believe in something preternatural that has come into the world precisely to disturb, to suffocate the fruits of the Ecumenical Council, and to prevent the Church from bursting forth in the hymn of her joy at having fully recovered the consciousness of herself. It is believed that the smoke of Satan is seen entering the temple of God.”

This phrase gave rise to countless speculations. On November 15, 1972, Paul VI devoted an entire General Audience to the theme of the Devil in order to clarify his position.

Italian text, audience of November 15, 1972

One of the greatest needs of the Church today is the defense against that evil which we call the Demon.

Permettete che apriamo gli occhi sulla realtà del mondo, sulla quale il giudizio della Sacra Scrittura, la Chiesa e la nostra esperienza umana ci illuminano. La Sacra Scrittura ci avverte: “Il vostro avversario, il diavolo, come leone ruggente sta in agguato per divorarvi” (1 Pet 5:8). Anzi tutto il prologo del vangelo di Giovanni… contiene questa formula misteriosa: “mundus eum non cognovit”, il mondo non lo conobbe: e ad essa fa eco il discorso di Gesù nell’ultima cena: “mondo” significa “coloro che si oppongono a Cristo, alla sua fede e alla sua redenzione”.

Evil is not merely a deficiency, but an effective agent, a living being, spiritual, perverted and perverting. A terrible reality. Mysterious and frightening. Whoever refuses to acknowledge that it exists steps outside the framework of biblical and ecclesiastical teaching: either he makes of it a principle in itself, not having, like every creature, its origin in God; or he explains it as a pseudo-reality, a conceptual and fantastic personification of the unknown causes of our ills.

English translation

What are the greatest needs of the Church today? Let not our answer seem to you simplistic, or even superstitious and unreal: one of the greatest needs is the defense against that evil which we call the Demon.

Allow us to open our eyes to the reality of the world, on which the judgment of Sacred Scripture, the Church, and our human experience shed light for us. Sacred Scripture warns us: “Your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, prowls around seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8). Likewise the whole prologue of the Gospel of John… contains this mysterious formula: “mundus eum non cognovit”, the world knew Him not: and it is echoed by the discourse of Jesus at the Last Supper: “world” means “those who oppose Christ, His faith and His redemption”.

Evil is not merely a deficiency, but an effective agent, a living being, spiritual, perverted and perverting. A terrible reality. Mysterious and frightening. Whoever refuses to acknowledge its existence steps outside the framework of biblical and ecclesiastical teaching: either he makes of it a principle in itself, not having, like each creature, its origin in God: or he explains it as a pseudo-reality, a conceptual and fantastic personification of the unknown causes of our tribulations.

The Liberaci dal male opening

What then is the defense? Deliver us from evil, we ask the Lord. Our greatest defense is grace, and innocence, and the unexpected victory of Good over Evil, which has become accessible by virtue of prayer, of the sacraments, and of personal witness of life.

English: What therefore is the defense? Deliver us from evil, we pray to the Lord. Our greatest defense is grace, and innocence, and the unexpected victory of Good over Evil, which has become accessible through the virtue of prayer, of the sacraments, and of personal witness of life.

The four Great Affirmations

1. The Devil exists as a personal being. He is not a symbol, not a myth, not a personification.
2. The Devil acts in the world. He disturbs the Church, attacks the faithful, perverts structures.
3. The Devil has already been conquered by Christ, but he continues to act until the end of time.
4. The Christian has weapons to resist: grace, innocence, prayer, sacraments, witness.

Reception of the address

The address of November 15, 1972, was one of the most commented on of Paul VI’s pontificate. The majority of the “demythologizing” Catholic theologians (Herbert Haag among them) found themselves publicly contradicted by the Pope. Traditionalists saw in it a welcome reaffirmation of the ancient doctrine. The secular press ridiculed it. But the Vatican, with this address, fixed the Church’s official position in demonology for the post-conciliar period.

Legacy

Paul VI’s address was the basis for:

• CDF, Christian Faith and Demonology 1975
• Catecheses of John Paul II on the Devil (1986)
• New Rite of Exorcism (1999)
• CCC (1992) section on demons
• Episcopal conferences that renewed diocesan exorcists in the years 1980-2000

Further reading

CDF, Faith and Demonology 1975 | Fourth Lateran Council 1215