Pope Francis: The Devil Wages a ‘Dirty War’ to Destroy the Church

Commenting on the Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, where Paul reprimands the early Christians for their quarrels, factions and infighting, Pope Francis said that “the devil has two powerful weapons to destroy the Church: divisions and money.”

 

On the one hand, the Pope said before a group of faithful in the chapel at the Saint Martha residence where he lives in the Vatican, divisions destroy the Church by attacking its unity. This happened from the beginning, when “ideological and theological divisions tore at the Church.”

 

The devil engages in a “dirty war” by sowing divisions, the Pope said, “like terrorism.” In this way, he spreads “jealousies, ambitions, ideas, but to divide!” he said.

 

These divisions in the Church, Francis said, “do not let the Kingdom of God grow and they do not present the Lord as He is.”

 

Satan’s attacks aim to strike the Church at the very center of Christian unity, “the Eucharistic celebration,” Francis said.

 

He noted Paul’s criticism of the Corinthians who made distinctions between rich and poor even during the Eucharistic celebration. In contrast, Francis said, Jesus “prayed to the Father for unity.”

 

“But the devil tries to destroy it,” he said.

 

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