The Church must speak about the devil.(Viewpoint essay)

The Church must speak about the devil. Though he sinned, the fallen angel has not lost all the power he had, in the governance of the world, according to God's plan. Now he uses this power for evil. John's Gospel calls him "the prince of this world" (John 12:31) and also in the First Letter oF John one reads: "The whole world is in the power of the evil one" (1 John 5:19). Paul speaks of our battle against spiritual powers (cf. Ephesians 6:10-17). We can also refer to Revelation.

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We must fight not only against the human but the superhuman forces of evil in their origin and inspiration: suffice it to think of Auschwitz, of the massacres of entire peoples, of all the horrendous crimes that are committed, of the scandals of which little ones and the innocent are victims, of the success of the ideologies of death, etc.

It is appropriate to recall some principles. The evil of sin is committed by a free will. Only God can …