Jesuit Superior General: The Devil Is a ‘Symbol,’ Not a Person

On Wednesday, the Jesuit order’s superior general announced that Satan himself is a “symbol” rather than an actual being that was once created by God before falling into damnation.

According to Catholic News Agency, Fr. Arturo Sosa told the Italian magazine Tempi that the devil “exists as the personification of evil in different structures, but not in persons, because is not a person, is a way of acting evil.”

“He is not a person like a human person. It is a way of evil to be present in human life,” asserted the priest. “Good and evil are in a permanent war in the human conscience and we have ways to point them out. We recognize God as good, fully good. Symbols are part of reality, and the devil exists as a symbolic reality, not as a personal reality.”

The Jesuit leader’s statement about the devil stands in stark contrast with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches that Satan and his demons are “spiritual, non-corporeal beings” who are nonetheless “personal and immortal creatures” with an “intelligence and will.” . . .

Of the 1,496 adults in the United States polled, only 17% of self-identified Catholics said they believe in the existence of Satan, with 83% regarding the being as a mere symbol. Conversely, 55% of Evangelical Protestants believed in Satan’s literal existence. (Read more from “Jesuit Superior General: The Devil Is a ‘Symbol,’ Not a Person” HERE)

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