Pope Paul VI

Controversial sermons

On June 29 1972 Pope Paul VI in a homily delivered a strikingly downbeat analysis of the state of the Roman Catholic Church post Vatican II. He told a congregation:

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June 29 - 1972

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:We believed that after the Council would come a day of sunshine in the history of the Church. But instead there has come a day of clouds and storms, and of darkness ... And how did this come about? We will confide to you the thought that may be, we ourselves admit in free discussion, that may be unfounded, and that is that there has been a power, an adversary power. Let us call him by his name: the devil.

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His fears of satanic infiltration of the Church were even more pronounced in a later sentence which is widely quoted by conservative Catholics. He said:

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:It is as if from some mysterious crack, no, it is not mysterious, from some crack the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God.

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What he was alluding to was never explained. Some members of the traditionalist movement have used that quote as a defense of their positions on the direction the Church has taken following the council.

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A few months before his death, Paul celebrated the solemn funeral of Aldo Moro (Moro was murdered by the Red Brigades), who had sent him a famous letter from his prison. Moro and Montini had been in the FUCI together, a Catholic association for university students, many years before, and in time had become perhaps the two most important Catholic figures in Italy.

Related Topics:
Aldo Moro - Red Brigades - FUCI

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