The 1P5 Podcast, Episode 10 is available now!
ON TODAY’S EPISODE: A rallying cry from a Catholic bishop to resist heterodoxy from within the Church. Plus: an interview with the devil.
Steve Skojec is the Founding Publisher of OnePeterFive.com. He received his BA in Communications and Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2001. His commentary has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, Crisis Magazine, EWTN, Huffington Post Live, The Fox News Channel, Foreign Policy, and the BBC. Steve and his wife Jamie have eight children. You can find more of his writing at his Substack, The Skojec File.
Well I guess I’ll be the first to speak up. The first part, on His Excellency Anathasius Bishop Schneider was outstanding, your best work yet. The next part, the parody of Satan, was in poor taste, I couldn’t finish it. Satan can crush any of us, but for the grace of God. We resist him with God’s help, do we mock him with God’s help? I think not. Is it not tempting God?
I think you’re taking this a tad too seriously. There was no attempt to emulate Satan in a realistic way, or even to cast any particular aspersions on him directly. It was a caricature, at most – with no attempt made at accuracy.
The goal was pure satire; a device used to lampoon the fact that there are those in the Church who seem all too willing to cooperate with the devil, and as such, they are playing right into his hands. In that sense, you consider it a more tongue in cheek take on the genre of the Screwtape Letters. If Dr. Peter Kreeft can don devil horns while giving his speech inspired by the C.S. Lewis classic, I don’t see how this is any further out of line.
I used to work for an exorcist. I’ve seen and experienced the reality of the devil and his fallen angels in ways that most people haven’t. I take the threat they pose very, very seriously – which is why I dedicate so much of this site to spiritual warfare.
But it’s also dangerous to take such things too seriously, which would be a failure of faith in God’s power over the fallen angels. Remember, the devil fell because of pride; as such, there is a long tradition within the Catholic ethos of mocking him, and many of the saints were openly dismissive of his attacks. “Oh, it’s just you” shows up in the lives of St. Jean Vianney, St. Teresa of Avila (if memory serves), etc. It shows that our fear is not of him, but of the Lord.
Incidentally, the exorcist I worked for would get messages from the possessed he worked with. Demonic voices on his answering machine threatening his life. Cards and letters promising curses and more. He’d go through this correspondence as part of his morning routine, chuckling to himself: “Oh, that’s nice. That’s very nice.”
We know we have to fight. But we also know who wins in the end. Invoking the devil to do his worst would be foolish. Having a laugh at his expense is a reminder of Who we trust in.
Interesting. Thanks for the response. I’ll finish the podcast.