Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
Al Pacino as Satan in the film 'Devil's Advocate' (screen capture: Warner Brothers)
Never underestimate the devil.
That was the advice Pope Francis gave Wednesday, on TV2000, a Catholic television channel.
“He is evil, he’s not like mist. He’s not a diffuse thing, he is a person,” the pope said.
A bruised Pope Francis smiles during his visit to the Sanctuary of St. Peter Claver, in Cartagena, Colombia, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. (Alessandro Di Meo/Pool via AP)
“I want to say something about which I’m convinced. With Satan, you cannot have dialogue. If you start a dialogue with Satan, you are lost.
“He is more intelligent than we are and he will turn you around, turn your head, and you’re lost.”
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The pope said the devil always behaved politely. “With us, the priest, the bishops, he is polite, he comes in like this,” but things ended badly if people failed to recognize who it was.
Pope Francis, a Jesuit, refers more frequently than his immediate predecessors to the Prince of Darkness.
He has recommended to priests not to hesitate resorting to local exorcists if they witness great spiritual disorder from their side of the confessional.
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This file photo taken on August 17, 2016 shows a picture of slain Father Jacques Hamel displayed inside the church of San Luigi dei Francesi in downtown Rome. (AFP Photo/Marco Zeppetella)
During a mass in memory of a French priest, Jacques Hamel, who was murdered by Islamic extremists in his own church in July 2016, Francis said it was “satanic” to kill in the name of God.
Hamel’s last words were reportedly “Get out, Satan!”
AFP contributed to this report.
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