How do Catholics handle spiritual warfare?

Answer 1

The Catholic take on spiritual warfare is a very mixed bag in the early 21st century. For the past 40-50 years, since the close of Vatican Council II there has been an evil loosed in the Church (what Pope Paul VI referred to as the "smoke of Satan"), from Catholic Answers Forum: Shortly after the close of Vatican II, Pope Paul VI was overwhelmed by the universal rejection of many of the Council's teachings.

Pope Paul VI stunned the world with the words: "We have the impression that through some cracks in the wall the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God: it is doubt, uncertainty, questioning, dissatisfaction, confrontation.... We thought that after the Council a day of sunshine would have dawned for the history of the Church. What dawned, instead, was a day of clouds and storms, of darkness, of searching and uncertainties." [Pope Paul VI, June 29, 1972, Homily during the Mass for Sts. Peter & Paul, on the occasion of the ninth anniversary of his coronation]

His teaching was met with abundant ridicule, mostly from the clergy.

Fr Gabriel Amorth said in an interview: "I have no doubt whatever that the Devil is tempting the upper levels of the Church, above all, just as he tempts every upper level - political and industrial."

Fr. Gabriel Amorth is the head exorcist in the diocese of Rome and the Vatican.

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So we have some Catholics, who believe in God with all their hearts and are doing their best to deal with the demons that have threatened to overcome Christ's holy Church, and then we have the vast majority of "Spirit of Vatican II" crowd who are busy trying to turn the Holy Catholic Church into a protestant denomination. For more information on this, see the links below, particularly Michael Voris on the Vortex.