
The Smoke of Satan: How Corrupt and Cowardly Bishops Betrayed Christ, His Church, and the Faithful . . . and What Can Be Done About It
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Narrated by:
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Kevin Gallagher
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By:
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Philip F. Lawler
About this listen
The sex-abuse scandal, which erupted anew in 2018, poses the greatest challenge that the Catholic Church has faced since the Reformation. In The Smoke of Satan, veteran Catholic journalist Philip Lawler explains why the crisis is even more severe than when it first commanded headlines in 2002, and how the failure of Church leaders goes all the way to the Vatican.
In this unflinching look at the crisis threatening the Church and her members, Lawler:
- Shows how the sex-abuse scandal is not a question of pedophilia, but of homosexual activity within the clergy.
- Explains how Catholic bishops have developed a habit of covering up serious problems, to avoid the serious divisions that have developed within the faith since Vatican II.
- Demonstrates a catastrophic rupture in Church unity, causing a breakdown in morale and discipline among priests, bishops, and laity, paving the way for the current crisis.
- Reveals the growth of a faction within the Vatican that is ready to make peace with secularism.
- Details the charges in the explosive “Vigano testimony,” - and the efforts by Vatican officials including Pope Francis himself to ward off a thorough investigation.
- Concludes with a program for reform, led by faithful lay Catholics, demanding a new policy of candor and a forthright proclamation of Church teaching.
This crisis, brought about by the failures of corrupt and cowardly bishops and clerics, has been allowed to fester long enough. It is well past time for serious action to be taken at every level before more lives are ruined, more souls are lost, and more fractures divide the Church.
In this book, Lawler details the problems besetting the Church…and lays out a clear plan to overcome them in order that the Church and Her members may once again thrive and bring souls to Christ.
©2018 Philip F. Lawler (P)2018 TAN BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Father Amorth
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When Father Gabriele Amorth died in 2016, he was the world's most famous exorcist, a legendary, miraculous chaser of demons. To the many he served, Father was a godsend, freeing them from years of demonic oppression; to others, he was just a crank an extremist priest who saw the Devil everywhere. In these never-before-published interviews, Father Amorth takes you into his private world, giving you a harrowing vision of his daily battles with the Devil. You'll encounter a solid Christian and a humble priest, one who jokes and takes life as God—or the Devil!—hands it to him.
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Fantastic info about fr. Amorth and exorcisms
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What listeners say about The Smoke of Satan: How Corrupt and Cowardly Bishops Betrayed Christ, His Church, and the Faithful . . . and What Can Be Done About It
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- analog kid
- 11-01-22
The faith is contagious!
Enjoyed this book for all the info it has and I will be listening to it again. I am picky on sound and the reader was great!
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- Ned of Brooklyn
- 09-30-22
Extremely disturbing but Informative
Something evey Catholic should know and need know to face the coming storm to strengthen faith and help their family :every Catholic is facing this problem in their home parish :
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- L. Greene
- 06-08-21
Heads up Protestants
This book & several others of late are mostly about restoring the assumed rights & privileges of the old Roman Catholic Church of dictating to governments which way their “wind” blows. The RCC is not pleased with any upstart “Christian” churches doing any form of evangelism other than that authorized by their magisterium. From the author’s perspective, the sooner the Inquisition is back & governments enforce the church’s policies, the better off the world should be. Like the man wrote: Prepare for the Catholic Revival.
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1 person found this helpful
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- matt
- 06-29-23
Recommend
Some really great insight into the corruption of the Catholic hierarchy.
A good compliment, book to Finding Viganò.
Some good insight on what we can do as laypersons are in our home parish.
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- Anonymous User
- 01-22-19
loved it.
Informative. I feel ten times more informed than before. God Bless the author and narrator.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-07-19
really informative!
I really enjoyed listening to this book. it really lays out the problems and the solutions!
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4 people found this helpful
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- Joseph T. Sweeney
- 03-21-19
Excellent!
Lawler hit the nail right on the head! Beautiful solutions to the problem are presented!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Book Lover
- 01-13-22
Fantastic book
Phil does a fantastic job of comprehensively laying out the post conciliar Quagmire we find ourselves in, while also giving us hope for the future in a smaller remnant Church
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1 person found this helpful
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- WhatsInAName
- 02-25-19
excellent!
Lawler lays out not only the problems and their sources, but an outline of solutions and ways for lay faithful to remedy the crisis.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-26-19
Meh
A lot of good things but way too many false generalizations about priests who are pastors. You’d think we all have cooks, cleaning people, fancy rectories. The author should see how most of us really live! While the author has no problem belittling faithful clergy, he goes out of his way to defend Francis and engage in popesplaining. I don’t think he has any clue as to the reality faithful clergy face. He obviously has his own agenda. While he is right about many of the problems, he is intentionally blind to others, their causes, or any practical solutions. There’s a term for speaking of problems without real solutions...whining. Don’t waste your time with this book
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5 people found this helpful