Roma Locuta Est

This is the last of a five-part series.  

Earlier articles are Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV

July 10, 2023 (Edward J. Barr) – Recruitment of a soul is the goal of all demons.  By recruitment we mean ripping the soul from God’s kingdom and bringing it under the dominion of Satan. In earlier articles we worked through the processes of the demonic recruiting cycle and learned how demons prepare their target to accept eternal damnation.  Of course, there is always hope, and repentance can bring a soul forgiveness from our merciful God.  In this article we will focus on the recruitment phase.  We will also briefly explore aspects of the management phase, which occurs after recruitment. 

Recruitment is the second major inflection point in the demonic recruiting cycle.  The first was when the assessment phase led to the determination that the target could be persuaded to join the demons.  The demonic case officer believed that there was a decent chance that the person had enough vulnerabilities to be recruited.  

There are several ways that a person is recruited by a case officer in the real world.  The approach can be straightforward – I work for Chinese intelligence.  If I give you money, will you provide information to me?  Or it can be done through more devious approaches.  I can say I am an American intelligence officer when in reality I work for the Chinese. Or I can pretend to be a businessman and seek to gain information that the target doesn’t know is of intelligence value. These are simplistic examples of complicated Human Intelligence (HUMINT) operations.  

The demons likewise have a variety of methods.  We can’t be certain of their thought processes in conducting their recruitment pitches’, but we can attempt to understand them based on the various ways people join Satan’s team.  From the outside it can often be difficult to determine who has been recruited by the demons.  Though at other times it may be more apparent.  For example, when a person says, “I’m leaving the church. I want nothing to do with organized religion. I want nothing to do with God.”  This appears to be a certain recruitment.  However, those types of recruitment, while growing in number, are not the only type. The more insidious is when the demons gain a soul without that soul initially understanding what happened, though at some point – maybe death – the soul will have to make their irrevocable choice – for God or against God.  

In Part IV we discussed the inversion of reality in the modern world and mankind’s belief today that the emotions drive the intellect and will. This is directly opposed to the Creator’s design of the intellect informing the will and the emotions following. An insane world in which reality is thrown upside down, ignored, and aggressively stamped out creates opportunities for the demons. Many can fall into the demons’ camp without even realizing it. These recruitments can take place anywhere, in any organization, and in any type of religion. We learned earlier in the series that the most important targets are those in the hierarchy of the Church. Here is where these “shadow” recruitments can create the most havoc. 

A shadow recruitment occurs when an individual believes that they are doing the will of God when in fact they are supporting the demonic agenda.  The demons encourage them to use worldly logic to explain away objectively incoherencies regarding faith and morals.  They seek peace and fraternity over truth and holiness.  Think of some pronouncements by religious officials that completely support teachings contrary to what has been promulgated in the gospel and promoted by Christ’s church since Pentecost.  They seem sincere in expressing belief in the falsities that they champion.   Could they have been the victims of a shadow recruitment?  

What’s happening with the German Synod is an easy example of inverted thinking. There are similar pockets located throughout the church and the world. Compared to the rest of society, the Church in the US is doing somewhat better. Europe is nearly completely compromised, but for some stalwart Christian leaders in Eastern Europe.  The European Union even denies that it has a Christian heritage.

The United States is a traditionally Protestant nation and anti-Catholicism always was an undercurrent in the culture, though it ebbed and flowed. But now attacks on the teachings of the church are made even by Catholics. Instead of defending the truth and beauty of Christ’s church, some Catholics seek to promote an anti-Gospel.  It’s another inversion and an opportunity for shadow demonic recruitments, or the result of them. 

A recruitment in the intelligence community is more straightforward.  It usually requires that the individual is aware of what they’re doing.  If you want someone to betray their country, you need them to know what they’re doing because you are going to be tasking them to do certain things that they would recognize are against the interest of their nation. So, before you ask a Russian communications officer to provide you with the passwords to his organization, you better be sure that they know they are recruited. Otherwise, you could have massive “blowback.”  

There is one type of recruitment in the intelligence community that is analogous to shadow demonic recruitments. The people who are recruited may not even know they’re recruited to conduct operations against their government.  These are ‘commercial recruitments’.   In a commercial cover operation, an intelligence officer or a primary agent will act as a legitimate business professional to hire someone (AKA recruit) to work on a particular project.   The individual who was hired (AKA recruited) believes they are working for a real business.  For example, if I am looking to understand how a certain weapon system works, I may recruit someone in the supply chain that makes the guidance system parts. The information gained will enable the intelligence agency to put the pieces of the puzzle together to determine how the weapons system works.   

The demons use similar logic to fool their targets. They too can ‘recruit’ a soul who doesn’t initially realize it using their favorite tactic, lies. Recall that the senior cleric is uniquely desired by the demons.  So, we can envision the demons encouraging senior church officials to subtlety move aware from the teachings of the faith using a variety of lies.  Proper teachings such as “who am I to judge,” can be twisted by the demons and lead to a pastoral accompaniment that supports and even champions sinful behavior.  This confuses the phrase “hate the sin, love the sinner;” such confusion damages the body of Christ, clerics, religious, and laity alike.  As in a commercial recruitment, these promoters of confusion and challenges to the Gospel may not even know they are working for Satan, until it is too late and they willingly assent to the lies.

After the demonic recruitment, the demons must manage their asset.  Unlike a traditional intelligence community operation, there can be many demons who participate in managing their ‘asset.’  Many demons may work against one individual. Significant assets require significant resources, so the demons would place great emphasis on trying to destroy holy people that can influence others.  Think of the scandal when a cleric abandons the priesthood.  Several demons will work to destroy a diocese, or a parish, or a group within a parish. Or to destroy a family. 

An insidious strategy being employed by the demons against the family can be termed ‘down up’ and ‘up down’ (DUUD).  Our Lady revealed at Fatima, and St. John Paul the Great affirmed, that the last great battle will be the battle for the family.  We are seeing DUUD being played out on this battlefield.  The ‘Down’ refers to demonic attacks from outside the Church that affect the hierarchy first, and then the laity.  The confusion in the Church from multiple clergy embracing the modernist heresy is ‘the world’ coming into the Church. This flows downward to the individual families in the parishes.  Think the synodal process.  The ‘up’ push occurs when Catholics embrace those same worldly fallacies and push them up through the parish, into the diocese, and beyond.  Wealthy contributors can ‘persuade’ pastors and bishops to see things there way, and a “don’t rock the boat” mentality that seeks not to offend can be devastating within a community.  

We hope that this series gives readers one perspective (and some resources – see below) on how to view the relentless assault we face from the demons.  It is the most important battle we face in life, as individuals, as family members, and as members of the body of Christ.  It is a challenging environment for all faithful members of the Catholic Church.  Fortunately, we are not alone.  In the future we will explore the gifts that God has provided us in our ongoing struggle against Satan and his minions.

Edward J Barr is a career intelligence officer and commercial counterintelligence consultant.  He teaches in a master’s level intelligence studies program at a major US university. Ed earned a Master of Theology degree from the Augustine Institute and offers talks through The Gray Apostlewebsite. Mr. Barr is a contributing writer for the Roma Locuta Est blog (www.RomaLocutaEst.com)

Resources:

Father Chad Ripperger, “Deliverance Prayers for the Laity.”  Also available online thru the St. Michael Center app (see below)

Monsignor Stephen J. Rosetti, St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal.  Sign up for monthly deliverance prayer sessions.

Opus Sanctorum Angelorum, Crusade for Priests