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The smoke of Satan has entered the sanctuary" This quote, attributed to Pope Paul VI, has been circulating for years, but where can we find a reliable reference for it? I have encountered many versions ranging from hysterical to dubious, e.g.,
"The smoke of Satan has entered the very sanctuary of St. Peter's basilica."
or this version, supposedly said by Paul VI at a homily by Paul VI on June 29 1972,
"We believed that after the Council would come a day of sunshine in the history of the Church. But instead there has come a day of clouds and storms, and of darkness ... And how did this come about? We will confide to you the thought that may be, we ourselves admit in free discussion, that may be unfounded, and that is that there has been a power, an adversary power. Let us call him by his name: the devil. It is as if from some mysterious crack, no, it is not mysterious, from some crack the smoke of satan has entered the temple of God."
or this, which perhaps comes from Cuneo (can anyone verify that? What was Cuneo's source?),
"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]
So what's the real story? Does anyone know? Or is this just another bogus quote tacked on to a Pope, like the famous "What profit has not that fable of Christ brought us"?
-- Goldhammer (goldhammer@softhome.net), June 29, 2003
Answers Response to What is the truth behind the "smoke of satan" quote? Jmj Hello, Goldhammer. The "jury remains out" on this one -- and I believe that it will have to remain out unleess and until the good folks at the Vatican finish placing all the writings and allocutions of Pope Paul VI online at www.vatican.va. (As of now, only selected items are available online. Not even all of Pope John Paul II's words going back to 1978 are posted online.)
I have searched strenuously in an attempt to determine if any "smoke of satan" phrase can legitimately be attributed to Pope Paul VI. My searches have been fruitless up to now. In my opinion, there is not a single dependable online Catholic info source that attributes that three-word phrase to the Pope. The phrase can be found at countless undependable sites, almost all of which are (at best) schismatic. The alleged context changes ["smoke ... into the Church" ... "into the temple of God" ... "into the Vatican", etc.]. The alleged date changes ["1972" ... "mid-1970s" ... "1968"]. The alleged event changes ["homily" ... "audience" ... "speech at a college"].
I will not believe (and I recommend that no one else believe) that the pope used those three words until they can be seen at www.vatican.va. I want to see the entire document/speech, in the original language, and/or an official Catholic Church translation. Only then, if it ever happens, would we be able to know exactly what the pope said and why. Until then, all is undependable speculation, a complete waste of time. Ironically, the very chatter about this subject is, in my opinion, an example of the "smoke of satan" in operation. If the "smoke of satan" is anywhere, it is in the minds of schismatics, dissenters, and heretics -- who are not "in the Church," but are now outside it (though their "envoys" like to pester this forum).
God bless you. John
-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), June 30, 2003.