2006-10-01 04:43:30 · 4 answers · asked by Vito D 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
he opposed the the case for people to be sainted
Formerly, during the canonization process of the Roman Catholic Church, the Promoter of the Faith (Latin Promotor Fidei), or Devil's Advocate (Latin advocatus diaboli), was a canon lawyer appointed by the Church to argue against the canonization of the candidate. It was his job to take a skeptical view of the candidate's character, to look for holes in the evidence, and to argue that any miracles attributed to the candidate were fraudulent, etc.
The office was established in 1587 and was abolished by Pope John Paul II in 1983. This abolition streamlined the canonization process considerably, helping John Paul II to usher in an unprecedented number of elevations: nearly 500 individuals were canonized and over 1,300 were beatified during his tenure as Pope as compared to only 98 canonizations by all his 20th-century predecessors.
Such a dramatic increase suggests that the office of the Devil's Advocate had served to reduce the number of canonizations by complicating the process. Some argue that it served a useful role in ensuring that canonizations did not proceed without due care and hence the status of sainthood was not easily achieved.
2006-10-01 04:45:50 · answer #1 · answered by brinlarrr 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I believe it was first used by Christian authorities in Salem as a label for someone who tried to speak up on behalf of the young women they were about to burn at the stake.
2006-10-01 11:46:42 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Faust.
2006-10-01 11:45:28 · answer #3 · answered by Isis 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hmm...Could it be...Satan?!!!
2006-10-01 11:46:07 · answer #4 · answered by shlomogon 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋