Attribution of blame to demonic forces displaces institutional responsibility

Evidence

In the attribution of blame, Father Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist for the Vatican, claimed that the priests’ sexual molestations were “prompted by the Devil” (Owen, 2010). Moreover, he saw evidence that the Devil had also infiltrated the Vatican itself and was waging war with the pope: “Because he is a marvelous Pope and worthy successor to John Paul II, it is clear that the Devil wants to grab hold of him.” — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 536

Categorization

• CANDY: The Vatican’s chief exorcist blaming priest abuse on the Devil waging war on the pope is a darkly memorable, shareable anecdote.
• XREF: connects to: An ideology’s partial eclipse can strengthen its authority through blame deflection — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 445