Origin of demon QUESTION from Bro. Wally March 27, 2000 Is there a Catholic description as to what a demon is?
ANSWER by John-Paul Ignatius, O.L.S.M. on April 2, 2000 Dear Brother:
Well if you want a thorough definition, check out the 1917 Catholic Encyclopedia:
Here are the first few sentences of the article:
(Greek daimon and daimonion, Lat. daemonium). In Scripture and in Catholic theology this word has come to mean much the same as devil and denotes one of the evil spirits or fallen angels. And in fact in some places in the New Testament where the Vulgate, in agreement with the Greek, has daemonium, our vernacular versions read devil. The precise distinction between the two terms in ecclesiastical usage may be seen in the phrase used in the decree of the Fourth Lateran Council: Diabolus enim et alii daemones (The devil and the other demons), i.e. all are demons, and the chief of the demons is called the devil.
For the whole article, go to this URL: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04710a.htm
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