Warnings to heed from the new Blessed include his prediction of ‘a total loss of personal identity, a split personality, a schizophrenic culture.’
[ncregister] Alyssa Murphy
A long-lost project envisioned by Blessed Fulton Sheen has finally been brought to light, offering dramatic insights into how the famed broadcaster viewed the diabolical in the modern era.
The compilation, titled On the Demonic: Spiritual Warfare in the Modern World, was compiled by Father Dave Tomaszycki, who uncovered Sheen’s archival notes and recorded retreat talks while completing doctoral research. Sheen originally announced his intention to write a dedicated book on the devil in 1974, but the work went uncompleted before his death in 1979.
The compilation, titled On the Demonic: Spiritual Warfare in the Modern World, was compiled by Father Dave Tomaszycki, who uncovered Sheen’s archival notes and recorded retreat talks while completing doctoral research. Sheen originally announced his intention to write a dedicated book on the devil in 1974, but the work went uncompleted before his death in 1979.
In a recent appearance on EWTN Radio’s Conversations with Consequences, Father Tomaszycki shared details on the archival process, Sheen’s core theology on evil, and why these writings are more urgent today than when Sheen first spoke them.
Here are 12 key takeaways from the new Blessed’s writings on the demonic:
1. The Strategy of Invisibility
Sheen argued that the devil’s primary tactic in modern times is remaining unrecognized so he can operate without pushback. Drawing a sharp theological contrast, Sheen noted that while God’s definition of Himself is “I am Who am,” the devil’s definition of himself in secularized culture is “I am who am not.”
In his 1948 work, Communism and the Conscience of the West, Sheen warned:
"He will come disguised as the Great Humanitarian; he will talk peace, prosperity and plenty not as means to lead us to God, but as ends in themselves... He will explain evil in terms of chemistry and psychology, so that men will make judgments who have no standards and will accept values who have no faith."
Father Tomaszycki noted the critical danger of engaging evil without being anchored in Christ: “If we’re not living a holy life ... and then we’re just going to get into the devil for fun—like, no, he’s going to have his way with us. You got to stay with the Lord.”
2. The Death of Christendom
Sheen framed Church history in 500-year cycles, asserting that we are living through the end of Christendom — defined not as the end of Christianity, but as the political, legal, moral, and social life of a nation inspired by the Gospel ethic.
In his famous 1974 radio address The End of Christendom, Sheen declared:
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