According to Catholic exorcists, does the Devil hate Catholic Church prayers said in Latin?

Question

According to Catholic exorcists, does the Devil really hate Catholic Church prayers said in Latin?

I just attended a talk by the exorcist for diocese of San Jose, Fr Gary Thomas. He is the subject of a book and a film called The Rite, starring Anthony Hopkins. (The talk was organized by a group called Catholics at Work.)

First, he was a great speaker. He described how almost by accident, and after 20 years as a parish priest, he found himself sent to Rome to learn how to perform the Rite of Exorcism. He was very clear in saying that, in his opinion, the recent rise in interest in New Age paganism has opened the door to adherence to the occult for greater numbers of people than before, which in turn opens the way to diabolical possession. He has always been inundated with requests, even before the publicity.

The fact that he described these things pretty much in the same straightforward, matter-of-fact way that one might describe what goes on in a marriage or baptism in a parish RCIA class only served to reinforce the truth of it all for me. And I would say that if anything is to increase your faith, it is listening to accounts of how the Church overcomes the effects of possession by the devil and demons, and the suffering of those poor people who are affected by them. I wanted to pass on one little comment that he made almost in passing. I do not know where he stands liturgically in regard to the Mass - there was nothing in what he said that led me to believe that he celebrates the Latin Mass, for example. However, he did explain that the Rite of Exorcism is only said in Latin. One reason is practical - there is no approved translation in English as yet. He gave another reason why he was so strongly in favor of the use of Latin in the Rite of Exorcism: “The Devil hates Latin, it is the universal language of the Church.” I asked him about this afterwards, and he repeated it, saying that his personal experiences as an exorcist who has performed many, many exorcisms have convinced him of this. He told me he had heard from exorcists who did exorcisms in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese (the only approved vernaculars for this Rite) that Latin was the most effective language. - Does the Devil hate Catholic Church prayers said Latin?

What I'm looking for?

Is there any biblical references to support this or have any traditions put a truth in these assertions... perhaps there are some personal encounters or testimonies that may support this and acknowledge the validity of this assertions.

Answer 1

There are no biblical references as to why Catholic exorcists say that Latin is hated by the Devil. Many Catholic priests who are exorcists have made this claim (statement). But I imagine that exorcists in the Eastern Rite Churches (Catholic or otherwise), have the Devil saying the same about their traditional liturgical languages also.

Here is what one article has to say on this subject:

I wanted to pass on one little comment that he made almost in passing. I do not know where he stands liturgically in regard to the Mass - there was nothing in what he said that led me to believe that he celebrates the Latin Mass, for example. However, he did explain that the Rite of Exorcism is only said in Latin. One reason is practical - there is no approved translation in English as yet. He gave another reason why he was so strongly in favor of the use of Latin in the Rite of Exorcism: “The Devil hates Latin, it is the universal language of the Church.” I asked him about this afterwards, and he repeated it, saying that his personal experiences as an exorcist who has performed many, many exorcisms have convinced him of this. He told me he had heard from exorcists who did exorcisms in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese (the only approved vernaculars for this Rite) that Latin was the most effective language. - The Devil Hates Latin, Says Exorcist

Until very recently (2014), an English translation of the rite of exorcism had not been approved by the Church. While the Vatican has approved translations of the rite in multiple languages, Latin seems to be the most effective during the course of exorcism. Thus Satan's hatred of Latin language.

Catholic exorcists are guarded in what they reveal about their exorcisms because as we all know that Satan is a liar from the beginning. Even in exorcisms, the priest will not readily believe the adversary and must not divulge too freely what was said in order to protect the identity of the victim.

And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. - 1 Samuel 16:23

The famous exorcist for the diocese of Rome, Fr. Gabriele Amorth, stated in one of his books that as David liberated the soul of Saul from the Evil Spirit of Melancholy, so to the power of Gregorian Chant has a great help in liberating the demon from persons and homes.

As Satan hates Latin, so too he hates the Sacred Music of the Roman Rite. Gregorian Chant is sung uniquely in the language of the Church: Latin.

Suffice to say, there is no sacred music in Hell.

This is why the devil hates sacred music so much. It reaches the depths of our soul and raises us up to the Heaven. It should be no surprise to us when a parish’s sacred music program is single-handedly dismantled. He will do all he can to prevent us from hearing the Divine Voice of God. - Why the Devil Hates Sacred Music

Although there is no biblical references for to support this claim (in question), there have been some cases where the Devil has made like statements during the course of an exorcism to a Catholic priest (exorcist). But we must always remember the Devil is a liar. I have heard this from several exorcists. Thus it is more than just an old notion.

Nevertheless, not all exorcists agree with the statement that the Devil hates Latin (because it is the official language of the Church). See this YouTube video for example You Might Be Possessed By Satan If These 4 Things Are True... with Fr. Vincent Lampert.

Answer 2

The idea of an "official" or even heavenly language that the demons abhor sources back to the Book of Jubilees.

It asserts that the Hebrew language is the language of heaven, existing from the beginning.

It is not a stretch therefore that the Catholic Church carried on that tradition with their Latin language in the New Covenant.

Between 1947 and 1956 about 15 Jubilees scrolls were found in 5 caves at Qumran. All the scrolls were written in Hebrew.

According to the Book Of Jubilees, Hebrew is the language of Heaven and was originally spoken by all creatures in the Garden.

The date of this book is not certain, but some scholars believe that it was written between 135 B.C.E. and 105 B.C.E.

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