A Catholic priest and exorcist said there is a demon that specifically focuses on attacking the family. According to Catholic News Agency (CNA), Father César Truqui told the Italian newspaper Tempi last year that the devil likes divorce and other matters that damage the family and that there is “a demon who specializes in the attack on the family, also cited in the story of Tobias, called ‘Asmodeus.’”

Tobias, also called Tobit, is one of the deuterocanoncial or apocryphal books. Described in the book as “the worst of devils,” Asmodeus kills all seven of the husbands of a woman named Sarah on their wedding nights, but the angel Raphael saved Sarah’s next husband, Tobias. Asmodeus is sometimes called “the demon of lust” and Tobias may have been saved because he prayed that he was marrying “not because of lust, but with sincerity.”

The demonic attacks don’t always appear supernatural, according to Father Truqui, who last year participated in the Vatican’s annual course on exorcism that in part examined how to separate demonic attacks from medical and psychological conditions.

“They think ‘if I don’t like my husband anymore, I would be better off divorcing’ but they forget about the consequences to the children and society,” he said. “This mentality that works against the family pleases the devil — he knows that a man who is alone without any points of reference is manipulable and unstable.”

“Even today, and I’m more than 50 years old, just thinking that my mother and father love each other forever, I find comfort and courage. In contrast, the children of separated parents are more fragile and wavering,” he said.

The priest said he once assisted famed exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth with an exorcism for “a young couple, very united, who wanted to get married, however, the woman had to undergo an exorcism to be set free.” During the exorcism, “the demon was furious and threatened Fr. Amorth in order to prevent the marriage, otherwise he would kill the young woman. Obviously, it was a threat from the Liar, which in fact did not happen.”

In 2014, The Washington Post reported an exorcism Fr. Amorth conducted involving Asmodeus. “The Devil exists, and thanks to this treatment, I have gotten back my faith,” said the woman afterwards.

Following Pope Francis, described by the Washington Post as “the most old school of any pope since at least Paul VI” in speaking about the devil, Catholics are speaking more about the demonic. “The Prince of this world, Satan, doesn’t want our holiness, he doesn’t want us to follow Christ,” Francis said in one of his weekday homilies. “Maybe some of you might say: ‘But Father, how old fashioned you are to speak about the devil in the 21^st century!’ But look out because the devil is present! The devil is here … even in the 21^st century! And we mustn’t be naïve, right? We must learn from the Gospel how to fight against Satan.”