Fr. Berry in 1927: “Satan will set up False Church”

Fr. Sylvester Berry in The Church of Christ:

“Satan will imitate the Church of Christ to deceive mankind; he will set up a church of Satan in opposition to the Church of Christ”

In 1927, Fr. E. Sylvester Berry, professor of apologetics at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Maryland, wrote the following in his apologetic and dogmatic treatise on the Catholic Church:

The prophecies of the Apocalypse [book of Revelation] show that Satan will imitate the Church of Christ to deceive mankind; he will set up a church of Satan in opposition to the Church of Christ. Antichrist will assume the role of Messias; his prophet will act the part of Pope; and there will be imitations of the Sacraments of the Church. There will also be lying wonders in imitation of the miracles wrought in the Church.

(Rev. E. Sylvester Berry, The Church of Christ: An Apologetic and Dogmatic Treatise [St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co., 1927], p. 119; italics given.)

To prove that this is a genuine quote from the book, we are providing a scan of the actual page:

• Scanned image of p. 119 of The Church of Christ (1927)

In 1955, Fr. Berry’s book was published again but using a different typeset, resulting in a significant change in the page numbering. A reprint of the 1955 edition can be ordered here:

• The Church of Christ: An Apologetic and Dogmatic Treatise by Fr. E. Sylvester Berry (1955)

• Fr. E. Sylvester Berry: “Satan will persecute the Papacy” (1921)
• Fr. Herman B. Kramer: “If Satan could hinder a Papal Election, the Church would suffer great Travail” (1956)
• Historical Precedents: Papal Impostors Falsely Thought to be True Popes (Video)