America Magazine Has Lost It Again. This Time It’s The Strangest Target.

Just when we thought disgruntled liberal Catholics couldn’t find any more Church practices to take issue with, America Magazine has delivered. But this time it’s the strangest target.

An associate editor at the liberal Jesuit magazine recently brought his personal liturgical angst to X, decrying — of all things — the Prayer to St. Michael. Often said at the end of Mass, the prayer asks the intercession of the archangel Michael against the “wickedness and snares of the Devil.” (RELATED: Vatican Publishes ‘Emerging Issues’ Report On Engaging With The Gays)

The devotion is viewed by Catholics as a prayer of protection, asking God to defeat the demons who wander the world and seek its destruction.

But the sentiment expressing hatred for the Devil — the Father of Lies — is apparently too strong for this editor, who wrote, “I cannot express how much I dislike the St. Michael Prayer after Mass. it [sic] is so, so jarring to me every time.”

I wouldn’t think to describe a prayer commonly recited at Mass as a sudden or extremely uncomfortable shock — but I digress.

I cannot express how much I dislike the St. Michael Prayer after Mass. it is so, so jarring to me every time.

To say nothing of the intent/content of the prayer, the language, and repetition and prominence given to it breed a sense of paranoia and cynicism. Instead of going out… https://t.co/ASuJJbxS3m

— Zac Davis (@zacdayvis) June 24, 2026

The editor continues: “To say nothing of the intent/content of the prayer, the language, and repetition and prominence given to it breed a sense of paranoia and cynicism. Instead of going out to evangelize the world, everyone is ready to go to war with it.”

Beyond the strong implications given here that the post’s author fundamentally disagrees with a plea for protection against the Devil (excuse me?), the man just gets the prayer wrong.

The St. Michael Prayer doesn’t wage war against the world; it actually asks for the downfall of those who seek to destroy it. It’s an intercession to God on behalf of the world. And the author’s attacks against the prayer’s “repetition and prominence” are difficult to justify. The practice of reciting the St. Michael Prayer after Mass is optional and done after the final blessing — and is therefore outside the official liturgy. (RELATED: Catholic Conversions Skyrocket During Easter As Numbers Rebound)

And let’s be clear: The Devil is, in fact, your enemy.

The author’s not done yet, though. The post concludes: “This prayer is totally fine in private devotion. It does not belong in the liturgy (or effectively within the liturgy, when it is said after the final blessing but before the recessional hymn).”

The lay pontificating couldn’t be more ridiculous, given that the prayer was composed by Pope Leo XIII in 1884. Pope Francis, moreover — beloved by America Magazine — actually suggested that the St. Michael Prayer be reintroduced into liturgies after it was no longer mandatory following the Second Vatican Council.

Following the new revelations of church scandals in 2018, Pope Francis said, “[The church must be] saved from the attacks of the malign one, the great accuser and at the same time be made ever more aware of its guilt, its mistakes, and abuses committed in the present and the past.”

Francis had also earlier consecrated the Vatican to St. Michael and St. Joseph in 2013, with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in attendance, asking the angel to “defend us from the Evil One and cast him out.” (RELATED: Vatican Shuts Down German Bishops’ Bid For Lay Preachers)

The reactions on X have been, as they usually are, priceless. A seminarian — Jesuit, no less — politely pointed out, “Sir, the prayer seeks the wellbeing [sic] of the world. It is a prayer for protection against the enemy of all humanity.”

Another priest wrote: “The paranoia and cynicism isnt [sic] coming from the St. Michael’s prayer. It’s coming from a worldview so comfortable with the age it has forgotten the Church is by divine design ALWAYS in battle. The St. Michael Prayer is simply the honest acknowledgment of that fact.”

But the MVP award must go to Michael Knowles. I’ll let the image speak for itself.

https://t.co/GTsl0o44f6 pic.twitter.com/EfhRc8Oiy9

— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) June 24, 2026