A leading contender to succeed the Pope has been accused of medieval mumbo-jumbo after publishing 10 rules on how to resist Satan's temptations.
Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi (66), the Archbishop of Genoa, dedicated his Lenten letter to combating the fascination of a devil who is charming, shrewd and very real. Those who follow his 10-step programme are promised the ability to rebuff offers of forbidden fruit.
First rule: "Do not forget that the devil exists."
Rule two: "Do not forget that the devil is a tempter."
Rule three: "Do not forget that the devil is very intelligent and astute."
Cardinal Tettamanzi, widely seen as a conservative front runner to succeed the Pope, urges permanent watchfulness.
Obeying the 10th rule should seal the devil's defeat: "Be humble and love mortification."
The Milan-based Theological Studies Centre, which is independent of the Vatican, criticised the letter for bringing Satan back into the realm of human responsibility.
According to La Repubblica, the centre also accused the church of having exploited Satan in centuries past to persecute heretics and cultural minorities.
In recent decades, the role of the devil has become a fraught topic in theology, splitting those who believe he is real and those who believe he symbolises mankind's capacity for evil.
The Italian Bishops' Conference has recently agonised about how to address the devil during exorcisms following a Vatican decision to translate into Italian the Latin formula, Vade retro Satanas.
The bishops were unsure which form of "you" to use - the familiar "tu" or formal "lei".