Jesus Called Peter Adversary, Not The Devil, In Matthew 16:23

Source: vaticancatholic.com

Jesus Called Peter Adversary, Not The Devil, In Matthew 16:23

St. Robert Bellarmine points out that when Our Lord rebuked St. Peter (as recorded in Mt. 16:23), he did not call him the devil but rather an adversary.

St. Robert Bellarmine, De Romano Pontifice, Book 1, Chap. 12: “For Peter has a revelation from the gift of the Lord, and receives the keys; but, on account of his own weakness, he is scandalized by the passion and death of Christ [Mt. 16:23].  Nor should the name Satan bother us.  For it does not signify the devil but an adversary, since śāṭān among the Hebrews is nothing other than an adversary.  Therefore, although the devil in various places is called Satan, the name Satan does not in every place indicate the devil.”