The Roman Catholic Church

The Early Days

In the early days of the Church, despite persecution, its leadership realized the spiritually gifted among them had unlimited and absolute power over the inexplicable occurrences of the supernatural world that often collided with the human world, often passed down through myth, legend, and local folklore.

Between 400 and 600 AD/CE, at the direction of an early, unattributed pontiff, the fledgling Church purposefully hid or destroyed all evidence of a prophecy related to the destruction of the world at the End Times without the Second Coming of Christ. The ancient prophecy claims an ordinary man would become the human embodiment of a demonic, supernatural herald whose sole purpose is to prepare the Earth for The Great Subjugation when Lucifer, the Anti-Christ, will conquer the human and supernatural realms and bring forth The End Times.

The Middle Ages

Saint Wolfgang and Devil

Centuries later, the Church quietly formed the Congregatio Pro Defensione Regni (CPDR), or the Congregation for the Defense of the Realm. CPDR became the spiritually militant wing of the Church charged with the oversight and management of the supernatural realm, in defense of the human realm or the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

After the disastrous impact of the Great Schism of the Sixteenth-Century, or the Protestant Reformation, the corrupting Church was hurtled into great chaos and its powers over the supernatural realm became weakened, leading to worldly disasters in the middle and dark ages until the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. Convinced the Church’s leadership had been infiltrated by Lucifer’s minions, the few remaining faithful members of the CPDR swiftly dealt with the treacherous threats and sought to cull the number of supernatural entities in the world, fearing an unprecedented Satanic uprising in the world, appearing to fear and the exercising the Church’s authority to the fullest extent possible.

The Modern Ages

The Renaissance and the Devil

The Renaissance brought about sweeping changes to humanity, and so did the Industrial Revolution and the Sexual Revolution of the 1960’s. Still reeling from the schisms that sharply divided Christianity, the Church went through periods greater corruption while attempting to clamp down on all the new ideas that encouraged people to think for themselves and not depend on information coming from the Vatican.

Many in the CPDR believed Lucifer had quietly won a great spiritual war against God and His Church using the divide and conquer strategy which he played out over the past millennia. They attributed Lucifer’s success to his immortality and accepted that the shortness of human life could not have anticipate such a lengthy stratagem. Many among the CPDR’s membership became discouraged and slowly the organization faded to a small number as the legitimacy of such an organization became circumspect in the face of modernization and science.

Like many of its secrets, the Church kept a tight lid on the CPDR and under the papal authority of Pope Pius IX, limited its membership to ordained priests and the members of certain monastic communities. Despite the strict papal governance of the CPDR, its members discreetly engaged in dialogues with other faiths concerning the charge of the supernatural realm.

Today

Under the original authority of Pope John the XXIII, the Second Vatican Council brought great reform to the Catholic Church, reform some claimed heretical while others felt the reform didn’t go far enough. Despite the genesis of intense political polarization within the Church originating from Vatican II, Pope John the XXIII reviewed the research and transcripts of the CPDR’s efforts to achieve global and interfaith support concerning matters of the supernatural realm. With the Pope’s permission, the CPDR held a summit at an undisclosed location and officially initiated collegial relationships with members of other faiths, including various Protestant denominations, Buddism, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, and Anglicanism.

Renewed by the unanimous affirmation of a deeper, hidden threat, and the striking similarity of hidden The Prophecy shared among the various faiths, they affirmed their determination to protect the natural world but above all, to maintain the unexpected quiet peace in the supernatural realm.

Saint Michael the Archangel

At the end of the summit, the group rebranded and became the Congregation for the Defense of the World, also known as the Congregatio pro Defensione de Mundo (CPDM). Overseen by the Vatican, the CPDM replaced the outdated CPDR and accepted the responsibility of overseeing the supernatural realm in defense of the human world, or the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, under the protection of the Archangel Michael.

In practice, Human Sensitives consumed with various charismatic or ecstatic prayer and faith experiences assist ordained clergy of the various faiths who police and judge the Lycan, Vampires, Fae, Spellcasters, Soul Hunters, and other entities who roam the earth. In addition, they watch for the one whom the prophecy speaks of and have pledged to destroy him, no matter the cost, with all other priorities rescinded.