It is, according to exorcists.

CNA/EWTN News ran a story this past spring (and recently republished it) about an interview with Cesar Truqui, an exorcist based in Switzerland  who said he has repeatedly encountered a demon who seems to be targeting families.

During the interview, which took place in 2015, the priest said that there is “a demon who specializes in the attack on the family, also cited in the story of Tobias, called 'Asmodeus.'”

The demon, who killed seven of Sarah’s husbands in the Old Testament story, “is present” in many exorcisms, Fr. Truqui confirmed.

He recalled encountering the demon in exorcisms by Father Gabriele Amorth, the famed exorcist of Rome who died earlier this month.

“I remember a young couple, very united, who wanted to get married, however, the woman had to undergo an exorcism to be set free,” Fr. Truqui said.

During the exorcism “the demon was furious and threatened Fr. Amorth in order to prevent the marriage, otherwise he would kill the young woman. Obviously, it was a threat from the Liar which in fact did not happen.”

This same demon uses other means to attack families, such as through ideologies and lifestyles.

A Slate article appearing in 2014 recounts an episode of demonic action in family situations which was told by Father Truqui during a conference on exorcism held in Rome.

The story involved two lesbians who were sitting behind him one day on a Swissair flight. Soon after the flight began, he began to feel Satan’s presence, and started to silently pray against the spirit. As he did so, one of the women began to growl and throw chocolates at his head.

When asked how he knew the woman was possessed, he said that “once you hear a Satanic growl, you never forget it. It’s like smelling Margherita pizza for the first time. It’s something you never forget.”

But it’s not only through homosexuality that this demon seeks to destroy families, but also through divorce and individualistic thinking.

“They think 'if I don't like my husband anymore, I would be better off divorcing' but they forget about the consequences to the children and society,” Fr. Truqui said. “This mentality that works against the family pleases the devil – he knows that a man who is alone without any points of reference is [able to be manipulated] and unstable.”

Although he did not cite Asmodeus by name, Pope Francis has also spoken about the devil who seeks to destroy families because Jesus grows in the midst of spousal and familial love.

“He grows in the love of the spouses, he grows in the lives of the children. And that's why the enemy attacks the family so much. The devil does not love the family. He seeks to destroy it, he wants to eliminate love there,” the pope warned during an address to charismatics at Rome's Olympic stadium.

This is why he ended his address with a prayer to Our Lord to “bless the family, make it strong, in this crisis in which the devil wants to destroy it.”

And we must do the same!