Devil's Advocate (in latin advocatus diaboli) is an expression originally used by the Catholic Church to designate the lawyer whose mission was to present evidence preventing the admission of a candidate for saint or blessed. Its function was to ascertain all the facts presented in favor of the candidate, looking for flaws in the miracle tests of the candidate for saint. In these processes of canonization and beatification, there was also the promoter of the faith, in charge of arguing in favor of the candidate.
Popularly, the expression came to designate the individual who presents many objections to a given thesis, creating difficulties for the defense. Sometimes devil's advocate makes an argument against the majority just to test the quality of the argument.
Figuratively speaking, the devil's advocate is presented as an individual who defends a client or a cause that, morally, there is no defense.
In the American film “Devil's Advocate”, released in 1997, the literal meaning of the expression is used, through from the story of a young lawyer who represents in court the devil himself (disguised as a lawyer well successful).
