For nearly four centuries, the Roman Catholic Church relied on the Advocatus Diaboli, or devil’s advocate, to investigate and to present to the Church all the negative aspects of the life and work of a candidate for sainthood. In what might be referred to as a form of saintly due diligence, the ideas was that if there were a thorough investigation that uncovered all the unfavorable information concerning the candidate and presented it to the Church leadership, the decision-making process would be more informed and would profit considerably from the diversity of ideas, perspectives, and sources of information.
Goldstein, Noah J., Steve J. Martin, and Robert B. Cialdini. Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive. Simon & Schuster, 2008.