Witchcraft and the Modern Roman Catholic Church

An exploration of how the contemporary Roman Catholic church tackles, regulates and accommodates belief in witchcraft.

Francis Young (Author)

9781108948753, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 27 January 2022

75 pages
23 x 15.2 x 0.4 cm, 0.12 kg

Witchcraft is rarely mentioned in official documents of the contemporary Roman Catholic church, but ideas about the dangers of witchcraft and other forms of occultism underpin the recent revival of interest in exorcism in the church. This Element examines hierarchical and clerical understandings of witchcraft within the contemporary Roman Catholic church. The Element considers the difficulties faced by clergy in parts of the developing world, where belief in witchcraft is so dominant it has the potential to undermine the church's doctrine and authority. The Element also considers the revival of interest in witchcraft and cursing among Catholic demonologists and exorcists in the developed world. The Element explores whether it is possible for a global church to adopt any kind of coherent approach to a phenomenon appraised so differently across different cultures that the church's responses to witchcraft in one context are likely to seem irrelevant in another.

1. Introduction
2. Historical background
3. Witchcraft in modern Vatican documents
4. Witchcraft and the exorcists
5. Catholicism and witchcraft in the developing world
6. Conclusions.

Subject Areas: Mysticism, magic & ritual [VXW], Folklore, myths & legends [JFHF], Occult studies [HRQX], Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church [HRCC7], Religion & beliefs [HR]