Witchcraft and the Modern Roman Catholic Church

The recent revival of interest in exorcism in the Roman Catholic church is driven by concerns about witchcraft and occultism, which challenge hierarchical and clerical understandings of these phenomena. The Element examines the challenges faced by clergy in developing countries where belief in witchcraft can undermine the church's doctrine and authority, as well as the revival of interest in witchcraft and cursing among Catholic demonologists and exorcists in the developed world. It explores whether a global church can adopt a coherent approach to a phenomenon that varies greatly across cultures.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 75 pages
Publication date: 27 January 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Witchcraft, a subject that seldom finds explicit mention in official documents of the contemporary Roman Catholic church, nonetheless underpins the recent resurgence of interest in exorcism within the church. This Element delves into the hierarchical and clerical perspectives on witchcraft within the contemporary Roman Catholic context. It explores the challenges faced by clergy in regions where belief in witchcraft is pervasive, potentially eroding the church's doctrine and authority. Furthermore, it examines the revival of interest in witchcraft and cursing among Catholic demonologists and exorcists in developed countries. The Element examines whether a global church can adopt a coherent approach to a phenomenon that elicits vastly different interpretations across diverse cultures, rendering the church's responses to witchcraft in one context irrelevant in another.

Witchcraft, a subject that seldom finds explicit mention in official documents of the contemporary Roman Catholic church, nonetheless underpins the recent resurgence of interest in exorcism within the church. This Element delves into the hierarchical and clerical perspectives on witchcraft within the contemporary Roman Catholic context. It explores the challenges faced by clergy in regions where belief in witchcraft is pervasive, potentially eroding the church's doctrine and authority. Furthermore, it examines the revival of interest in witchcraft and cursing among Catholic demonologists and exorcists in developed countries. The Element examines whether a global church can adopt a coherent approach to a phenomenon that elicits vastly different interpretations across diverse cultures, rendering the church's responses to witchcraft in one context irrelevant in another.

Weight: 110g
Dimension: 151 x 230 x 7 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781108948753
Edition number: New ed