Co-authored by Dr. Kate Kingsbury* and Dr. Andrew Chesnut For those of us who’ve been closely following Pope Francis’s spirited papacy, his latest endorsement of exorcism as a powerful spiritual tool for combating the Devil and his minions comes as no surprise. Just a few months into his pioneering pontificate, in 2013, the Argentine pope performed an informal exorcism, known as a prayer of deliverance from evil, on a young man in a wheel chair. The Mexican priest who brought the... Read more
Co-authored by Dr. Kate Kingsbury* and Dr. Andrew Chesnut One of the major novelties at the 13th annual course for exorcists taking place this week at Regina Apostolorum University in Rome is a section on witchcraft in Africa. Witchcraft is so pervasive in parts of Africa that in 2006 the Catholic bishops of Southern Africa, comprising Bostwana, Swaziland, and South Africa, issued a pastoral letter prohibiting their priests from moonlighting as soothsayers and witch doctors! With the future of... Read more
A new poll by Gallup reveals that it is not only the pope’s native Latin America that has not experienced a “Francis effect” but also the U.S., home to the world’s fourth largest Catholic population. During the first couple years of his controversial papacy there were many anecdotal reports of his charisma and popularity leading to greater mass attendance in parishes across the globe, especially in the Americas. However the new Gallup survey shows that if there is any Francis... Read more
During the 19th century in the mountain towns of New Mexico and southern Colorado, Mexican-American Catholics personified death as a female figure known as Doña Sebastiana. Holy Week processions organized by the Penitentes, Catholic brotherhoods originating in Spain and known for their public displays of penance, included death carts with life-size effigies of the skeletal Doña Sebastiana. Along with acts of self-flagellation on the part of the Penitentes, the Grim Reapress symbolized not only the agony and death suffered by... Read more
One of the main reasons for which a Latin American was elected the first pope from the New World five years ago is the long-term decline of the flock in the most Catholic region on earth. Only five decades ago, in 1970, Latin America was 92% Catholic. Argentines, Mexicans, Brazilians, for example, were born into the Church and lived out their lives as Catholics, although only a small percentage were regular churchgoers. However, after five decades of sharp decline throughout... Read more
The Global Catholic Review is a non-denominational, non-partisan online review providing news stories, information and commentary on topics related to the Catholic Church and Catholicism from an academic viewpoint. The review is written by Dr. Andrew Chesnut and also features guest writers such as Dr. Kate Kingsbury who write about the diversity in Catholic beliefs, practice and breaking news stories, such as Santa Muerte, Pope Francis and more. Go to the Global Catholic Review to read more. Read more
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