Church should condemn TV shows about occult

As a lay Catholic, I have several issues with RTÉ’s programmes on the occult.

The contacting of spirits from the dead was condemned as mortally sinful by a decree of the Holy Office issued on June 25, 1840. All attempts to contact the dead, or spirits, and participation in seances, using mediums, boards, tables, or wireless devices, are forbidden by Catholic teaching under pain of mortal sin.

The facts around contacts with spirits or the dead are as follows:

All the spirits contacted in these ways are from the host of fallen angels who forfeited eternal life; with their fall, they became demons or fiends.

It is not possible to contact a dead person by occult means, because such people are either in heaven or hell, and are not contactable. However, evil spirits can stand in for human beings and pretend to be relatives or friends, etc.

The English author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was a widely recognised medium, abandoned the practice when he discovered that the contacted spirits were incapable of ever telling the truth.

Frank O’Meara

Newline Road

Quin

Co Clare