Witchcraft QUESTION from Edward January 30, 1999 I am looking for information concerning the negative impact of wicca on children beyond the halloween debate. Any ideas?
ANSWER by John-Paul Ignatius on February 4, 1999 Dear Edward:
Please excuse my tardiness in responding to you. My computer has been down for a few days as we were installing a new system (with its inevitable unforeseen problems).
To answer your question -- the negative impact of witchcraft on children is the same as the impact of teaching children anything that is contrary to the Truth of God.
Whenever we teach our children values contrary to God we are placing those children in harms way psychologically, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Sometimes the psychological, mental, or physical effects may not be demonstrable but we know that whenever we act contrary to the way God made us, or contrary to the Truth of God is effects our entire selves.
But even if there were no effects to anything but the spiritual, that is enough. When we teach our children values contrary to God we are placing those children at risk for eternal damnation at worse or a life lived without the victory of Christ at best.
This one issue is enough to condemn witchcraft, and alone is negative impact enough to argue that children should not be exposed to it.
Thus any books or information you find about the New Age, occultism, paganism and the like will give you the reasons why witchcraft is harmful to children. The reason the New Age, or occultism, or paganism is harmful to children is the reason witchcraft is harmful too.
Father Pacwa's book, Catholic and the New Age is a good book to learn about some aspects of the New Age. Also a book written by Douglas Groothuis (a Protestant, but his book is recommended by Father Pacwa and by me) called, Unmasking the New Age and another Protestant, Dr. Paul Reisser, New Age Medicine.
Other books, among many, that are useful are:
David Clark/Norman Geisler, Apologetics in the New Age: A Christian Critique of Pantheism
Ralph Rath, The New Age: A Christian Critique
Donna Steichen, Ungodly Rage: The Hidden Face of Catholic Feminism

Witchcraft, itself, can come in many forms and varieties. Some witch groups may do little more than be nature nuts hugging trees, others are more serious in their worship of the false god of nature and really believe in the spirit of the tree or other animistic or pantheistic practices of paganism or Native American Religions. Others will do all that but develop more direct connections with ancient pagan religions; and still others may involve themselves in the more occultic or even satanic elements.
But the common denominator of all flavors of witchcraft is the denial of the one true God and His Truth and His Church. Instead the witch is an idolater worshipping the false gods of self, or nature, or spirits, or whatever.
Such notions inherently harm our children because they expose our children to contaminates of falsehood and a rejection of the true Creator and Father, the Lord God Almighty -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
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