Voodoo - NOUN: 1. A religion practiced chiefly in Caribbean countries, especially Haiti, synchronized from Roman Catholic ritual elements and the animism and magic of slaves from West Africa, in which a supreme God rules a large pantheon of local and tutelary deities, deified ancestors, and saints, who communicate with believers in dreams, trances, and ritual possessions.
Kotes-Maybe you didn't know what voodoo really means but if you research it you will find it is linked to Catholicism.
Interesting info about voodoo and Catholics, Marie LaVuex, she was a VERY big deal in New Orleans with voodoo, was supposedly connected to the Catholic Church and was friends with a priest who allowed her to perform voodoo ceremonies in the cathedral. Everything you read about her seems to tie her to Catholicism, so it could be they hate it out in the open, and condone it in secrecy.
In the Name of Jesus. I don't think you will get much response from the Catholic crowd on this one.
It is there spelled out word for word in the American Heritage Dictionary - boo?doo (voodoo) n. pl. boo?doos
1. A religion practiced chiefly in Caribbean countries, especially Haiti, synchronized from Roman Catholic ritual elements and the animism and magic of slaves from West Africa, in which a supreme God rules a large pantheon of local and tutelary deities, deified ancestors, and saints, who communicate with believers in dreams, trances, and ritual possessions. Also called Verdun.
2. A charm, fetish, spell, or curse holding magic power for adherents of voodoo.
3. A practitioner, priest, or priestess of voodoo.
4. Deceptive or delusive nonsense.
In certain areas, voodoo, hoodoo, and Santeria have become pancreatic religions, mixed with elements of Catholicism. For instance, the 7 African Powers, popular Krisha's (deities) within these beliefs, are often correlated to Catholic saints. As a Catholic, I guess I'm supposed to find that disturbing, but given the fact that many areas in which these practices became popular were either colonized by (or otherwise heavily influenced by) Catholic culture, I can't say I'm particularly surprised.
Ignore the outright idiocy from people who AREN'T Catholic who try to answer this ~ you won't get any educated answer.
I am Catholic ~ PRAISE GOD ~ and the short answer is this:
Voodoo is a no-no.
Any alternative (false God) religion is against what God asks.
Plain and simple.
Interesting that your definition claims that there are 'elements borrowed from the Catholic faith'. I'd be very interested to know what the hell they are talking about ~ sounds like a very 'secular' definition.
If you don't what what 'secular' means, look it up...
Vodou, as practiced in Haiti, is strongly influenced by Catholicism. The same is true for most African Traditional Religions practiced in the Western Hemisphere. However, Vodun in Africa does not tend to have as much Catholic or Christian influence.
In my experience, the official stance of the Roman Catholic Church is that the ATR's are not the one true religion and; therefore, any Catholics who practice them are sinning against God and the church. In practice, Catholicism in Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America tends to be more tolerant of the traditional cultures and their attending religious practices (often to the chagrin of the Vatican).
Some years ago, I had an article on my web site (http://www.queenmotherbishop.com) linking back to a history of Catholicism in New Orleans which was located on the Archdiocese of New Orleans web site. One day I received an e-mail from a representative of the Archdiocese asking that I remove the link. When I inquired why, I received no response. No doubt, the Archdiocese did not want to have it in writing that they did not want their web site linked to a web site related to New Orleans Voodoo and Haitian Vodou.
What do the Catholics think of voodoo?
