'Conservative Case for Antichrist'—MWD reviews Morello's magic book
Michael Warren Davis slams Sebastian Morello's blending of esoteric concepts with Christianity.
Michael Warren Davis warns against Sebastian Morello's blending of Catholic ritual with occult concepts.
(WM Round-Up) – Eastern Orthodox author , writing for Yankee Athonite, has published a blistering critique of ’s book Mysticism, Magic and Monasteries.
In this 2024 work, Morello, who is co-host of The Gnostalgia Podcast, defends hermeticism—a blend of esoteric mysticism, ritual magic, and Neoplatonic philosophy—as a “possible” path to Catholic renewal.
Despite this, and features such as its derogatory treatment of St Ignatius Loyola and the Jesuits, the book has received more praise than criticism from Catholic outlets to date.
While acknowledging aspects of his critique of secularism and cultural collapse, Davis compares Morello’s approach with that of (supposed) Jesuit Fr James Martin SJ:
[I]f Morello was simply jazzing up mainstream Catholic theology with edgy Hermetic language, that would be bad enough.
For instance, we all understand that James Martin, S.J., undermines the Catholic Church’s witness on sexual morality by adopting the LGBT lexicon. He doesn’t need to come out and say, “I think homosexuality is great.” He doesn’t need to. He’s got the rainbow flag, celebrates Pride Month, blesses same-sex couples, etc. And in the process, he does measurable harm to the Catholic Church’s witness on sexual morality. Clearly, this is his goal. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 13:9).
Likewise, imagine if we showed Morello all the passages where Scripture and the Fathers condemn magic. I know exactly how he would respond. He’d give us a certain look—knowing, pitiful, a little bored—and say, “Of course, I’m not talking about that kind of magic.” But where does the Church ever differentiate between good and bad magic? The same place where it distinguishes between good and bad pederasty, good and bad abortions, etc.
Davis asks “Is Christian Hermeticism no longer a heresy because it’s an old heresy?” No, he says: “Heresy is still heresy, even if it’s based and red-pilled,”
Needless to say, the same applies to the heresy and schism of Eastern Orthodoxy into which the ex-Catholic Davis has himself sadly departed.
In due course, we will also publish some comments on Morello’s treatment of St Ignatius and the Jesuits.
In the meantime, go and read Davis’ review.
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