I remember my first essay at uni was on the witch craze in Europe, studying the way history is represented depending on who's writing it - thoroughly interesting it was too. I'll have to dig out some of my old texts.

The Blue Cross,

Yep you are right there does seem to be alot more than I googled last time. Friedrich doesn't get a mention there but he does have his own page.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Spee

Poirot,

I didn't see your post before I did mine but I have experienced what you are talking about. It is like two different histories I have encountered. It did surprise me that Father Friedrich is famous for opposing witch burning according to one Wikipedia page but on the witch page he doesn't rate a mention. It is probably a deficiency of the witch page that only one of the two historical versions get a mention.

So from your historical information about the two different versions, on balance, how does the Church come out? Is the whole thing driven by significant sections of the Church or did the Church mainly oppose it? Given the relevant 5th Century opinions general opposition would not surprise me but after reading that Wikipedia article I won't hold my breath.

mjpb,

I'm going to have a rummage through my old texts (if I can locate the ones I'm after) - and see if I can find anything relating to Father Friedrich and church opposition.
Will get back to you on that.

Poirot and others
I was reading in the paper the other day that approximately 200 women each year are still killed in India as witches usually due to greed for property. Most are poorer lower caste women.

That was often the motive even in America and Europe where accusations of witchcraft were motivated by hate, greed or revenge.

It is difficult to accept this sort of thinking goes on, but not hard so understand if fuelled by obsessive religious fervour and hatred.

I've been reading a little of historian Hugh Trevor- Roper's ideas on the witch hunts, and he is of the opinion that they were the work of the medieval Catholic Church, in particular the Dominican friars.

Also found this - a Papal Bull by Pope Innocent VIII
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/summis_desiderantes_affectibus