Sexuality in the Confessional

Drawing upon a wealth of actual cases and trial evidence left by the Spanish Inquisition, this work documents the eroticizing of the confessional between 1530 and 1819. It argues that the Counter-Reformation Church actually helped to foster sexual solicitation in the confessional.

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Haliczer's timely work uses a wealth of actual cases to document the eroticizing of the confessional between 1530 and 1819. Trial evidence left by the Spanish Inquisition vividly describes the sexual misconduct of priests and the reactions of the Church. What Haliczer shows is that the Counter-Reformation Church, eager to re-assert its morality and control, actually helped foster sexual solicitation in the confessional.