What exactly do Catholics believe about ghosts? There’s no official teaching by the Church on this topic, so Catholic can disagree with each other in good faith. If one does believe in ghosts (also called “discernible spirits”), what are they from a Catholic perspective? The idea of a soul “trapped in this world” does not square with our understanding of death and the soul. In addition, the Church condemns the practice of witchcraft and other necromancy. At death, the soul and body are separated. The Church teaches that the soul immediately undergoes particular judgment at the moment of death and is sent to heaven, purgatory, or hell. None of these seems to indicate that a departed soul would remain on Earth.
St. Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologiae wrote that discernable spirits “can come from their abode” whether that be heaven, purgatory, or hell, stating that “[i]t is also credible that this may occur sometimes to the damned, and that for man’s instruction and intimidation they be permitted to appear to the living; or again in order to seek our suffrages, as to those who are detained in purgatory, as evidenced by many instances related in the fourth book of the Dialogues.” He also noted “that the saints can appear when they will to the living, but not the damned [who can only do so with God’s permission].”
Peter Kreeft, professor of philosophy at Boston College, agrees with this, stating in his book Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Heaven, that the existence of ghosts is “enormously likely” and it is not against Catholic doctrine. In fact, this supports the theology of the afterlife. In an interview with Tim Townsend of U.S. Catholic, Kreeft says “even if most ‘ghost sightings’ are fakes or hallucinations, ‘the existence of counterfeit money strongly argues for the existence of real money somewhere.’’”
There is also evidence in the Bible about some interactions with spirits of some sort. The best example of this is the witch of Endor (1 Sam. 28). In this instance, King Saul seeks advice from the dead prophet Samuel. After failed attempts to contact Samuel through dreams and other prophets, Saul seeks the witch of Endor. When Saul is with her, the spirit of Samuel appears. There is disagreement as to what this passage indicates. The most likely explanation is not that the witch actually had the power of summoning the dead, but that it was the work of God for Saul’s benefit. The witch seems just as surprised when Samuel actually appears.
There are three types of “ghosts,” as Kreeft explains. These are either those of the saints from heaven, the holy souls from purgatory, or the damned from hell. This distinction is important because we cannot assume that paranormal activity is simply the souls of purgatory asking for prayers in all cases. Rather, the ghosts may be from hell. The paranormal activity could also be from demonic spirits. Additionally, Kreeft remarked that these souls are not physically present on Earth when they appear. Rather, their appearances are semblances of the soul through apparent sensation akin to a vision or dream-like state.
Based on these considerations, it is possible for Catholics to believe that dead spirits do have interactions with the living. We just have to remember that all these spirits are still subject to judgment like all others, and nothing happens without God allowing it.
Lourdes Macaspac, graduate of the class of 2021, wrote for The Torch as a C101 writer during her first three years and as a Faith Feature Columnist during her senior year. At BC, she majored in a bunch of things, enjoyed giving her time to service, and cared greatly for her friends. Through the fleeting sweet and sometimes chaotic moments, she rediscovered the meaning of her life: sanctity.
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Thank you for the clarification, nobody ever gave me a straight answer on this when I was asking this back in the day!
Hi Jay! Thank you so much for your comment. It is much appreciated, and I am so glad that this helped. It came up amidst conversations with friends. Thus, I felt the need to clarify. God bless and happy Sunday!