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The Dark Box: A Secret History of Confession (Hardback)
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The Dark Box: A Secret History of Confession (Hardback)

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£16.99
Hardback 320 Pages
Published: 13/02/2014

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Would you tell your deepest secrets to a relative stranger? And if you did, would you feel vulnerable? Cleansed? Or perhaps even worse than you did before? Confession has always performed a complex role in society, always created mixed feelings in its practitioners. As an acknowledgement of sinfulness, it can provide immense psychological relief; but while aiming to replace remorse with innocence, its history has become inextricably intertwined with eroticism and shame. The Dark Box is an erudite and personal history; Cornwell draws on his own memories of Catholic boyhood, and weaves it with the story of confession from its origins in the early church to the current day, where its enduring psychological potency is evidenced by everything from the Vatican's 'confession app' to Oprah Winfrey's talk shows. Since the 16th century, seclusion of two individuals in the intimate 'dark box', often discussing sexual actions and thoughts, has eroticised the experience of confession. When, in 1905, Pius X made confession a weekly, rather than yearly ritual, the horrific cases of child abuse which have haunted the Catholic church in the twentieth century became possible.

Publisher: Profile Books Ltd
ISBN: 9781781251089
Number of pages: 320
Weight: 499 g
Dimensions: 222 x 144 x 33 mm

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Grace At Birmingham

“”

Incredibly well written with a vast amount of information covering a huge expanse of time presented in an interesting and accessible way.
It presents how the role of confession has changed within the church, the... More

Paperback edition
Helpful? Upvote 43

“The Dark Box”

This book provides a thorough examination of the role of Confession in the history of the Catholic Church, and of the Confessional in particular.
The preface lays out the bias of the author; a cradle-Catholic, and... More

Hardback edition
Helpful? Upvote 37

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