The early church had little patience with witches and paganism, but sorcerers proved a difficult obstacle for the church in its early years.
Pope Adrian I, acting around the time of Charlemagne, settled on a compromise, dividing sorcerous practises between "the scientific mysteries" (which were permissible") and the "demonic arts" (which were not). Sorcerers could, where sanctified by the church, study the scientific mysteries, though monks were forbidden from doing so. Anyone who studied or practised the demonic arts was subject to excommunication.
The scientific mysteries involves magic that does not involve curses, charms (or other mind effecting magic), polymorphing people, divinations or summonings. They're seen as the exploitation of natural laws.
The compromise has held for nearly 400 years. Nevertheless the church's attitude toward aany practise of arcane magic has been a grudging tolerance that is coated with extreme suspicion. The church is very quick to excommunicate wizards and sorcerers, even when they don't openly flaunt their magicks. Moreover, numerous local mad apostates, like the self-proclaimed Messiah Eon D'Etoile, has openly called for the murder of all wizards, and when times are tough, wizards and sorcerers are often (along with Jews) the first ones to be persecuted by a frightened populace. Germany is particularly notorious for witch hunts.
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