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Harry Potter a 'wrong kind of hero': Vatican

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/vatican-slams-harry-potter-as-wrong-kind-of-hero/articleshow/2704462.cms

January 16, 2008

The Vatican City has slammed J K Rowling's Harry Potter as "the wrong kind of hero" who poses a danger to children across the world. In a damning article, the Vatican's official newspaper 'L'Osservatore Romano' has condemned the popular teenage boy wizard for promoting witchcraft and occult -- the Church's latest view on the Potter series.

Under the headline 'The Double Face of Harry Potter', the article by an expert in English literature says: "Despite the values that we come across in the narration, at the base of this story, witchcraft is proposed as a positive ideal. The violent manipulation of things and people comes thanks to knowledge of the occult. The ends justify the means because the knowledgeable, the chosen ones, the intellectuals know how to control the dark powers and turn them into good."

This a grave and deep lie, because it is the old Gnostic temptation of confusing salvation and truth with a secret knowledge. The characterisation of common men who do not know magic as 'muggles' who know nothing other than bad and wicked things is a truly diabolical attitude." The writer, Professor Edoardo Rialti of Florence University, has also tried to establish a parallel between the "fantasy masterpieces" -- CS Lewis's 'Chronicles of Narnia' and JRR Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings' -- with Potter, according to The Daily Telegraph.

He argues that other than "superficially apparent common points", there's nothing similar between the books. While the works of Tolkien and Lewis show "a transcendence and the beauty of the infinite," he claims Harry Potter books have an "inverted and confused spirituality: A world where bad is good" and that they are characterised by a "vague, new-age philosophy".

While the works of Tolkien and Lewis show "a transcendence and the beauty of the infinite", he claims Harry Potter books have an "inverted and confused spirituality: A world where bad is good" and that they are characterised by a "vague, new-age philosophy". 
A spokesman for JK Rowling has, however, declined to comment. 


Harry Potter can help us explain Word of God

http://www.cathnews.com/news/308/47.php

August 8, 2003

Harry Potter books play into the hands of a cynical press that is only too happy show the Church in a negative light. The truth is of course that the Harry Potter books have about as much to do with witchcraft and wizardry, as the Three Wise Men have to do with astrology. JK Rowling's books are as good a set of moral tales as any I've read. - Fr Ray Lyons

Source: The Universe

Thumbs up for new Potter film: L’Osservatore

http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/topic/96266-vatican-newspaper-gives-thumbs-up-to-new-potter-film/

July 15, 2009

The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano gave the new Harry Potter movie four stars for promoting “friendship, altruism, loyalty and self-giving”, a break from the Holy See officials’ previous reservation that the books promote witchcraft.

The newspaper downplayed concerns that the film and book series by J.K. Rowling promote magic and witchcraft, Catholic News Service reported.

“Certainly, Rowling’s vision lacks a reference to transcendence, to a providential design in which people live their personal histories and history itself takes shape,” the paper said in its July 14 edition.

But, it said, the new film and the books make clear “the line of demarcation between one who does good and one who does evil, and it is not difficult for the reader or the viewer to identify with the first.”

“This is particularly true in the latest film,” the review said. “They know that doing good is the right thing to do. And they also understand that sometimes this involves hard work and sacrifice.”

When the book is finished or the film credits roll, what is remembered are “the values of friendship, altruism, loyalty and self-giving” rather than the magic tricks, the newspaper said.

The Vatican newspaper even approves of the film’s treatment of adolescent love, the Associated Press reported, saying it achieves the “correct balance” and makes the stars more credible to the general audience.

The Vatican reviewer also was pleased that what it calls “the spastic search for immortality” epitomized by the evil sorcerer Voldemort is stigmatized.

Source

Vatican newspaper praises values in new Harry Potter film (Catholic News Service)

Vatican gives Harry Potter film thumbs up (news.com.au)

Vatican newspaper praises new Harry Potter film (WNCT, AP)

L’Osservatore Romano: Two Thumbs Up to Harry Potter

http://www.traditioninaction.org/Cultural/D029_Potter.htm
By Margaret C. Galitzin
Two years after its sensational praise of the sixth Harry Potter film, now in its July 13, 2011 issue, L’Osservatore Romano (OR) gave a shocking ‘double thumbs up’ to the last movie of that series: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It ran a short piece by Gaetano Vallini titled “Harry Potter's Last Battle,” assuring its readers that the eighth and last movie of the Rowling saga is “an epic finale” that clarifies good and evil. The same issue featured a second and larger article titled “Friendship and Sacrifice,” which declared the Harry Potter series is a “parable of the post-modern man.”

In the news reports I read, excerpts from the two articles were either mixed together indiscriminately or presented as one piece. Since I believe it is important to know exactly what was said so we can judge accordingly, let me look briefly at each article.


“Harry Potter's last battle”

OR journalist Vallini deems that the young students of Hogwarts have grown up and the sorcery they learned is now serving a good purpose, “fighting against the evil of the dark master and to save the world from his plans.” It is hard to believe that the Vatican newspaper would instruct the Catholic public that there are good sorcerers fighting against bad sorcerers. It is a complete disregard of Church teaching, which strongly states that all sorcery is evil, not to be dabbled with.

Vallini shortly recapitulates the film saga, with compliments to the fidelity of the screenplay to the novels. The only criticism he makes is that the preceding film was too drawn out and tedious. The lone feeble word of caution regards violence. 
The main appraisal of the film’s content is that the cards are on the table now in the struggle between good and evil. The values of friendship and sacrifice are stressed. In a “unique and long story of formation,” the hero and his companions “mature from the lightheartedness of childhood to the complex reality of adulthood.” 
Vallini concludes that Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione have grown up: “They have certainly realized that magic is only a narrative pretext, a tool in the fight against an unrealistic quest for immortality.” The spells are finished for the actors and audience, according to the Vatican journalist. His last words express a “hope for a sequel.” 

“Friendship and Sacrifice” 
The second article in that same OR issue is by Antonio Carreiro. He could hardly be more lavish in its praise. He is enthralled with the multitude of Potter fans, with the $6 billion profit the film series has reaped, and with the last and final film. “A phenomenon that knows no equal when we consider it in its entirety,” he asserts. 
He presents an ecumenical Potter who “fascinates, transmitting to children and adults ideals shared by non-believers and those who have had occasion to speak of the Gospel to the little ones.”

In his task of rinsing Potter, Carreiro justifies him as a “parable of post-modern man.” Lord Voldemort, also, “does not represent Satan.” He is just a man who “made the wrong choices, preferred evil to good, has not bothered to understand that love is a power that goes beyond himself. His resemblance to a serpent is a good metaphor to say that anyone who does not love a person is not truly human.” 
Thus, according to the OR article, it is not necessary to be Catholic to be good. Potter, the good wizard – “although he never declared himself Christian” – invites the bad wizard “to re-analyze his life, to repent, and to recognize the primacy of love over everything in order not to be eternally damned.” To be saved, according to this new gospel of Harry Potter, it is enough to love another human being. The mortal sin of Voldemort is his individualism and failure to love man, not God. 
This is the strange message of Carreiro article in L’Osservatore Romano, certainly at variance with Church teaching. 

A confusing Vatican flip flop 
I personally know several young Catholics who casually said they played with an ouija board at a Harry Potter party. Other games involved casting spells and throwing curses. These youth were surprised when I told them the Church forbids this type of games, which in fact is playing at black magic.

Up until 2008, I could tell those youth the Vatican disapproved of the Potter magic. Indeed, in an article titled “The Double Face of Harry Potter” (L’Osservatore Romano, January 15, 2008), Edoardo Rialti condemned it precisely because it extended an invitation to the occult and magic. 
His arguments, briefly stated, are these:

There are only seemingly Christian values in the story, because at base it proposes witchcraft as a positive ideal; 

It presents a universe where evil is good; 

The wizards, the heroes, violently manipulate people and things thanks to their knowledge of the occult; it is the old Gnostic temptation of confusing salvation and truth with secret knowledge; 

The young wizards have a disdain for ‘normal’ men (Muggles) who do not know magic. 

There are many dangerous half-truths in this story, which raise up Harry Potter as “the wrong and malicious kind of hero.”

It seems to me that this critique, objective in 2008, remains true today. In fact, it could be said that now it is more timely and compelling in face of the growing interest of youth in the occult and magic. Neo-paganism claims to be the fastest-growing religion in North America – especially among young people – with the Internet being the prime means of proselytizing. 
So, what happened with L’Osservatore Romano? Why did it change its stance on the Harry Potter series? How can what was bad suddenly become good? I don’t know the whole answer, but this change certainly gives me the impression of a fluctuating concept of evil and, consequently, a new concept of morals. 
One can only wonder whether, by giving this contradictory orientation, the Vatican is not helping to destroy Church Morals.

Harry Potter and the Problem of Good and Evil
http://www.traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/d003ht.htm
By Marian T. Horvat, Ph.D.
One of the greatest problems of the Harry Potter craze, as I see it, is the tremendous confusion between good and evil it is bound to generate among the youth, especially in the already-relativized ambience of our days. Children not only need absolutes, but seek them.

Harry Potter When I was young, I had a vivid image of the devil in my mind, taken from the illustrations of the Wupsey story in the Catholic Treasure Box magazine. Wupsey was the guardian angel of little Sunny at the mission of Mantuga.

The devil was clearly evil with his red spots, forked tail, flaming tongues of hair and cloud of sulphuric smoke that trailed him like a shadow. The crafty demon was always plotting some evil against Sunny or tempting him to try some forbidden fruit, but it was the power of the good angel that always triumphed.

This type of image made the demon very real for me – and even terrifying at times. Further, it instilled a healthy fear of anything associated with Satan or his work – including witches, wizards, spells, charms and séances. At the same time, I had the firm confidence that my guardian angel was much more powerful and that, if I had recourse to him in my fears in the dark night, he would always defeat the wiles of Satan. A simplistic vision, perhaps, but a very healthful one.

It is this innocent and sound vision of the world that was threatened with the entrance of fictitious “good” witches and “good” magic - first Samantha, then the popular Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It seemed possible - at least in the minds of many impressionable youth, even Catholics - to be both good and a witch.

And now, lest white magic be accused of favoring the weaker sex, we have Harry Potter, the hero of the best-seller series by English author Joanne Rowling. Harry Potter, an 11-year-old orphan raised by abusive relatives, just happens to be a wizard. A good wizard, mind you. He is kind, generous, shares and stands up for what is right, his official Website proclaims. There are some problems like foul language and youthful disrespect, but nothing too strong for our street-smart modern children, certainly. Quite surprisingly, even a Catholic “conservative” magazine such as Crisis, edited by Mr. Deal Hudson, has given a seal of approval to the “reading revolution” the Harry Potter series has generated among the youth. A vicar in the Church of England held a special “Harry Potter family service,” complete with wizards, pointy hats, and broomsticks. Apparently, today’s children are too sophisticated to become confused by the use of symbols associated with evil. They can distinguish good wizards from bad ones.

However, according to Catholic teaching, good wizards do not exist. There are no good spirits other than angels; there are no evil spirits except demons. The popular claim today is the practice of “white magic.” In current terminology, “white magic” means to take away spells and use the “powers of darkness” for good (an oxymoron if there ever was one), while “black magic” is to cast spells for the sake of evil. This notion is quite widespread. However, in reality “white magic” is all kinds of enchantments made without a direct appeal to the devil, and “black magic” is when the dependence upon Satan is explicit. It is not difficult to see. As Fr. Gabriele Amorth clearly states in his best-selling book An Exorcist Tells his Story (Ignatius Press, 1990), there is no essential difference between “white” and “black” magic. Every form of sorcery is practiced with indirect or direct recourse to Satan.

It is a well-known maxim that where religion regresses, superstition progresses. Today we are seeing a proliferation of the occult, spiritism and witchcraft, a surge of interest among youth in dangerous occult links and the dark side of “witch-power.” The association of rock music with the occult and Satanism is well-documented (see Michael Matt’s new book, Gods of Wasteland). We are witnesses of horrific crimes with satanic hues committed by teen-agers and even 11-year-olds. At the same time, there are many people – including Catholic priests and theologians – who discount not only the extent of Satan’s influence upon human affairs, but Satan himself. If there is no Satan, then surely, there’s no harm in a little magic or sorcery.

“Those modern theologians who identify Satan with the abstract idea of evil are completely mistaken,” says Fr. Amorth, one of the world’s best-known exorcists, who knows from experience that the devil really exists. “That is true heresy; that is, it is openly in contrast with the Bible, the Fathers and the Magisterium of the Church.” And, he adds, it is obvious that this belief facilitates the work of the rebellious angels.

This attitude - which makes light of sorcery, charms and spells - permeates the Harry Potter novels. Father Amorth, however, makes it quite clear that in this realm even the apparently most indifferent things are bad. There is a universal allure to have hidden power over things and persons – be it the ability to tongue-tie an English teacher or concoct a love potion. However, what starts as fun and jokes can end in a horrendous reality. Fr. Amorth seriously notes that the most common way a person can suffer blamelessly from powers of evil is through sorcery. Sorcery also is the most frequent cause in those who are struck by possession or other evil influences. Yet sorcery is presented in Harry Potter books in a lighthearted and ingenuous way. Parents who believe their children will never be tempted to dabble in the black arts that make Harry so successful and popular seem as naive as the churchmen who refuse to believe in sorcery.

Curses are another reality presented without the necessary distinctions that Catholics always learned. Actually, there are curses that are holy. These come from God for instance, God’s curse upon the Serpent in the Garden of Paradise. But it is quite clear that the curses in the Harry Potter books are not of this type. On the Harry Potter website, one can find a list of spells used in the series, some that seem indifferent enough: the Alohomora - the door-unlocking spell, or the Tarantallegra - the dancing spell. But then there is the Avada Kedavra - the killing curse (an Unforgivable Curse), and the Crucio! - a painful curse. Or the Imperio - a curse of total control. These kinds of curses have a very simple definition for Catholics: to harm others through demonic intervention. Scripture forbids these practices, because they are a rejection of God and a turning toward Satan: “There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination, a soothsayer or an augur, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a medium, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.” (Dt. 18: 10-12) I could cite many other verses.
Harry Potter - not so innocent or harmless

What I fear the young reader of Harry Potter novels will not realize is that such curses invoke evil - and the origin of all evil is demonic.

Further, Fr. Amorth reminds us, “When curses are spoken with true perfidy, especially if there is a blood relationship between the one who casts them and the accursed, the outcome can be terrible.” He gives many frightening examples.

Spell (also known as malefice or hex) comes from the Latin male factus – to do evil. Spells can be cast, for example, by mixing something into a victim’s food or drink. They are real, Fr. Amorth insists, he has done many exorcisms to free people from just such spells. Their evil efficacy lies not so much in the material used itself as in the will to harm through demonic intervention. Yet it is this demonic intervention that the Harry Potter novels nefariously ignore.

Magic is presented as a funny thing, a game. Spells are “cool.” Books are being published on the subject, such as Spells of Teenage Witches, described by its author as “a self-help book for young people.” A witch and officer of the Pagan Federation wrote The Young Witches Handbook, which includes spells for passing school exams or attracting a partner. Apparently there is no reason for concern. No one talks about the fact that what starts as silly spells can lead to spiritual and psychological damage, and even demonic obsession or possession.

What is most dangerous about the Harry Potter novels? It is precisely this: they don’t appear dangerous. Harry Potter and his friends cast spells, read crystal balls, and everything is fine. The author takes very serious matters that the Catholic Church has always condemned and cautioned her children to stay far away from – magic, charms, spells, sorcery, palm-reading, Ouija boards, etc. – and treats them in a trivial, and even jesting fashion. In today’s climate, charged with invitations to experiment with the occult, it is too much to open the door even an inch to the Prince of Darkness, “who prowls about the world seeking the ruin of souls.” Books that make sorcery and spells and charms seem so amusing and harmless are deceitful. At best, they certainly encourage children to take a smilingly tolerant New Age view of witchcraft. In my view, already that is too much.

Non liceat Christianis to even dabble in magic or sorcery, says St. Thomas Aquinas:

“Man has not been entrusted with power over the demons to employ them to whatsoever purpose he will. On the contrary, it is appointed that he should wage war against the demons. Hence in no way is it lawful for man to make use of the demons’ help by compacts - either tacit or express” (II-II; q. 96, a. 3).

I find it lamentable that the exorcism was taken out of the Baptismal ritual, and almost criminal that the St. Michael the Archangel prayer, which used to be recited after every Mass, has been eliminated after Novus Ordo Masses. And I think there will be many mea culpas to be made by those sophisticated parents who find critiques like this of the Harry Potter series “just too serious,” even when the author herself is warning them that her works will become increasingly dark and potentially disturbing.

It is necessary to consider that even the innocent souls of children, under the influence of this kind of darkness, without habitual recourse to the Faith and the assistance of grace, can lead in the near or distant future to serious disorders and horrendous crimes. As I consider the series of adventures of Harry Potter, which presents sorcery and all kinds of spells and divinations as normal, I am reminded of the condemnation made by the prophet Isaiah: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.” (5:20)

Harry Potter Star Blasts Parents Who Oppose Gay Sex Ed in Schools

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/harry-potter-star-blasts-parents-who-oppose-gay-sex-ed-in-schools

By John-Henry Westen, London, August 13, 2009

20-year-old Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has, in an interview with a homosexual magazine, expressed anger and intolerance for parents who oppose education about homosexual sex in the classroom.  "Then there's all this stuff at the moment, which is hateful, about people being up in arms about the idea of gay sex education in schools.  Hello!?!  Actually for the one or two gay kids in the class, it's f***ing vital!  It really makes me angry," he said in an interview with Attitude.

The magazine quotes Radcliffe continuing his tirade against pro-family parents saying: "I just loathe homophobia. It's just disgusting and animal and stupid and it's just thick people who can't get their heads around it and are just scared."

He concluded the point assuring his interviewer, "I'm not just saying that because I'm being interviewed for Attitude. I'd be using a lot stronger language if this wasn't on tape."

Radcliffe returned to the theme when asked about Potter author Rowling’s admission  that she intended one of the characters in the novels and film to be homosexual.  "The idea that there can't be a gay character in a kid's film," he said.  "It's the same thing, this terrible fear of exposing anybody below the age of consent to anything vaguely gay … it's ridiculous.  I just brushed those questions aside.  I'd never normally do that but some things I won't waste my time with."

Explaining his stance on the issue Radcliffe said, "I grew up around gay people entirely."

Related articles:

US Christian Groups React Strongly to Harry Potter Books’ Homosexual Character
Harry Potter Author Plays Dumb: Acts Surprised at Reactions to Gay Character
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/oct/07102505.html

Harry Potter Fan WebSite Lauds Rowling Stating a Main Character Is Gay
Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe's friendship with New York draq queen 

Naked Harry Potter Upsets Parents