LifeSiteNews.comWednesday July 13, 2005
Pope Opposes Harry Potter Novels - Signed Letters from Cardinal Ratzinger Now OnlineRIMSTING, Germany, July 13, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - LifeSiteNews.com has obtained and made available online copies of two letters sent by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was recently elected Pope, to a German critic of the Harry Potter novels. In March 2003, a month after the English press throughout the world falsely proclaimed that Pope John Paul II approved of Harry Potter, the man who was to become his successor sent a letter to a Gabriele Kuby outlining his agreement with her opposition to J.K. Rowling's offerings. (See below for links to scanned copies of the letters signed by Cardinal Ratzinger.)
As the sixth issue of Rowling's Harry Potter series - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - is about to be released, the news that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger expressed serious reservations about the novels is now finally being revealed to the English-speaking world still under the impression the Vatican approves the Potter novels.
In a letter dated March 7, 2003 Cardinal Ratzinger thanked Kuby for her "instructive" book Harry Potter - gut oder böse (Harry Potter- good or evil?), in which Kuby says the Potter books corrupt the hearts of the young, preventing them from developing a properly ordered sense of good and evil, thus harming their relationship with God while that relationship is still in its infancy.
"It is good, that you enlighten people about Harry Potter, because those are subtle seductions, which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly," wrote Cardinal Ratzinger.
The letter also encouraged Kuby to send her book on Potter to the Vatican prelate who quipped about Potter during a press briefing which led to the false press about the Vatican support of Potter. At a Vatican press conference to present a study document on the New Age in April 2003, one of the presenters - Fr. Peter Fleedwood - made a positive comment on the Harry Potter books in response to a question from a reporter. Headlines such as "Pope Approves Potter" (Toronto Star), "Pope Sticks Up for Potter Books" (BBC), "Harry Potter Is Ok With The Pontiff" (Chicago Sun Times) and "Vatican: Harry Potter's OK with us" (CNN Asia) littered the mainstream media.
In a second letter sent to Kuby on May 27, 2003, Cardinal Ratzinger "gladly" gave his permission to Kuby to make public "my judgement about Harry Potter."
The most prominent Potter critic in North America, Catholic novelist and painter Michael O'Brien commented to LifeSiteNews.com on the "judgement" of now-Pope Benedict saying, "This discernment on the part of Benedict XVI reveals the Holy Father's depth and wide ranging gifts of spiritual discernment." O'Brien, author of a book dealing with fantasy literature for children added, "it is consistent with many of the statements he's been making since his election to the Chair of Peter, indeed for the past 20 years - a probing accurate read of the massing spiritual warfare that is moving to a new level of struggle in western civilization. He is a man in whom a prodigious intellect is integrated with great spiritual gifts. He is the father of the universal church and we would do well to listen to him."
MY THOUGHTS:
What is troublesome about Harry Potter? The issue that trouble's most is the magic and references to manipulating events through magic. But what is it that is problematic about magic in a Christian worldview? The most basic problem is that magic is a worldview that keeps the practicioner of the "arts" in control of things. So far as I can interpret, the Old Testament's rejection of magic is based on this concern. Magic manipulates forces and ultimately magic is seen, in pagan cultures, as a way of manipulating even the divine. The God of Israel, of course, would have none of that. Worship and trust, not control, is the attitude of the heart that the reality of the God of the scriptures requires of us.
In the place of manipulation and control, the scriptures invite people to a relationship with God based on faith, trust, obedience, love, and peace. In the place of spells that can change the nature of things (magic), the God revealed in scripture calls us to prayer. Of course, many Christians approach prayer in a more magical than scriptural way, as though our praying in and of itself changes things. (God changes things by allowing us the honor of making our petitions known, but that does not insure any results.) And we are called to worship God in the midst of life's challenges, all the while seeking to accomplish His will. But ultimately, the Christian knows the final result is not in our hands, but in the Triune God's control.
Now, having considered some things that Christians ultimately ought to reject about HP, let's consider the following aspects of these novels. First, the Potter series accentuates the importance of courage and friendship and honor. These are traditional virtues of Greek and Roman culture that the early Christians affirmed as the highest expressions that non-Christian culture could produce. Surely Christians can rejoice that Rowling has written novels that celebrate these virtues. Secondly, Harry Potter's adventures always reference the cruciality and the power of Love and self-giving in the world. These things are what Karl Barth, the great German theologian of the 20th century, would call "echoes" of the Gospel -- not adequate witnesses, but things that Christians can affirm and be glad for. Thirdly, for a kid from a Christian family to read the Potter series is an opportunity for the parents (assuming that the parents know enough about their own faith) to help the child think through the differences between the Christian worldview and that of Hogwarts. Finally, the Church needs to engage our children with the Gospel in a way that expands their imaginations, so that what Cardinal Ratzinger called "subtle seductions, which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly," need not be so tempting.
The Christian reaction to Harry Potter ought not be simply rejection, but seriousness about the wonder, the beauty, the glory, the power, the truth, and the life of the Good News of Jesus Christ.
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