Harry Potter Is Dangerous: Cue Meltdown

When it comes to "Harry Potter," many Catholics tend to go with their own emotions and "personal experiences." I used to be one of those Catholics. However, that is not how the Catholic Faith works. As I mentioned in my previous article, "We Must Avoid Emotions-Based Theology," "In our day and age, when it comes to the Faith, we have the tendency to simply go with what feels right..." rather than really open our hearts to what we may not like to hear, but what is the Truth.

Today, we have become so enveloped in Modernism and Indifferentism that we are, unfortunately, blinded by hubris in many ways. I doubt that any of us are exempt, but we have wonderful opportunities to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance, study the Faith, and listen to holy clergy (who are in union with all of Church teaching not just after Vatican II but before as well!) A good practice is to read from Saints, Church Doctors and Fathers, as well as Encyclicals from before the 1960's. I have found that these are becoming more and more forgotten as we have solely focused on anything that came from the Church after Vatican II. It is important to remember that the Church did not come into being at Vatican II, but has been around for 2,000 years!

Now, back to Harry Potter. I am not sure how many of us are aware of the list of faithful Catholics who have denounced the stories written by J.K. Rowling (who, I applaud, by the way for still refusing to bow to the Transgender insanity.) As Jesse Romero and Kyle Clement rightly explain in their podcast episode, "Harry Potter & Witchcraft,"* just because a man asks five different priests if he can divorce his wife and one of them says YES, doesn't mean that he is finally allowed by the Church to do so. Nor does it make divorcing his wife now "ok" just because he found a priest to parrot what he wanted to hear. Surely we want to be better lovers of God than that! What kind of love is one that constantly asks, "ok.. but what can I get away with? Sure, I'll love you but, how far do I have to go before it hurts?" What kind of love would keep searching for someone to tell them that they don't have to work so hard? That is not love, nor is it what Christ calls us to. We are called to love Him, without fear (without scruples!) We are called to "Have confidence in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not upon thy own prudence."(Proverbs 3: 5-7) As St. Clare of Assisi said, "Love God, serve God; everything is in that."

We are called to carry our cross and follow Him, to become fools for Him, to trust in Him with all our hearts.

Proverbs 3: 5-7 "Have confidence in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not upon thy own prudence. In all thy ways think on him, and he will direct thy steps.  Be not wise in thy own conceit: fear God, and depart from evil."

Matthew 16:24 "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

1 Corinthians 4:10 "We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are honourable, but we without honour."

Now, today it can be pretty easy to find a theologian or member of the clergy to tell us what we want to hear. But what matters is that they are truly in line with Church Teaching, not that they agree with our own opinions. We can easily begin to make a case in our hearts that something is "fine" because of this that and the other, however, it is essential that we open our hearts to the wisdom and truth from those who know their stuff, if we are truly interested in loving God above all things.

Finally, as Catholics, we must ask ourselves... is it really worth the risk? Is one silly story worth arguing over? Will God really ask at our judgment about how militantly we fought to enjoy "Harry Potter"? We will all be called to give an account. "For God shall bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Ecclesiastes 12:14. We should try to please God and live through the Teachings of His Church, while trying to avoid basing our worldview on our emotions alone.

Here is some excellent information regarding "Harry Potter" by faithful Catholics that are well worth reading:

Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI):

Harry Potter books offer "subtle seductions," the pope wrote in a private letter to a Catholic author in Germany in March 2003, that "deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly." 

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 article for links to scanned copies of the letters signed by Cardinal Ratzinger.)

Michael O'Brien, author of "Father Elijah"

In his article, "Harry Potter and the Paganization of Childrens Culture" he sets the Potter books and their impact within a larger discussion of the proper role of myth and fantasy in literature and an explanation of "the baptized imagination" as expressed in the writing of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkein, and George MacDonald.

"A wrong image of the hero" Dr. Edoardo Rialti, a professor of literature at the University of Florence, published in L’Osservatore Romano:

"Here is the “ morbid illusion ” from which Tolkien had always warned us: the illusion of a power that appeals to that craving for the occult and magical formulas that Lewis sharply called a “ spiritual lust ”. And the significant increase in interest in black magic and Satanism by young readers of Harry Potter should make us reflect and worry, as Father Gabriele Amorth reminded us. The opinion expressed by the then Cardinal Ratzinger to the critical series of the German journalist Gabriele Kuby on Harry Potter is more profound than ever: “ It is a good thing that you clarify the case of Harry Potter, because it contains subtle seductions that act in depth and with great effect, and that corrupt young Christians in the soul, even before it is completely formed ”."

Fr. Chad Ripperger, FSSP, exorcist:

“The fact of the matter is that when you tell people you shouldn't let your kids read that [Harry Potter], the purely visceral response you get as a result - that tells me there is something diabolic about the whole thing."  “I tell people, avoid it" he said about the books. "All the other exorcists I know that are experienced, are very clear, stay away from it." Published on Women Of Grace.

Fr. Donald Calloway, promoter of the Rosary, author and speaker talks about Harry Potter in this video.

Charles Fraune, author of "Slaying Dragons: What Exorcists See & What We Should Know" (which by the way has positive reviews from Bishop Athansius Schneider, Bishop Strickland, and Bishop Rene Gracida!)

He speaks about the many exorcists who are vehemently against Harry Potter after seeing the spiritual destruction it causes. See video here.

Fr. Gabriel Amorth, exorcist: 

"Harry Potter and yoga are evil." He is quoted by "The Telegraph" in this article.

Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, President, Human Life International:

He makes very good points in his article on LifeSiteNews, " Fundamentally, Harry Potter indoctrinates young souls in the language and mechanics of the occult. The fact that the fake curses and hexes are not able to be reproduced because the “ingredients” are pure fantasy is beside the point. Curses are not pure fantasy. The fact that “curse” as such, and other elements of witchcraft, are presented in a glorified state throughout the Harry Potter series means that our kids’ minds are being introduced to and imbued with occult imagery." 

Women of Grace:

The faithful, Catholic website and EWTN show has a plethora of writings on Harry Potter on their site here. Here is one short article posted March 26, 2010 by Susan Brinkmann:

"I have been writing about the New Age for almost a decade now, and no topic generates as much as hate mail as that of Harry Potter. I have received the most ungodly letters from teachers and parents who can’t stand the idea of anyone saying Potter is bad. “But at least my kid is reading!” is a common defense, to which I ask, “When they start reading porn, will that be good too?”

At any rate, I have many solid reasons for being against the proliferation of Harry Potter and Potter-like books that promote sorcery to children. Here are the top three: 

#1 – The Books Teach Authentic Sorcery to Children

The spells and rituals in the Harry Potter books aren’t the figment of author J.K. Rowling’s imagination. They’re real. For instance, in the first book alone, former occult practitioner and expert Toni Collins lists the “Sorting Ceremony” described on pages 117-122, the Body-Bind spell on page 273 and brews listed in Professor Snape’s potions class on pages 136-139, as being authentic. She said only someone who has engaged in these practices would know they weren’t fantasy, and only someone who had done meticulous research into Wiccan practices could have written them. (See http://www.envoymagazine.com/harrypotter.htm )

Collins is far from alone. Other former occult practitioner, such as Steve Wood, host of St. Joseph’s Covenant Keepers radio show, also confirmed that he used many of the rituals that are casually described in Potter books.

Perhaps the most telling confirmation that the books teach true sorcery comes from exorcists themselves, all of whom unequivocally condemn the books. Rome’s infamous exorcist, Fr. Gabriele Amorth, told the Italian ANSA news agency in December, 2001 that “behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the King of darkness, the devil.”

He and other exorcists condemned Rowling’s misguided portrayal of magic as being either “white or black” – a distinction that does not exist in real life. Magic is “always a turn to the devil,” he says, no matter what color you call it.

#2 – The Books Distort Good and Evil in the Minds of Children

This is another major reason why Potter books should be avoided.

In his book, A Landscape with Dragons: The Battle for Your Child’s Mind,  best selling author Michael D. O'Brien protests the distorted way in which Rowling’s book portray the occult as “liberating, noble, exciting, and not what your parents and Christians in general say about it. Coupled with this message is the gross characterization of traditional families and anyone else who objects to the occult as abusive hypocrites . . .The whiff of morality makes them that much more deceptive. In this way, the moral order of the universe is deformed in a child’s mind far more effectively than by blatantly evil books.”

For instance, the books teach children that they can resort to an evil means if it brings about a good end. One can use magic to get a girl to like them, or to punish a foe. But what the books don’t tell the child is that the forces that are harnessed with magic spells are very real, very demonic, and use of them always ends badly for the practitioner. (My booklet on Magick gets into these grisly details – click on the New Age Resources button on the navigation bar above for more information.) The only people who would promote the teaching of sorcery to children are those who are either occultists themselves or who have no practical knowledge of the occult. ? O’Brien is particularly disturbed by the fact that otherwise sensible people promote these books full of dangerous distortions and occult practices specifically forbidden by God to innocent children. The fact that this is happening even in Catholic households and schools is a sign of “a grave loss of discernment,” he says.

#3 – The Books Inspire Children With A Fascination for the Occult

Anyone who thinks Potter books don’t inspire an unhealthy fascination in the occult in children needs a reality check. The advent of the Harry Potter series unleashed an avalanche of occult fiction that are now the top selling categories in the children and teen market.

For example, Hollywood’s occult themed movies aimed at young adults, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Charmed, are all churning out paper-back series that have become the rage with young teens. Instead of reading Nancy Drew mysteries and the Babysitter’s Club, young girls are reading about Buffy’s near rape by her love-interest, Spike, or watching her die and then “resurrecting” herself by climbing out of a grave.

Then there’s the controversial Goosebumps series for grade school kids and the Fear Street books for adolescents that intertwine the teen world of cheerleading and sports with supernatural evil. T-Witches contain the escapades of twin daughters of two powerful witches and Midnight Magic touts the use of tarot cards.

All this – and I have yet to even mention the latest vampire-inspired occult thriller  – Twilight!

Those people who boo-hooed talk of a Potter-inspired rush to sorcery among youth (they called us hysterical back in 2001) are in dire need of a “come to Jesus” moment (pun intended).

I might also add that Pope Benedict XVI is no fan of Potter or its ilk. His personal condemnation of the books was uncovered in a letter from then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to Gabriele Kuby, author of Harry Potter – Good or Evil?  Apparently, Kuby sent the Cardinal a copy of her book and he responded in a letter dated March 7, 2003, in which he thanked her for the “instructive” book.

“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,” he wrote.

Ironically, the Cardinal also suggested in the letter that she send a copy of the book to the same Vatican prelate, Msgr. Peter Fleetwood, who said during a Vatican Radio program that Harry Potter books were okay. Msgr. Fleetwood’s comments were broadcast around the world as “Vatican Approves of Potter” even though the Vatican has never made an official statement on the books.

I could go on and on about Harry Potter, but this should suffice for now."

*see also their recent podcast episode