Guest guest Posted July 14, 2005 Report Share Posted July 14, 2005 July 14, 2005: Pope Benedict XVI expressed concern that the Harry Potter books "erode Christianity in the soul" of young people in a letter two years ago, a German writer says. The comments came in an exchange of letters between the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Gabriele Kuby, a Bavarian-based Roman Catholic sociologist who penned a book criticising JK Rowling's blockbusters. In a letter dated March 7, 2003, the text of which could be seen today on Kuby's website, Ratzinger thanked her for sending him a copy of "your informative book." "It is good that you are throwing light on Harry Potter, because these are subtle seductions that work imperceptibly, and because of that deeply, and erode Christianity in the soul before it can even grow properly," the letter added. The Vatican had no comment, noting that the pontiff – a Bavarian native – and his secretary were away on holiday. Kuby argues in her book, "Harry Potter: Good or Evil?", that the Potter novels blur the boundaries between good and evil and impair young readers' ability to distinguish between the two. She also asserts that they glorify the world of witches and magicians at the expense of the human world. Kuby said today that she sent her book to Ratzinger – then the Vatican's doctrinal watchdog – after he commented favourably on an earlier book she wrote, "My Way to Mary". Ratzinger wrote on May 27 that year that "I gladly permit you to cite my opinion on Harry Potter," according to Kuby. Rowling's sixth Potter book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, is due out Saturday. SOURCE: Ireland Online URL: http://breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment/story.asp? j=149477850&p=y49478556 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 17, 2005 Report Share Posted July 17, 2005 Oh, yeah, it's so terribly hard to tell the difference between good and bad in those Harry Potter books (dripping with sarcasm). I think the real issue is that while good and bad in the HP books, as in so very many children's books, is writ large, it is not writ Christian. In fact the drive to be good is attributed to character, or basic decency. The motivation to be evil is similarly attributed with little shrift given to the notion that hard times are a justification for bad behavior as the titular good boy hero starts off badly abused and forced to live in a cupboard under a staircase. In HP good people can make mistakes, they can be pushed to irritation, anger and even unfairness, but circumstances do not make them evil. They are good people because they are good people. Of course, they also tend to be poor, middle or working class. Really rich people are apparently vulnerable to evil. What Christians object to is the fact that HP doesn't make JC the sole source of human goodness. Bummer for them. I heard the worst thing on the radio the other night. A Christian broadcaster was saying that listeners can convert people by letting them know that whatever mistakes that they have made in the past or are making now cannot be helped nor improved. They should let their targets know that they will never improve, they will always fail and sin, continually until they die. The good news is that they don't need to improve or even try, they only have to accept that Jesus Christ died for their sins and then regardless of any other circumstances they can expect a great afterlife in the love and glory of God. I found this profoundly awful. I really have trouble with any philosophy that says that there is no need nor any reason to strive spiritually and socially in our lives. And I think that any one who is promoting that sort of destructive philosphy should spend a night in Azkaban. lol. Blessings, prainbow , "devi_bhakta" <devi_bhakta> wrote: > July 14, 2005: Pope Benedict XVI expressed concern that the Harry > Potter books "erode Christianity in the soul" of young people in a > letter two years ago, a German writer says. > > The comments came in an exchange of letters between the then > Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Gabriele Kuby, a Bavarian-based Roman > Catholic sociologist who penned a book criticising JK Rowling's > blockbusters. > > In a letter dated March 7, 2003, the text of which could be seen > today on Kuby's website, Ratzinger thanked her for sending him a > copy of "your informative book." > > "It is good that you are throwing light on Harry Potter, because > these are subtle seductions that work imperceptibly, and because of > that deeply, and erode Christianity in the soul before it can even > grow properly," the letter added. > > The Vatican had no comment, noting that the pontiff � a Bavarian > native � and his secretary were away on holiday. > > Kuby argues in her book, "Harry Potter: Good or Evil?", that the > Potter novels blur the boundaries between good and evil and impair > young readers' ability to distinguish between the two. She also > asserts that they glorify the world of witches and magicians at the > expense of the human world. > > Kuby said today that she sent her book to Ratzinger � then the > Vatican's doctrinal watchdog � after he commented favourably on an > earlier book she wrote, "My Way to Mary". > > Ratzinger wrote on May 27 that year that "I gladly permit you to > cite my opinion on Harry Potter," according to Kuby. > > Rowling's sixth Potter book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, > is due out Saturday. > > SOURCE: Ireland Online > URL: http://breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment/story.asp? > j=149477850&p=y49478556 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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