Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Cardinal Ratzinger's ten arguments against Harry Potter series

I have argued similar points as these for years, with many vehement opponents within the Church. Here is the correspondence of then Cardinal Ratzinger with regards to Harry Potter novels.
Please listen to his reasoning with an open mind. As a former dabbler in the occult (in my adolescence) i can confirm the dangers of certain literature for impressionable minds.Here are the most salient points in my opinion, but please read the rest of the article at LIfe Site News.

 4. The human world becomes degraded, the world of witches and sorcerers becomes glorified.
5. There is no positive transcendent dimension. The supernatural is entirely demonic. Devine symbols are perverted.
6. Harry Potter is no modern fairy tale. In fairy tales sorcerers and witches are unambiguous figures of evil. The hero escapes their power through the exercise of virtue. In the Harry Potter universe there is no character that endeavours consistently to achieve good. For seemingly good ends evil means are being used.
7. A (young!) reader’s power of discernment of good and evil is blocked out through emotional manipulation and intellectual confusion.
8. It is an assault upon the young generation, seducing it playfully into a world of witchcraft and sorcery, filling the imagination of the young with images of a world in which evil reigns, from which there is no escape, on the contrary, it is portrayed as highly desirable.



Read the entire article at Life Site News. 

1 comment:

Julie D. said...

Leticia, unless I read the article wrong these are the arguments of a woman who corresponded with Cardinal Ratzinger, NOT those of he himself. The title is therefore misleading as is any statement that these are the Cardinal's comments. As well, the linked story is from 2005. Hardly an up-to-date commentary as the Harry Potter books are now concluded so we could see where the story was headed. This is 6-year-old news and not really news once we remove Cardinal Ratzinger's name, as it should be removed.

On the overall subject, I remember reading that the Cardinal (now Pope Benedict XVI) in commenting upon the Harry Potter books first qualified anything he said by pointing out that he hadn't read them and, therefore, was using someone else's comments for his information. I read the first three or four Harry Potter books aloud with my children and we then shared the remaining ones round as they came out. They were very good and, in fact, the last book in the series showed a very Christ-like figure in Harry. Some people might have problems with it, but most would not, any more than with the average fairy story that has witches, giants and ogres. :-)