Harry Potter and the Chair of Peter (Lead us not into temptation has meaning to Benedict XVI.)

The American Prowler ^ | 7/14/2005 | J. Peter Freire

[nickcarraway]

News was abuzz, as news ought to be, about how Pope Benedict, a.k.a. Cardinal Ratzinger, speciously abetted derisory comments toward one Potter, comma, Harry as a threat to Christianity as we know it. I can just imagine the headlines: Is the blacklist back? Are those Catholics ex-communicating authors? Is the Christian Right going to protest the Potter films? When does the book-burning begin? You would think children would soon have scarlet P's etched into their chests.

There's a benefit to mystifying liberals with, well, mysticism. They become silly, not afraid, when faced with what they do not understand, and adherence to dogma and Christian doctrine is a decent enough catalyst. What the liberal has typically offered in light of Vatican denouncements has been that the holy men themselves have gone silly and cannot stand the sight of that which they do not understand. The reporting of the affair belies astonishment. The Church! Taking a stand?! Round and round they go, and Benedict is bereft of the prospect of writing book reviews for the New Yorker.

Yet the Pope wasn't speaking ex-cathedra, nor nasally threatening to add J.K. Rowling to his "list." Simply put, Benedict's response was even predictable. I just interviewed the Pope, at least in my head, and the pinnacle of my questioning resulted in this: Mr. Most-Notable-Christian-Leader, what do you think of a children's book that forgoes conventional morality, God's grace, and divine intervention, in favor of witchcraft and magic, often with relativist undertones? And should I have bothered with the question?

In March 2003, when Benedict wasn't the "Pope who was a Hitler youth," but rather the "Dogmatic Enforcer," the then-Cardinal noted to an author critical of the young magician:

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.

If only he had explained "subtle seduction." A holdover we have from John Stuart Mill and Darwin is the naive thought that the stronger idea will survive, and if immorality appears in the Goblet of Fire or elsewhere, nascent Christian souls will be nowhere harmed from exposure -- they will only become stronger. An odd argument when criminal acts are attributed to the influence of the neighborhood, and not the individual. If we are to accept that criminals often come from weak families, we accept that negative influences take their toll. Harry Potter may not exactly lead young Jimmy into a lake of fire, but it is not a reach to say that it could without guidance detract from the Church's message -- just as a child watching Desperate Housewives might get the wrong idea about what marriage is really like.

In Paradise Lost, Milton's Satan is a seductive character contrasting the bland Son of God, but the comparison isn't lost on the author nor the informed reader. Satan, as all evil, is supposed to be seductive. One must resist temptation to sin -- that is, when occasion faces him with it. It's commendable when people stare down evil and resist, but preferable not to have them do it -- after all, human will is often frail. Sir Thomas More says to an overly ambitious Richard Rich in the film A Man for All Seasons, "Man should not go where he will be tempted." Richard Rich went, got tempted, perjured himself, and got More beheaded. So much for Mr. Mill. And so much for liberals who would sooner say that on the whole, exposure was better for Rich. Tell that to More's daughter.

Yes, the Potter books have the kids reading in their spare time, which is enough for some to settle for. Ironically, this argument was ridiculed by its own progenitors once a deal had been struck for movie rights based on the books. And they follow a long, wonderful tradition of fables the kids can enjoy. But if the Potter books are on loan to help forge a Christian child's soul, without its being informed by the moral lessons of Christ, then how would they not be seductive? Put another way, what would encourage a child to accept God when the tales he hears involve other children overcoming problems by using powers they themselves hold?

That is the Pope's business, to worry about what might intervene in a child's relationship with the Church and God. I would rather he do it than Joycelyn Elders, Janet Reno, or Sandra Day O'Connor. Even if you dissented (which is allowed, regardless of what the New York Times tells you), he brings up a point so few are willing to heed: you are influenced by what you choose to experience, so choose carefully -- which does not directly translate to being "close-minded." It simply means, do not go where you may be tempted. Strength does not necessarily follow temptation.

J. Peter Freire is a Journalism Fellow with The American Spectator under a grant from the Collegiate Network.

[Ace of Spades]

I certainly was not aware of the obvious history that exists between Ace of Spades and other posters on this thread.

No history exists between me and any of these folks, in fact I've never spoken to a single one of them before. But, since I've been called a cretin, an idiot (twice!) and something approaching a Satanist, I guess we're all pretty well acquainted now.

[Rokke]

I think you ask some very good and valid questions. But another question is, where do you draw the line? If introducing children to topics like magic and witchcraft is a concern, then you really need to limit their exposure to everything from Hansel and Gretel to Mary Poppins. In fact, just about every childhood tale involves some type of magic and struggle between good and evil. Snow White, and Cinderella come to mind. Santa Claus is another example. To be consistent, if you are going to keep your children from reading Harry Potter, you probably ought to be keeping them from reading countless other books with similar subjects and themes. I actually have a couple friends that do. Or at least they try. But then they let their kids watch all the Star Wars movies. So much for consistancy.

[Romish_Papist]

Then what possible conclusion could you derive from the comment that he bore watching because of a comment about burning books and the Hitler Youth?

[Aquinasfan]

People who knock the "Index" must not be familiar with it. It's a wise list. The following books have done untold damage to society.

Modern History Sourcebook: 
Index librorum prohibitorum, 1557-1966
[Index of Prohibited Books]

---

• "The first official censorship had come in 1559 with the publication of the Index auctorum et librorum prohibitorum under the direction of Pope Paul IV. The Pauline index, as it became known, was the first in a long succession of papal indexes, forty-two in all. The purpose of these indexes was to guide censors in their decisions of what publications to authorize and which to disallow, for printers were not free to publish books without official permission. In January of 1562 the Council of Trent took up the issue of the Index and was deeply divided. The  Pauline index had been seen by many as too controversial and excessively restrictive. After the opening speeches, the council appointed a commission to draft a new index. Although the council closed before the task of the commission was completed, the new Tridentine index was taken up by Pope Pius IV and published in 1564 by Paulus Manutius in Rome. This index constituted the most authoritative guide the church had yet published; its lists formed the basis of all subsequent indexes, while its rules were accepted as the guide for future censors and compilers." 
  [From http://library.lib.byu.edu/~aldine/51Index.html]

The principle of a list of forbidden books was adopted at the Fifth Lateran Council in 1515, then confirmed by the Council of Trent in 1546. The first edition of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, dated 1557 was published by Pope Paul IV. The 32nd edition, published in 1948 included 4000 titles. The Index was suppressed in  1966.
[Translated from http://www.union-fin.fr/~bcourcel/LivresInterdits.html]

It has proved to be somewhat difficult to get a complete list of books included on the Index. What follows is at least a partial list, derived from the above French website.

[See also Catholic Encyclopedia: Index of Prohibited Book]

In  chronological order of the books, here is a list of French language writers having the honor of being put on the index.
CW = complete works
1948 = was in the edition of 1948

Rabelais (CW) 
Montaigne (Essais) 
Descartes (Méditations Métaphysiques et 6 autres livres, 1948)
La Fontaine (Contes et Nouvelles)
Pascal (Pensées)
Montesquieu (Lettres Persanes, 1948)
Voltaire (Lettres philosophiques; Histoire des croisades; Cantiques des Cantiques),
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Du Contrat Social; La Nouvelle Héloïse)
Denis Diderot (CW, Encyclopédie)
Helvétius (De l'Esprit; De l'homme, de ses facultés intellectuelles et de son éducation )
Casanova (Mémoires)
Sade (Justine, Juliette)
Mme De Stael (Corinne ou l'Italie)
Stendhal (Le Rouge et le noir, 1948),
Balzac (CW)
Victor Hugo (Notre Dame de Paris; Les misérables jusqu'en 1959)
Gustave Flaubert (Mme Bovary; Salammbô)
Alexandre Dumas (divers romans)
Emile Zola (CW)
Maeterlinck (CW)
Pierre Larousse (Grand Dictionnaire Universel),
Anatole France (prix Nobel en 1921, CW à l'Index en 1922),
Andre Gide (prix Nobel, CW à l'Index en 1952)
Jean Paul Sartre (Prix Nobel (refusé), CW à l'Index en 1959).

"One could ask what did the study of literature look like in religious schools?"

Other Authors Listed

Peter Abelard,
Erasmus
Nicholas. Machiavelli
John  Calvin
John Milton
Malebranche
Baruch Spinoza
John. Locke
Bishop Berkeley
David Hume
Condillac
d'Holbach
d'Alembert
La Mettrie
Condorcet
Daniel. Defoe
Jonathan. Swift
Swedenborg
Laurence. Sterne
Emmanuek. Kant
H. Heine
J. S. Mill
G. D'Annunzio
H. Bergson.

"Without any surprise, the Index also conatined many theologians and translators of the Bible, and historians of religion. For example:
Richard Simon (17-ième siècle) whose Histoire critique du Vieux Testament inaugured the critical study of sacred texts (taken up by  E. Renan and many others) and A. Loisy, (excommunicated in 1908).

Source:  for this Information:

http://www.union-fin.fr/~bcourcel/LivresInterdits.html

Another list on the net includes the following:

"In 1966 the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ceased publication of the INDEX but claimed that it still served as a "moral guide in so far as it reminds the conscience of the faithful they must avoid writings which can be dangerous to faith & morals." Today the Church may issue an "admonitum," a warning to the faithful, that a book might be dangerous. It is only a moral guide, however, without the force of ecclesiastical law."

The following have been condemned in the INDEX for being immoral or heretical or both.

SOME NOVELISTS IN THE INDEX

AUTHOR Samuel Richardson (ENG) Laurence Stern (ENG) Stendhal (FR) Victor Hugo (FR) George Sand (FR) Honore de Balzac (FR) Eugene Sue (FR) A. Dumas pere (FR) A. Dumas fil (FR) Gustave Flaubert (FR) Gabriele D'Annunzio (IT) Alberto Morovia (IT)

YEAR 1744 1819 1828 1834-1869 1840 1841-1864 1852 1863 1963 1864 1911 1952

WORK BANNED PAMELA A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY THROUGH FRANCE & ITALY All his love stories LES MISERABLES NOTRE DAME DE PARIS All her love stories All his love stories All his love stories All his love stories All his love stories MADAME BOVARY SALAMMBO All his loves stories WOMAN OF ROME

SOME NON-FICTION WRITERS IN THE INDEX

Thomas Hobbes (ENG) Rene Descartes (FR) Francis Bacon (ENG) Michel de Montaigne(FR) Benedict Spinoza(NETH) John Milton (ENG) Joseph Addison (ENG) Richard Steel (ENG) John Locke (ENG) Emanuel Swedenborg (SW) Daniel Defoe (ENG) David Hume (SCOT) Jean-Jacques Rousseau (FR) Edward Gibbon (ENG) Blaise Pascal (FR) Oliver Goldsmith (ENG) Immanual Kant (GER) Giovanni Casanova (FR) John Stuart Mill (ENG) Ernest Renan (FR) Emile Zola (FR) Andrew Lang (ENG) Henri Bergson (FR) Benedetto Croce (IT) Jean-paul Sartre (FR)

1649-1703 1663 1668 1676 1690 1694 1729 unk 1734-1737 1738 1743 1761-1872 1762-1806 1783 1789 1823 1827 1834 1856 1889-1892 1894-1898 1896 1914 1934 1948

All works All philosophical works The ARRANGMENT & GENERAL SURVEY OF KNOWLEDGE LES ESSAIES All posthumous work THE STATE PAPERS REMARKS ON SEV. PARTS OF ITALY ACCOUNT OF THE STATE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC RELIGION ESSAY CONCERNING HUMAN UNDERSTANDING THE PRINCIPIA HISTORY OF THE DEVIL All the works THE SOCIAL CONTRACT DECLINE & FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE THE PROVINCIAL LETTERS AN ABRIDGED HISTORY OF ENGLAND CRITIQUE OF PURE REASON MEMOIRS PRINCIPLES OF POLITICAL LIFE OF JESUS, etc.. All works MYTH, RITUAL & RELIGION CREATIVE EVOLUTION Philosophy/History All works

Satre, all works. Suh-weet.

[Rokke]

"Then what possible conclusion could you derive from the comment that he bore watching because of a comment about burning books and the Hitler Youth?"

Let me repeat Ace of Spades original comment for you in its entirety..." Pope who was a Hitler youth.... Bears repeating, especially when he starts labeling literature as subversive." Where is the reference to burning books? I think I'm missing your point.

[Ace of Spades]

I already explained it. I said he lost the authority to tell me what's right and moral when he cast his lot with the Nazis. If I didn't have the courage to stand up to evil (I don't care what the circumstances were), while people were being thrown against a wall and shot for refusing to do what I was doing, I sure wouldn't be sermonizing about good and evil now.

[Romish_Papist]

How does a child being forced to join an organization he likely doesn't understand equate with willingly casting his lot in with them?

[Rokke]

"Now we have Rokke criticizing GipperGal for having taken exception to that dishonest slander."

Actually, I originally criticized her for using profanity (tolerance?!!) in a post in which she threatened to report a post to the admin moderators. When I read Ace of Spades' comment, I did not infer the same meaning from it that she (and apparently you) did. She subsequently detailed her interpretation of Ace of Spades' comments and declared it insulting to everything including the truth. I would agree, that her interpretation of Ace of Spades comments could be considered insulting. But neither I, nor the Admin moderator, nor Ace of Spades is responsible for what someone chooses to infer from someone else's comments. And the fact remains that Pope Benedict was once a member (albeit involuntary member) of the Hitler Youth. In my opinion, that only adds to the depth of his understanding of what is good and what is evil. He is a witness to what happens in society when authorities chose to limit access to information.

Incidently, the fact that you and GipperGal chose to provide interpretation of "what people really mean" and then subsequently condemn them for what you've interpreted does not seem to affect the decisions of the admin moderators of what is and isn't insulting on FR.

[nickcarraway]

I didn't realize Pascal and Montaigne were there.

[SaltyJoe]

I love Jesus and His Bride, the Catholic Church, enough that I won't entertain myself with Dan Brown's novels.

Entertaining falsehoods is a temptation to spiritual mutilation with the same danger as produced from masturbation. It's fruits yield nothing procreative and can lead to quite the opposite of what the Holy Spirit wants for us.

Why divide your loyalty even for mere entertainment especially when the eternity of your soul is at stake? I think of it as this: a lady doesn't wander all over the room and then blow on some other guy's dice.

(A thousand gazoonies prize for naming the reference of the last sentence.)

[dmc8576]

True. Point taken. And I agree. My mistake.

[nickcarraway]

You'll have to ask Frank Sinatra...

[HighlyOpinionated]

Brief History of Acting

I suggest reading this and pondering the question why no one volunteers to play Judas Iscariot in the Passion Play.

Here's my take: Originally actors used hand held face-masks and kept their own personality separate from the character they represented. Today, too many actors and actresses try to become the characters they play -- and their behaviors reflect the aberrant behavior of those characters.

If the actor doesn't connect with the character, then there'd be a line of people waiting to play Judas Iscariot. But even actors know that there is truth to my contention that there is a psychological (and maybe mystical and spiritual) relationship between the actor/actress and the character being "played."

A top executive at CBS-TV doesn't allow his children to watch television before they turn 8 years old. Ever wonder why?

Pope Benedict XVI knows whereof he speaks. Thank goodness there's one man willing to stand up against the blatant secularization of society.

God Bless Pope Benedict XVI!

[HighlyOpinionated]

I am tired of the thought police!

Tired of the "Thought Police?"

So are you tired of Morality? Tired of the Ten Commandments? Tired of absolutes like gravity, life and death? Tired of people taking a stand for what they believe is not a healthy lifestyle? Tired of people who caution readers to "test the spirits"?

If someone doesn't stand up and ask you, me, us to take a second look at something, we may end up parroting those who post over at DU.

"Polly want a cracker? Polly want a liberal Democrat?"

[HighlyOpinionated]

Let me be one of the masses that says Joseph Ratzinger was FORCED into a Nazi Youth organization. His father was VERY anti-Nazi and had to move from one town to another for HIS defiant stance against what he saw as a morally wrong ideology. The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree. Joseph Ratzinger went AWOL as soon as he could.

Why the MSM isn't already trying to get charges brought up against the Pope for going AWOL from the Nazi Youth is a mystery to me.

[kstewskis]

I feel like I just received one of those Christmas cards with the long boastful explanation of what everyone in the family is doing.

Coke... keyboard... where do I send you the bill? LOL!

Hey Tatooed! Maybe she can get a two-for-one deal...ROTFLOL!!!

[SaltyJoe]

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[A.A. Cunningham]

Good to see I've given you a purpose in life. Now you don't have to spend it in that controlled substance gutter you live in.

[Oztrich Boy]

I don't think that Pope Benedict spares one thought for Harry Potter, and the idea that he has come out full force and denounced the books is preposterous!

But there is no argument that is too preposterous to be used if it can condem Harry Potter.

[Xenalyte]

You're absolutely right . . . I haven't heard anyone refer to him as Cardinal Ratzinger since he became pope.

Now he is pope. Formerly he was a cardinal. One cannot be "also" known as what one is not known as now.

(Jeez, what a grammar wonk I am. But then, it is to be expected from a woman who just spent a couple hundred bucks on Karen Gordon and Patricia O'Conner and Lynne Truss books.)