I am also Catholic and I went into reading the Harry Potter books with open eyes- in case there was anything that was evil in them. I don't see the problem with them, either. They really are fairy tales- The world that Harry lives in is not the same as our world. It's kind-of like the Dahl books (James and the Giant Peach with the giant peach and huge bugs that talked.) Yes, there is magic and witchcraft but the characters are not normal children who play around with the occult and have things happen because of it. The Hogwarts Academy is make believe as are the games and the brooms and everything else.
The funny thing- as one who was raised Protestant and made a choice to convert to Catholicism- the Catholic church is one of the more ritualistic churches around- We have incense and candles and transubstantiation of the bread and wine and anointing with oil. Our priests wear long robes and our monks chant. We ask Saints to pray for us. We pray the rosary.
I love Catholicism and I think the rituals are beautiful. Many protestants believe the RCC is a cult for some of the reasons mentioned above. One could almost argue that an interest in magic and rituals could also draw people to the Catholic church, couldn't they?
If anyone reads Anne Rice books (the vampire and witch series,) they will find that many of her characters are Catholic and she touches a lot on Catholic doctrine in her books. (I think her maiden name was O'Brien.)There is a lot that is "Goth" about the Roman Catholic Church.
Not Goth! Just European and Byzantine. But about Ann Rice, I DON'T read her books. It's personal preference. I read a couple of them and then quit. She is a very talented writer but IMHO her books verge on blasphemy. The first rule of writing is to write about what you know. She was a Catholic, she knows about it, so she writes about it. I wish she would NOT because she gives scandal to the Church IMHO.
I love the rites of the Catholic Church too. But I wish Ann Rice would not co-opt them for her writing. But what can you do? It is a fee country. You are exactly right in your analysis of Harry Potter. I would let my kids read it and see the movie and I would just keep my antenna out to make sure they were handling it as a fairy tale.
I love Michael O'Brian and I loved his book Father Elijah but I disagree with him on Harry Potter.