Posted on 07/13/2005 12:49:13 AM PDT by dsc
Pope Opposes Harry Potter Novels - Signed Letters from Cardinal Ratzinger Now Online
RIMSTING, Germany, July 13, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - 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 below for links to scanned copies of the letters signed by Cardinal Ratzinger.)
As the sixth issue of Rowling's Harry Potter series - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - is about to be released, the news that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger expressed serious reservations about the novels is now finally being revealed to the English-speaking world still under the impression the Vatican approves the Potter novels.
In a letter dated March 7, 2003 Cardinal Ratzinger thanked Kuby for her "instructive" book Harry Potter - gut oder böse (Harry Potter- good or evil?), in which Kuby says the Potter books corrupt the hearts of the young, preventing them from developing a properly ordered sense of good and evil, thus harming their relationship with God while that relationship is still in its infancy.
"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," wrote Cardinal Ratzinger.
The letter also encouraged Kuby to send her book on Potter to the Vatican prelate who quipped about Potter during a press briefing which led to the false press about the Vatican support of Potter. At a Vatican press conference to present a study document on the New Age in April 2003, one of the presenters - Fr. Peter Fleedwood - made a positive comment on the Harry Potter books in response to a question from a reporter. Headlines such as "Pope Approves Potter" (Toronto Star), "Pope Sticks Up for Potter Books" (BBC), "Harry Potter Is Ok With The Pontiff" (Chicago Sun Times) and "Vatican: Harry Potter's OK with us" (CNN Asia) littered the mainstream media.
In a second letter sent to Kuby on May 27, 2003, Cardinal Ratzinger "gladly" gave his permission to Kuby to make public "my judgement about Harry Potter."
The most prominent Potter critic in North America, Catholic novelist and painter Michael O'Brien commented to LifeSiteNews.com on the "judgement" of now-Pope Benedict saying, "This discernment on the part of Benedict XVI reveals the Holy Father's depth and wide ranging gifts of spiritual discernment." O'Brien, author of a book dealing with fantasy literature for children added, "it is consistent with many of the statements he's been making since his election to the Chair of Peter, indeed for the past 20 years - a probing accurate read of the massing spiritual warfare that is moving to a new level of struggle in western civilization. He is a man in whom a prodigious intellect is integrated with great spiritual gifts. He is the father of the universal church and we would do well to listen to him."
English translations of the two letters by Cardinal Ratzinger follow:
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Vatican City March 7, 2003
Esteemed and dear Ms. Kuby!
Many thanks for your kind letter of February 20th and the informative book which you sent me in the same mail. 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.
I would like to suggest that you write to Mr. Peter Fleedwood, (Pontifical Council of Culture, Piazza S. Calisto 16, I00153 Rome) directly and to send him your book.
Sincere Greetings and Blessings,
+ Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
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Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Vatican City May 27, 2003
Esteemed and dear Ms. Kuby,
Somehow your letter got buried in the large pile of name-day , birthday and Easter mail. Finally this pile is taken care of, so that I can gladly allow you to refer to my judgment about Harry Potter.
Sincere Greetings and Blessings,
+ Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
Links to the scanned copies of the two signed letters by Cardinal Ratzinger (in German) - In PDF format: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005_docs/ratzingerletter.pdf http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005_docs/ratzingerpermission.pdf
jhw
Lots of things God wants us to do are fun, too.
So if I name a character Lither that's going to entice kids to Nazism?! Not buying that for a second.
No, but just the title of the sixth book should set off alarms in most Christians.
HP is all about the special powers granted to non-muggles who possess magickal "blood."
Haven't we gotten beyond this? Isn't the New Testament filled with declarations that the ONLY blood which saves is the blood of Jesus Christ?
It's always racial with these kinds of occultic world views. IMO it doesn't get much more blasphemous than that.
And this goes for "The Force," too, with its inane Mitocondridians and "It's in the blood, fellow Jedis!"
How blind are we?
DOH!
I have some respect for the new pope, even though I'm not Catholic, but this is just stupid.
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I googled her, having never heard of her prior to your post. She appears to have been mentally ill. I'm shocked that a children's book would mention her.
I got better.
It doesn't.
She's a witch! Bring the marshmallows!
A children's book doesn't mention her. HP has an incredibly minor character whose name has the same letters but in a different order.
So are comic books like X-Men, The Hulk, Superman and Spider-Man. Are they satanic, too?
Haven't we gotten beyond this? Isn't the New Testament filled with declarations that the ONLY blood which saves is the blood of Jesus Christ?
AFAIK, HP has nothing to do with salvation.
And this goes for "The Force," too, with its inane Mitocondridians and "It's in the blood, fellow Jedis!"
(Rolls eyes) Oh, for goodness sake. You, sir, have de-railed.
But it is impossible to say I believe in God and follow Christ and not believe in Satan. Its a result of wishy-washy, feel-good religion that denies the reality of sin and evil. People who actually believe what Christ taught are called "fundamentalists and zealots".
For Catholics the preternatural (evil, demons, Satan etc are not supernatural because they are created, they are part of the created order, only God is "above nature") is very real it is attested to in scripture, Sacred Tradition and the living Magisterium. The existance of Satan and the fallen angels is de Fide .
391 Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes them fall into death out of envy.266 Scripture and the Church's Tradition see in this being a fallen angel, called "Satan" or the "devil".267 The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: "The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing."268
392 Scripture speaks of a sin of these angels.269 This "fall" consists in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign. We find a reflection of that rebellion in the tempter's words to our first parents: "You will be like God."270 The devil "has sinned from the beginning"; he is "a liar and the father of lies".271
393 It is the irrevocable character of their choice, and not a defect in the infinite divine mercy, that makes the angels' sin unforgivable. "There is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death."272
394 Scripture witnesses to the disastrous influence of the one Jesus calls "a murderer from the beginning", who would even try to divert Jesus from the mission received from his Father.273 "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil."274 In its consequences the gravest of these works was the mendacious seduction that led man to disobey God.
395 The power of Satan is, nonetheless, not infinite. He is only a creature, powerful from the fact that he is pure spirit, but still a creature. He cannot prevent the building up of God's reign. Although Satan may act in the world out of hatred for God and his kingdom in Christ Jesus, and although his action may cause grave injuries - of a spiritual nature and, indirectly, even of a physical nature- to each man and to society, the action is permitted by divine providence which with strength and gentleness guides human and cosmic history. It is a great mystery that providence should permit diabolical activity, but "we know that in everything God works for good with those who love him."275
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The greastest trick the Devil ever played was convincing the world he didn't exist.
I'm sorry Dr. E, but that's the funniest thing I've read all day.
I have "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". I guess I'll have to finally read it.
What child who's read HP will read the name Helen Blavatsky at some future date and not be quite as repulsed as he should be by the name of this anti-Christian occultist?
Err.... the name "Vablatsky" is mentioned once, as the author of a rather lame-sounding book on divination, which Harry quickly learns isn't really much good and doesn't seem to give any actual insights into the future. So will anyone make the connection? Not unless they're trying to.
Even the term "Harry Potter" was once a colloquialism for the Devil himself. The books are filled with occultic terms and scenarios.
Please give me a source on this one; it sounds like an urban legend.
the next edition of HP gives up the game completely just by its title -- "Half-Blood Brother". Like all occultists/theosophists/universalists the key to the boy Harry Potter's strength lies IN HIS BLOOD. Where have we heard that one before? From the organization that used as its symbol the same "Lightning Bolt" that Harry Potter proudly displays on his forehead.
Err. There are so many errors here. First off, the new book is "Half-Blood Prince". Second, the BAD GUYS are the ones obsessed with purity of blood. The same BAD GUYS who are responsible for the lightning bolt scar that Harry, incidentally, hates because it is how people recognize him, and it reminds him that his parents were killed protecting him.
Making a connection between the Nazis and the good guys in Harry Potter is laughable.
I'll take a brief look at your links but if that's where you've got your info, I suggest you start looking for something a bit more accurate.
"Judge not, that you may not be judged, For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again. Any why seest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye; and seest not the beam that is in thy own eye? " Matthew 7:1-3
I don't even remember what book that character appears in, not even sure if she gets to speak or is just mentioned in passing. Doesn't even rate a bio on Mugglenet, really minor.
All right, I skimmed both your sites. Sorry, they made me laugh. What a load of distortions, misreadings, and lack of imagination! The second one seemed to be trying to prove the evil of Harry Potter because of all the times the word "green" is mentioned, and because Rowling has girls and boys attending school together. I think.
By the way, don't quote from the first one, because it's main points about how bad Harry Potter is, come from language and actions that the evil characters take. And then tries to imply that everyone in the books is like that.
STOP IT ALL OF YOU FROM SAYING THAT LOTR WAS AN ALLEGORY
TOLKIEN HIMSELF SAID IT WAS NOWHERE NEAR AN ALLEGORY
It might serve you best to go read what he had to say on the matter.
I spit on allegories!
"Old Harry" is an old nickname for the devil; of course, so are "Old Nick" and "Old Ned." No sign that "Harry Potter" ever was! (But possibly the source of the confusion.)
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It's a start. I can get the others from the library, if necessary.
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