Did Pope Benedict XVI really condemn Harry Potter?
• Pope Benedict XVI may have said something regarding Harry Potter . . . back in 2003, and not officially (as in his capacity of Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith) but in a personal letter to a German author who had submitted her book (condemning J.K. Rowling’s fantasy series) to the Cardinal for his review. The sum total of the Cardinal’s reply on the matter, dated March 7, 2003: “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.” Suffice to say the jury’s out to lunch as to the significance of such a “condemnation”, or whether the Cardinal has actually read a Harry Potter book himself — for a compilation of reactions by Catholics and otherwise, see: Pope Benedict and Harry Potter Against The Grain July 14, 2005.
