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F.A.O. Mumbles140/ Reply to Post 681
Dear Mumbles,
You are failing to appreciate that in our undeniably decadent age we have all, to a greater or lesser degree, become accustomed to imbibing a certain amount of cultural poison in our diet. So much so in some cases that many are no longer aware that it is poison. Some are to be found passionately defending taking small, but nevertheless harmful, doses of the poison via the medium of rock music, salacious films and tv programmes and uwholesome literature. This I am convinced is one of the reasons why many Catholics do not recognize the Potter novels as being problematic or unhealthy reading material, especially for the young. Now this does have a great deal to do with Catholics becoming befouled with the godless spirit of the times so that they have lost the faculty to make the right decisions when it comes to the arts and literature. It may be an unpalatable truth, but yes, sadly, many of the faithful are no longer able to discern what is good and acceptable and wholesome because they are too conformed to this world and its godless ways; they spend far too much time setting their minds on earthly things and not on things above, thus it is hardly surprising that their spiritual senses are dulled and defective.
The Potter series of books are anything but “a moral voice in a very immoral world” and it is so sad to hear such a comment made but it affords evidence enough that men have become infused by the spirit of the times. Whilst it is true that there has not been any official pronouncement by the Vatican office about the Potter series and Catholics must use their own prudential judgement, one must, if one is not to fall into a fundamentalist mindset of looking for ‘chapter’ and ‘verse’, look at the broader picture of the Chuch’s call to the pursuit of holiness. Surely as Catholics we look not merely to the letter of the Church’s teaching, but to its spirit also. Now an integral aspect of the quest for holiness is the avoidance of any culturally unhealthy literature and debased sensory material such as rock music, as this will not aid us in our “spiritual progress” (that) “tends towards ever more intimate communion with Christ” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 2014). Can we as Catholics comfortably read, or permit our offspring to read, a series of books that will contribute to insidously brainwashing our children with the moral illiteracy and relativism that is now so ubiquitous in our irreligious society? How is that going to further our spiritual progress and enable us to think with a sound Christian mind? So, “educated mind” or not, these books are unsuitable and spiritually harmful. In any case, why would we even want to read works of fiction that promote moral ambivalence. Ignoble works of fiction such as the Potter novels could only gain widespread acceptance and popularity in superficial and frivilous times like ours, which are witnessing the ever increasing paganization of culture.
It is indeed incumbent upon parents to be vigilant as regards the books which their children read, but many, I fear, all too readily neglect this responsibility or sucumb to their child’s wishes so as not to appear an oddball or a moralistic fuddy-duddy. One needs to be made of jolly strong stuff to stand firm when one’s child protests by saying “all my friends are reading the Potter books; their parents don’t anything wrong with them, so why can’t I read them?”. How many parents today are rigidly strict and uncompromising?
Just to set the record straight, I have never argued that every child that reads a Potter book will almost certainly be sucked into satanic cults or witchcraft covens, but we cannot ignore the blunt warning of Father Amorth, the chief exorcist in Rome, who said, “Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of darkness, the Devil”. Many of us respectfully defer to his opinion because we recognise his expertise and authority in matters appertaining to the occult, even if it does not extend to fantasy literature. Remember also that the Vatican has never disowned or denounced his opinion, so it is reasonable to assume that it does not deem it to be extreme or outrageous
Warmest good wishes,
Portrait
Pax
PS Don’t worry, I have not forgotten a comparison of Rowling with Tolkein and Lewis.
Dear Mumbles,
You are failing to appreciate that in our undeniably decadent age we have all, to a greater or lesser degree, become accustomed to imbibing a certain amount of cultural poison in our diet. So much so in some cases that many are no longer aware that it is poison. Some are to be found passionately defending taking small, but nevertheless harmful, doses of the poison via the medium of rock music, salacious films and tv programmes and uwholesome literature. This I am convinced is one of the reasons why many Catholics do not recognize the Potter novels as being problematic or unhealthy reading material, especially for the young. Now this does have a great deal to do with Catholics becoming befouled with the godless spirit of the times so that they have lost the faculty to make the right decisions when it comes to the arts and literature. It may be an unpalatable truth, but yes, sadly, many of the faithful are no longer able to discern what is good and acceptable and wholesome because they are too conformed to this world and its godless ways; they spend far too much time setting their minds on earthly things and not on things above, thus it is hardly surprising that their spiritual senses are dulled and defective.
The Potter series of books are anything but “a moral voice in a very immoral world” and it is so sad to hear such a comment made but it affords evidence enough that men have become infused by the spirit of the times. Whilst it is true that there has not been any official pronouncement by the Vatican office about the Potter series and Catholics must use their own prudential judgement, one must, if one is not to fall into a fundamentalist mindset of looking for ‘chapter’ and ‘verse’, look at the broader picture of the Chuch’s call to the pursuit of holiness. Surely as Catholics we look not merely to the letter of the Church’s teaching, but to its spirit also. Now an integral aspect of the quest for holiness is the avoidance of any culturally unhealthy literature and debased sensory material such as rock music, as this will not aid us in our “spiritual progress” (that) “tends towards ever more intimate communion with Christ” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 2014). Can we as Catholics comfortably read, or permit our offspring to read, a series of books that will contribute to insidously brainwashing our children with the moral illiteracy and relativism that is now so ubiquitous in our irreligious society? How is that going to further our spiritual progress and enable us to think with a sound Christian mind? So, “educated mind” or not, these books are unsuitable and spiritually harmful. In any case, why would we even want to read works of fiction that promote moral ambivalence. Ignoble works of fiction such as the Potter novels could only gain widespread acceptance and popularity in superficial and frivilous times like ours, which are witnessing the ever increasing paganization of culture.
It is indeed incumbent upon parents to be vigilant as regards the books which their children read, but many, I fear, all too readily neglect this responsibility or sucumb to their child’s wishes so as not to appear an oddball or a moralistic fuddy-duddy. One needs to be made of jolly strong stuff to stand firm when one’s child protests by saying “all my friends are reading the Potter books; their parents don’t anything wrong with them, so why can’t I read them?”. How many parents today are rigidly strict and uncompromising?
Just to set the record straight, I have never argued that every child that reads a Potter book will almost certainly be sucked into satanic cults or witchcraft covens, but we cannot ignore the blunt warning of Father Amorth, the chief exorcist in Rome, who said, “Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of darkness, the Devil”. Many of us respectfully defer to his opinion because we recognise his expertise and authority in matters appertaining to the occult, even if it does not extend to fantasy literature. Remember also that the Vatican has never disowned or denounced his opinion, so it is reasonable to assume that it does not deem it to be extreme or outrageous
Warmest good wishes,
Portrait
Pax
PS Don’t worry, I have not forgotten a comparison of Rowling with Tolkein and Lewis.
