Harry potter, a question for those who know about spiritual warfare

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I’ve recently met a very nice 16-year-old young man who works with me at the grocery store. he came to the catholic church all by himself (his mother a fallin away catholic and his father a former pentocostal priecher so he’s really got no one at home to encourage him in his new catholic faith) anyway, he’s very knowlagable in the faith and even wants to become a priest. he told me yesterday that he’s reading the “harry potter” books. I tried to talk to him as an adult since he is very mature and seems so strong in his faith. He even had a pretty good attitude about reading the book. he said that he believes that all witchcraft is against Church doctren and to be avoided. I was dissapointed though when I shared with him a message I had heard on Jessi rormero’s “reasons for faith” about Pope Bennidict XVI (when he was head of the congragation of the doctrin of the faith cardnal I can’t spell his last name…Ratzinger) he had written something about the harry potter books. I don’t remember the spasifics, but somethng about how they were evil and catholics should not read them. the young man at work said that the popes statement was only a suggestion and we should not sensor everything that comes into our lives. I aggree with the sensoring thing, but here’s my question for those who know about spiritual warfare;
can reading something like harry potter open up conduates for deamons? I know there are a lot of spells in the story and that’s one of the things that makes me nervous. I know a lot of people on here think it’s no big deal to read that stuff, please, I appriciate your opinion, but I already know it and you will not change my mind. I am looking for someone who is knowlageable on this subject to respond to my question. Also, if you know where I can find the statement made by cardnel ratzinger, that would help as well to deturmine the graveness of his statement. sorry for the long post. I just hate asking a question with out giving proper back ground. so keep in mind a couple of things
this young man is 16
he was baptized one year ago
he wants to be a priest
thanks for any help you can provide
 
No it cannot conjure up demons. The spells are hokey. Naturally if somone wants to look into the occult because of Potter they will. The same can be said if someone reads a biography on John Gotti or watches the Sopranos; will they now want to get involved in the mob? This kind of stuff can go on and on but only people who see demons at ever turn and blame the devil for every evil in the world think like this. No way to stop the ignorant in the world and I aint for legislating it either. 😉

As for what the Pope said about the books. He didnt even take the time to read the book(s) before commenting. Which is wrong in my opinion and did a mjor disservice to others. And to argue one doesnt need to murder to know its wrong is trying to over simplify a matter of knowing somethings content before commenting on it. Hope that helps.
 
The Pope’s statement has been blown way out of proportion. He wrote an approving letter to someone who had argued that the books were evil. He was legitimately concerned about the occult, and it seemed to him that the book had made a good case that Harry Potter fosters the occult. I think he was wrong, but I can’t see that it’s a big deal. He wasn’t even Pope then, anyway.

Edwin
 
I appriciate your answers, although niether one of you are in the group I was looking to get an answer from. is there anyone on this forum who is knowlageble in the type of things that father corapi discuesses on spiritual warfare?
 
Please read Claire Merkle’s article regarding Harry Potter.
crossveil.org/potter.html

She has been on EWTN several times. I think real discernment is necessary with Harry Potter. I won’t let the books or movies in the house. No, I do not go around telling people not to read them. But my background has many similarities to Claire’s and my discernment flags just fly whenever Harry Potter is mentioned. An interesting question to me is, if they are no big deal…why do so many Catholic’s get their claws out when someone mentions that maybe children shouldn’t be reading them? Cardinal Ratzinger’s point in his letter was that someone who isn’t really grounded in their faith should not be reading them. And children generally are not solidly grounded yet. They are on the road to it, hopefully, but they aren’t there yet. And Harry Potter isn’t much of an example of trusting in God and in the knowledge that we have no power in ourselves and can do nothing without Jesus. To seek to have control of people, situations, and the elements - well, that is Pride and it comes from Satan. Why give glory to that.
 
Here’s a site that has information on Spiritual Warfare in general:
saint-mike.org/
saint-mike.org/apologetics/qa/Answers/Spiritual_Warfare/s001011Hunt.html
saint-mike.org/apologetics/qa/Answers/Faith_Spirituality/f0401090033.html

IMHO, the books should be avoided. Not only has the pope declared reservations, but so has Fr. Amorth, the chief Vatican exorcist. Of course, you are going to get a lot of justification as a lot of parents see no problem letting their children read these books, and that’s their perogative per their judgement. But as for me - I just don’t agree.

PS - When I first accessed the site, it seemed to be down but then loaded. Not sure if you’ll be able to access information.
 
Fr Amorth is the one who is always quoted by the SSPX and the sedevacantists. The pope has never expressed reservations, he simply wrote a thankyou letter to the author of a book and said he offers good insights.

The spells are latin words.

I have talked to some priests who have read the books and thought the books were good.

I am not in the group you want though.
 
jesse Romero has a website, as soon as I find it i will post it, if you want to hear what he has to say. Also he is currently “on tour” giving testimonies at youth conferences around the country. he was in the Valley Feb. 25 and will be in Corpus Christi next week, I think. Give the young man a gift of a visit to a youth conference with Jesse, Radix, Fr. Stan Fortuna, Fr. Corapi or other good speakers, and let him get the message from the source.
 
I asked my Priest about the books once, and he said he wasn’t worried about them. He said if someone is really strong in their faith and knows not to try doing witch craft and all that, then it’s ok for them to read them. He’s actually read the books, and likes them.
 
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Jennifer123:
IMHO, the books should be avoided. Not only has the pope declared reservations,
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As another poster pointed out, the pope, as pope, has not made any statement about the book. His only comment was in person correspondence to a friend and he was not acting in official capcity. Basically it was his informal opinion and was not meant to bind the faithful.

Harry Potter is no more dangerous than any other secular writings. There is as much danger in Harry Potter as in Curious George or Dr. Suess. In fact, I would rather my child read Harry Potter than anything written by Judy Blume.
 
yeah Harry is just harmless yet a wildly entertaining piece of literature.

I advice you all to read “The Half-Blood Price” Great book.
 
For something to act as a conduit for demons it would have to be something that is specifically designated for that purpose. If the purpose of a thing is to conjure some mystical force or some supernatural phenominon, which is in direct contradiction to the commands of God, then yes that thing could (I say could because it is always dependent upon the allowance of God) act as a “conduit” for the demonic.
Harry Potter is a series of books written to entertain, simply reading them to be entertained is not going to cause posessions. Now if a person decides he or she is going to actually try witch craft then their action is an action of the will, not of demons. Just as a person who might read in the Bible where Pharoes priests conjured a snake out of a staff, might be inclined to do the same thing through some magic power. Even though the idea may have originated in the Bible, that does not make the Bible a bad book, rather the intentions of the person are wrong.
 
I have read all of the Harry Potter books. What really strikes me is that the greatest and most powerful magic, the one that always triumphs, is always Love. I also see that no matter the obstacles, no matter the dangers, Harry and his friends always stick together and do the right thing. I really see a Christian message in these books, and I don’t understand how anyone who has read them would see anything else, especially people who enjoy Narnia or Lord of the Rings.
 
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dulcissima:
I have read all of the Harry Potter books. What really strikes me is that the greatest and most powerful magic, the one that always triumphs, is always Love. I also see that no matter the obstacles, no matter the dangers, Harry and his friends always stick together and do the right thing. I really see a Christian message in these books, and I don’t understand how anyone who has read them would see anything else, especially people who enjoy Narnia or Lord of the Rings.
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Yes I haven’t thought of that, self sacrifice is the greatest thing in the book.
 
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pfoos:
Please read Claire Merkle’s article regarding Harry Potter.
crossveil.org/potter.html
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I can’t see that the article makes any substantive arguments. She claims that Harry Potter gives advanced indoctrination in magic but fails completely to support this (the only example she gives, the “Transfiguration class,” is a ridiculous one).

Like so many people who criticize books they haven’t read (or haven’t read carefully), she makes at least one serious mistake–claiming that the dementors (“emotion-sucking ghouls”) are treated as “handy prison guards.” As a matter of fact, the choice to use the dementors as prison guards is a disastrous one, since they all side with Voldemort first chance they get. Dumbledore–the character whose views we are most consistently called on to admire in the Harry Potter series–has vehemently opposed this policy from the beginning. Merkle has completely reversed the moral implications of this particular part of the story. Rowling is making a point about the dangers of using evil to fight evil. It’s a perfectly orthodox, admirable sentiment.

Merkle has a problem with the fact that one of Harry’s teachers befriends him and is able to understand him. I think that reflects more negatively on Merkle’s ideas about education than on those of Rowling.

And so it goes. She admits that she made a mistake about Alan Jacobs’s affiliation, but now her remarks about Jacobs’s essay make no sense. It’s not even clear why she cites him at all (presumably because her original attack on him turned out to be mistaken and based on an error about which Wheaton College he worked for). She obviously doesn’t understand the point he was making about alchemy, magic, and science/technology, which is a very good one.

Edwin
 
Why can’t people understand that just because something isn’t of Christian origin doesn’t necessarily mean it’s “bad”. I love anime, which also isn’t always Christian (in fact, many shows often have warped views of Christianity), and it’s not all “bad” either.
 
I am not an authority and I have wondered about the books also. I have bought them for my son and he learned to love to read, reading these books. I have read most of the books. I talk to my son about the magic and that this is just a novel and he says that we are silly to worry about the magic. He tells me he knows the difference between fantasy and reality. I have listed to Catholic radio have two people arguring just this very topic. One authority thought the books had a good message, a Christian one, and the other thought they were bad and had the opposite. I don’t know if there will ever be a consensus.

As a mom, I do worry that I may have done the wrong thing for all the right reasons. However, in my case it is too late to forbid the books. We have opened up dialogue about it in our house so perhaps that is the good point.
 
I don’t think Harry Potter is going to lead anybody to witchcraft or is a entre to the demonic. I’d be more worried about kids going to palm readers , playing at being wiccans or messing about with ouija boards.Ten years from now both the pro-Potters and the anti-Potter people will look back in embarrassment and wonder what the fuss was about. The books aren’t that good or that bad.
 
Harry Potter is a great series. I’m sorry, but I am sick and tired of people saying that Harry Potter is evil and promotes the occult.

The Harry Potter books simply describe, in vivid detail, an alternate world where fantastic and magical things are a part of life.

The latter books seem to be darker and more ‘occult’ because of the fact that Voldemort’s influence is growing and his evil is permeating Harry’s world. Like it or not, this happens in reality, though perhaps not on such an obvious or terrible scale.

Bottom line: Harry Potter is simply a terrific piece of fiction and a way to temporarily escape from the drudgery of daily life. Those who condemn it as satanic of evil need to find something better to do with their time.
 
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