news

Church expresses concern over Harry Potter craze

By Marika Azzopardi

Harry Potter mania in the form of books, a film and memorabilia might have swept through Malta, but the Church is not nearly so taken with the young hero and his antic as the children seem to be.

Following the emergence of Harry Potter fever, the Archbishop’s Curia recently issued a reminder about the Church’s teaching on magic and sorcery. It voiced the concern felt by the authorities of the Church in Malta regarding the increasing mention of these occult practices which have been condemned and forbidden since the time of Moses.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that: "All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to ‘unveil’ the future are to be rejected." Whilst no direct reference was made to any book, TV programme, movie or others, the message directly stated that the desire for power over time, history and other human beings, as well as a supernatural power over others, are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion.

The local Church’s concern over the matter was also voiced in other forms, including discussions organised in classes which encouraged students to ask questions and pinpoint doubts. Definitely nobody has gone as far as the congregation of a church in suburban Pittsburgh which gathered around a bonfire in March 2001 to burn Harry Potter books, Disney videos, rock CDs and literature from other religions.

Members of the Christ Community Church in Alamogordo, New Mexico, believe the best-sellers teach children sorcery, and organised a mass Harry Potter book-burning session last December. They claimed the books encouraged young people to learn more about witches and sorcerers.

Author JK Rowling has repeatedly brushed off such criticism. In a statement to The Mirror she said: "I have met thousands of children and not even one time has a child come up to me and said 'Ms Rowling, I'm so glad I've read these books because now I want to be a witch’."

Meanwhile the Archbishop’s Curia insists that parents have a serious obligation to teach their children to avoid anything which leads to increased interest in occult practices. "Parents should also educate their children on the severe consequences of dabbling with the occult, even at the pre-entry level."