Pope Opposes Harry Potter

[ChoChiyo]

AHHHHHHH!!!!!

What happened to my Jaytar????

It's gooooonnnnneeeee!!!!


NOooOOOoooOoooOooooo

EDIT:

Never mind. It's back. That was odd.

[matrixman]

Is Harry Potter a worse influence than a man who previously fought for Nazi Germany, regardless of the conditions?

It's sad to say that my first thought about the pope's comments were, "Yeah, like I care what a former Nazi thinks is appropriate spiritual fare."

Yup. I am bad bad bad.

No you're not, Cho. You (and Kins) are simply pointing out the hypocrisy of the situation.

There is a certain, unfortunately fairly large, sub-set of christianity who believes wholeheartedly that anything to do with "magic" "witchcraft" etc. is evil, and inspired by the devil.

These are the folks who would bring back the burning times without a moments hesitation, who burn books and records in the ond belief that it makes a difference, and who see the hand of satan in everything that is not in, from, or part of the bible, or otherwise are so insipid as to be unable to cause offence.

The actual moral and philosophical messages that the books may contain is not the issue. The issue is that the "power" comes not from an explicitly defined christian god.

Well said! Yes, how does one reason with people who see Satan under the bed, and around every corner? And a very good point that the issue is about whether or not the books present a Church-approved "explicitly defined christian god" as you put it.

[Avatar]

Reason? Afraid you can't.

--A

[Iryssa]

Sad but true. Why are people so stupid?

[Avatar]

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.

--A

[[Syl]]

www.thebricktestament.com/the_law/the_o ... 19_26.html

[onewyteduck]

Yup. I am bad bad bad.

Yes, indeed you are. You are also right, right right!

[Dragonlily]

I say encourage the Pope to be as outrageous as possible, forbidding even more delightful, harmless things. Simply continue the trend. The numbers of Catholic Church members who are willing to go along with those prohibitions are shrinking fast. That church is phasing itself out.

I have known a lot of fundamentalist Christians in my time. I have no hesitation in saying that those who believe so many things are "wrong" are compensating for being afraid of themselves. That goes for any religion, even the religion of "respectability".

[Lord Mhoram]

Dragonlily,

I say encourage the Pope to be as outrageous as possible, forbidding even more delightful, harmless things. Simply continue the trend. The numbers of Catholic Church members who are willing to go along with those prohibitions are shrinking fast. That church is phasing itself out.

As a Catholic, I am impressed by the sheer truth in these words. It saddens me to no end the way that the Church is indeed "phasing itself out." We are on the decline, and it is because of our detestable Pope. I have no respect for the man, who leads my Church. He is a bad choice at any time for Pope, but now especially.

[ChoChiyo]

Sadly the current pope is a HUGE backward step into medieval thinking.

Very sad indeed.

[Damelon]

I think I'll shake things up a little here.

What has this man, the Pope, written to get everyone so riled up? That he doesn't care for Harry Potter?

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 Fleetwood, (Pontifical Council of Culture, Piazza S. Calisto 16, I00153 Rome) directly and to send him your book.

Sincere Greetings and Blessings,

+ Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

All this says to me is that, if you are a believer, you should think about the theme of the book before you allow your younger children to read it. For even if it seems harmless enough, witchcraft, however benign, as the link Syl posted later in the thread illustrates, is against his church's teaching. He isn't calling for the book to be banned. He just seems to be saying to take an interest in what your child reads, which seems a good policy anyway.

Is Harry Potter a worse influence than a man who previously fought for Nazi Germany, regardless of the conditions?

What is ironic about this, Kins, is that by taking out the conditions, your being as inflexable and dogmatic as you accuse the Pope of being. The extenuating circumstances to his military service do count.

I would say that any organization that claims a billion followers, myself not among them btw, is not in danger of becoming irrelevant any time soon. The very reaction here to his statement means that he is very relevent, since otherwise people wouldn't care what he says.

[Kinslaughterer]

Let's compare:

Harry Potter is a fictional adolescent wizard...
The Pope served Nazi Germany, quite possibly against his will, yet the most evil force the Earth has ever known. He of all people could learn a lesson from Harry about standing up for what is right.

And if anyone has damaged young minds to Christianity it has been the Catholic Church.
Inflexible is finding some sinister motive in Harry Potter, not pointing out that the Pope probably shot down U.S. and Allied aircraft.

[Lord Mhoram]

Damelon,

I see what you're saying. I did get a bit riled up without actually seeing how Ratzinger "opposes" Potter. However, I have read some of his other writings and I know where he stands on a variety of issues. My dislike for him and his conservatism stands.

Kinslaughterer,

Like I said, I strongly dislike Benedict XVI. However, I think the Nazi issue holds no water. What exactly is your point?

[Kinslaughterer]

1)Why does the Pope worry about things like Harry Potter?
2) Why was the title of Pope, supposedly of the highest moral fiber, given to a man who joined the Nazis?
Yeah, yeah he had no choice. Of course many people from his home town disagree with that. I would also hope he would refuse because it was the most sinister, horrible force in history.
3) Harry is a better role model than the Pope.

[Lord Mhoram]

Kins,

1)Why does the Pope worry about things like Harry Potter?

While I obviously disagree with any papal opposition to Potter, you gotta hand it to the Pope for being consistent in his opposition to anything new and liberal. However, I can't really answer specifically why he worries about it.

2) Why was the title of Pope, supposedly of the highest moral fiber, given to a man who joined the Nazis?
Yeah, yeah he had no choice. Of course many people from his home town disagree with that. I would also hope he would refuse because it was the the sinister, horrible force in history.

Poor choice of words. He did not "join" the Nazis. He was more enlisted against his will. Huge difference. Every Austrian child of his age was forced to do the same.

3) Harry is a better role model than the Pope.

Than this Pope? Certainly.

[Damelon]

Let's compare:

Harry Potter is a fictional adolescent wizard...
The Pope served Nazi Germany, quite possibly against his will, yet the most evil force the Earth has ever known. He of all people could learn a lesson from Harry about standing up for what is right.

He did learn a lesson. He devoted his life to god.

[ChoChiyo]

For me as well, it is the Pope's ultra conservative agenda, anti-progressive thought, and lack of tolerance for anyone who does not fit his narrow vision of what is "right."

His negative view of Harry Potter is just a small--nay, negligible--factor in my general disgust with him.

[Kinslaughterer]

Poor choice of words. He did not "join" the Nazis. He was more enlisted against his will. Huge difference. Every Austrian child of his age was forced to do the same

I'm not so sure.

He did learn a lesson. He devoted his life to god.

Again, not quite sure.
Maybe he found power in god, or the ability to control people. That doesn't mean much to me. I think devoting one's life to people is a much greater thing.

[Dragonlily]

I would say that any organization that claims a billion followers, myself not among them btw, is not in danger of becoming irrelevant any time soon.

"Claims them" (italics mine) And how many obedient followers does anyone know? Tiny percentage. IMO, it would be impossible to live a fulfilling life while trying to be an obedient follower.

The very reaction here to his statement means that he is very relevent, since otherwise people wouldn't care what he says.

People usually care when someone wants to oppress millions.

[Lord Mhoram]

Kins,

Well I can't argue with what appears to be your instinctual distrust of Ratzinger.

All anyone really knows is what he has claimed. I haven't seen anything contrary to what he's stated.