Dabbling in the Occult with Rosie and Harry

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Dear Sir/Madam,

I would like to express some objections to the article “Harry Potter: Agent

of Conversion,” by Toni Collins.

First of all I fully respect and support the author's right, even duty to

share her past experiences with the occult world and how this experience has

tinted her reading of the Harry Potter books. I also realize and respect

the potential danger that dealing with stories of magic can have on

children. But I find most of her comments and conclusions distorted by a

perspective on the issue that most of us do not share.

Her approach is similar to that of a person who, having recovered from

alcoholism, is offended by the popularity of wine and cheese parties and

finds the attendance at such events dangerous and possibly sinful. It can

be so for some people, but it is not for most of us, who can use such

situations for wholesome enjoyment and socialization.

Some of the specific details of the article are also very objectionable or

completely inaccurate.

For instance, the authors laments that the Potter books contain rituals,

spells, spirits and non-human entities, candles and brews. Well, it seems

to me that we have them too in our liturgical catholic life. We have

rituals (the Mass, baptism etc), spells (blessings and anointing), spirits

and non-human entities (angels), candles (plenty and all over) and brews

(incense). Some may object to my equating blessings and spells and I can

see why: the difference is in the purpose and the author of the action. But

that is where the Potter books are so different: they propose spells as

alternatives to science, not to faith. At Hogwarts a spell is just a way to

achieve an effect through magic rather than technology. Hermione's spell on

Neville is just a way of achieving a temporary paralysis, just like an

anesthesiologist might do during an operation (yes, sometimes they paralyze

patients besides making them sleep). That is why the Potter books differ

from real witchcraft: they work by skills and technique, not by using evil

spirits. In fact there are NO evil spirits in it. All the evil characters

are humans who choose to do evil by using their skills, not those of

supernatural beings. Ghosts are former humans who appear under a

non-corporeal form. Doesn't the Church teach that this is a possibility,

although one to be analyze with great prudence?

I don't get the concern about the presence of nuns and friars at the

deathday party. Does anyone believe that all nuns and friars are happy

people who end up in the glory of Heaven? What is wrong with the idea that

some of them are gloomy? But Ms Collins seems to ignore that we Catholics

celebrate deathdays too, since the festivities of the Saints coincide with

the date of their death, not birth.

As for the fact that the good guys in Harry Potter are not stellar, I seem

to understand that one of the key teachings of the Church is that we are all

sinners, so badly sinners that we needed Jesus to be rescued from our

wretchedness. So the all too perfect characters of other magical novels

simply miss the point of our sinfulness and are therefore not believable.

That is another attractive feature of the Potter books: because the

characters are not perfect we can share their experiences and emotions. I

see no way to be similar to Frodo Baggins, but I can see why Harry and

Dumbledore and the rest of the gang make the mistakes they do, because I

have experienced my own tendency to make errors.

And as for not following “the rules”, wasn't it Jesus who called people

hypocrites for following the rules and not knowing what is their purpose?

Or told us that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for Sabbath? Wasn't

St.Paul who said that because of Jesus we are not bound by the law, but are

saved by Jesus' grace? And don't we consider as wise the people who bend

the rules when the situation so requires? Or criticize judges for applying

the law without looking at the circumstances of someone's offence? He who

is without sin…

As for the blood of the unicorn, to see a connection between it and the

Eucharist means having a very strange perspective on things. Unlike Christ,

the unicorns are not the main characters of the Potter world, the do not

have any redemptive powers and do not do much special for the others. They

are just pure and innocent and their blood has special powers just like

other magical creatures have special powers in some other way. One must be

really determined to imagine a connection with the sacrificial blood of

Christ to be offended by the curse that comes with drinking their blood.

And there is no genetic factor involved in being a wizard: Hermione's

parents are both muggles, even though she is the best student at Hogwarts.

Ms Collins is correct in one way: people who have direct experience with the

occult see these books differently from those who don't. But I suspect that

that is because they see the whole world in the light of their experience,

just like other people who have had other traumatic experiences do. That is

important to notice, keep in mind and respect, because there is danger in

all human activities and thoughts (the Song of Songs could promote an

inordinate sexual life if improperly read and used on the background of

other inordinate life experiences). But it is not a reason to condemn or

ignore a work of art that, like other works of art, can inspire in all

directions.

There are in fact many constructive aspects to the Potter books for a

Christian, but Ms Collins seems to ignore them all. I could go on for pages

on that, but I guess that will have to wait for another article.

It is interesting that for all the controversies on Harry Potter, I have not

seen any studies yet on how many children (or adults) have been led to the

occult by the Potter world. It would be educational.

In Christ,

Roberto Bencivenga

Dear Catholic Exchange,

I read with interest your recent article about Harry Potter. I was especially interested in the author's journey into the occult and away from God. It reminded me of a recent experience.

For some unknown reason, my wife has been receiving Rosie Magazine. We never ordered it and I tried unsuccessfully a few months ago to get them to stop sending it to us. The latest issue had a cover story titled “A Nun's Story – What I Know about the Priest Scandal.” Given the nature of the magazine, I wasn't expecting an article by Mother Angelica, but what I read was even worse than I imagined. The article was written by Sr. Karol Jackowski of New York (some order I never heard of) and it was perhaps the most blatantly anti-Catholic article I have ever read in a mainstream publication. This sister basically blamed the Catholic Church, and the priesthood specifically, for 2,000 years of child abuse, subjugation of women, homophobia, etc. She even made the outrageous statement that the priesthood has long secretly tolerated abortion and contraception as a way to dispose of the unwanted children they father. She listed a litany of charges against our heirarchy without a single reference or historical fact to back any of this up (Church censors have destroyed any information that would incriminate them, you see).

Needless to say, this article demanded a reply, and the sorry folks at Rosie got one. However, I also wanted to write to our good sister personally and let her know a few things. I searched her name on Google.com and she came up as the number one hit. It was a link to a website advertising her latest book, “Sister Karol's Book of Spells and Blessings“. It seems that our good sister has more than dabbled in New Age and the Occult, and has even written a book describing spells and rituals that will help one get the most out of life. What a fraud! This person obviously lost her faith and turned away from the truths of Catholicism decades ago. I can't help but wonder if her descent into darkness started with something simple like tarot cards.

Andrew J. Nadeau, MI

Springvale, Maine