Vatican praises Harry Potter film

[Soylent Brice]

The latest Harry Potter film has been praised by The Vatican.


The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Roman said Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince made the age-old debate over good versus evil crystal clear, and even gave two thumbs up to the movie's treatment of adolescent love, saying it achieved the "correct balance" and made the stars more credible to the general audience.


The newspaper said the film - starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint - was the best adaptation yet of the JK Rowling series about the adventures of the bespectacled child wizard and his Hogwarts chums as they battle Harry's nemesis, the evil sorcerer Voldemort.


While criticising Rowling for omitting any explicit "reference to the transcendent" in her books, L'Osservatore said the latest instalment nevertheless made clear that good should overcome evil "and that sometimes this requires costs and sacrifice".


The Vatican's praise follows the sharp criticism of the Harry Potter series by a conservative Austrian priest at the centre of a church crisis earlier this year.

more: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/vatican-praises-harry-potter-film-1747448.html

[lindisfarne]

1. "The Reverend Gerhard Maria Wagner had characterised the Harry Potter novels as Satanism."

People who make these claims have never read the books - unless they think the ability to do magic makes the characters satanists.

[brendan120678]

3. To some people...

witchcraft = satanism

[Soylent Brice]

4. you said

what i was thinking.

people will always fear what they don't know.

[dugaresa]

2. Gunga Galunga - well at least the film has that going for it.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

5. I never understood why fundies hate the HP stories so much

True, the stories are about wizards, witches, etc. but it's not like they don't believe in fantasy storytelling (i.e. The Bible) not to mention that C.S. Lewis, supposedly an ardent Christian, wrote the Chronicles of Narnia, a fantasy series that fundies supposedly approve of.

More to my point, however, I always thought that the stories promoted lots of positive, supposedly "Christian", values (i.e. friendship, teamwork, respect for life, opposition to evil, "turning the other cheek" against enemies -and even sparing their lives, sacrifice, etc.)

[Soylent Brice]

7. Narnia has

the Sons of Adam, and the Daughters of Eve. easier pill for them to swallow.

doesn't "stray" too much for their taste, apparently.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

14. Well, I see your point

Plus, the whole Aslan=Jesus thing from LWW.

[walldude]

18. Yeah talking lions and Centaurs

are much different than a day at Hogwarts :eyes: It strays from their taste but since it was written by a christian male it makes it ok.

[Soylent Brice]

19. well,

the bible has talking bushes, and giants (goliath), and men walking across water, etc. centaurs really aren't too much of a stretch for them.

it's when you start the hocus pocus talk, and then the fundies get all Salem on your ass.

[kimmylavin]

11. Depends on the level of stupid.

My friend taught in an elementary school at which the parents objected to her teaching "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Why? Because it had "witch" in the title. She tried to explain to them what the story was about, but they weren't hearing it.

As to Harry Potter, whenever I come across a fundie who hasn't read any of them - and hoo boy, there seem to be a lot of them - I explain to them that they're missing an opportunity. Yes, its about witches and wizards. But at a deeper level, a plot/theme/story level, its about all the things you just listed: loyalty, friendship, commitment, sacrifice for the greater good, love, family, strength, and even fun. Such a waste to throw all that away because it comes from a fictional wizard...

[MorningGlow]

12. The actual reason?

Because they are taught in church that magical acts/miracles cannot be performed by humans. They can only be performed by God. So if a human is magical, their abilities come from Satan. The only other option is someone who does perform some sort of magic/miracle BECAUSE OF God working through them; if the person thinks s/he did it by him/herself, then they're falling prey to Satan (ego). These books don't ascribe the magic to God, and therefore they are tools of the devil intended to make good Christians stray from the path of righteousness.

Honest. That's what they think.

And yes, they are insane.

[Recursion]

21. Maybe because the Narnia books are blatantly Christian?

:shrug:

[juno jones]

24. They didn't used to like Narnia

They only came around after being bludgeoned with 'CS Lewis was a x-tian' thing a billion times.

Yes Lewis books are x-tian. They are also allegory. Most fundies suck at allegory. Take the bible for instnace. All that allegory perverted for the cause of literalism.

I remember those bastards decrying Narnia and the works of another x-tian fantasist, Tolkien, back in the 70's and 80's.

[Posteritatis]

26. They decided what the books contain without having read them

It's the same as with, say, moral panic over some video games (I'm looking at you, media circus over Mass Effect).

[redqueen]

6. This will only solidify the fundies' opposition to all things HP.

[charlie]

9. True dat

They'd quit using toilet paper if the Pope endorsed Charmin.

[Coventina]

8. Huh, well, stick me in the freezer and call me a popsicle!

Or maybe a Pope-sicle! :evilgrin:

That's surprising.

Although, I don't really care what the Vatican thinks, and I no longer care about the HP franchise, as the last book ruined the whole thing for me.

But still, it's nice to know that the Vatican has a slightly more open mind than many other Christians.

[brendan120678]

13. Was it the last book in its entirety...

or just the stupid epilogue?

That was a disaster.

[Coventina]

20. Agreed, the epilogue was a stupid disaster.

But really, I didn't like the whole book.

I really felt like Rowling wasn't true to her characters, her "world", and also certain rules that apply to successful literature, and the "rules" of kid-lit (although it could be argued that the latter HP books are not kid-lit).

Here's a few of my personal specific criticisms:

1. Stretches of it were boring
2. Much of the plot hinged on all too convenient (implausible) coincidences
3. The final showdown was a combination of silliness and contrived Hollywood-like applause moments, which almost completely overshadow the moments of genuine pathos.

My most personal gripe comes in the first 50 pages of the book: the death of Hedwig.

I knew Hedwig was going to die in the last book. The tragic death of a beloved pet is a staple of kid-lit. But Hedwig's exit was undignified and pretty much unlamented. Now, I know that in "real life" a life can be snuffed out for no reason and with almost no notice, but literature is NOT real life. To be successful, it has to follow different rules. (Well, real life has no rules, I suppose).

Anyway, that's just one example of how I think Rowling treated her characters shabbily and destroyed the affection that had been developed and nurtured through the first six books.

YMMV - I know many people who really loved it, and I'm happy for them. I wish I had. I wanted to love that book, I really did....

[Posteritatis]

27. I mainly thought the ending in general was poorly handled

I can take or leave the epilogue, but I would've liked at least an attempt at a denouement.

[Mrs. Overall]

10. In July of 2005 Benedict condemned the Harry Potter books--

Pope Benedict XVI has condemned the Harry Potter books as "subtle seductions," capable of corrupting young Christians, in two letters which have now been published online.

The Pope's comments were included in two letters to Gabriele Kuby, the German religious author, who had sent him a copy of her book, Harry Potter - gut oder böse? (Harry Potter: Good or Evil?)

In one response, dated March 2003, he wrote in German: "It is good that you enlighten us on the Harry Potter matter, for these are subtle seductions that are barely noticeable, and precisely because of that have a deep effect and corrupt the Christian faith in souls even before it could properly grow."

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article543521.ece

[msanthrope]

28. Yes, but L'Osservatore is the Jesuit-run local--poking at

Ratzi's eye.

They like to poke Ratzi, when they can.

[mitchum]

15. I guess there must be a shower scene or two in it

[hughee99]

22. I was thinking that now that the main characters are older,

they're now paying attention to the plot instead of the 12 year old "eye candy".

[mitchum]

23. I really did laugh out loud

nicely done

[msanthrope]

29. Duzy-worthy, really.....

[Arkana]

16. "JK Rowling had only this to say for comment: 'What. The. Fuck.'"

[Aristus]

17. My wife is a conservative Christian, and she LOVES the Harry Potter books.

She has been saying for years what the Vatican is just now getting around to admitting: that there is a strong, if not explicitly Christian, message in the films about good vs evil, love overcoming adversity, victory requiring sacrifice, and believing in something greater than yourself. She is a true Christian, and not a hypocritical wacko. I wouldn't have married her if she was. She always has strong words for the Harry-Potter-is-evil crowd.

[Vidar]

25. Biggie Ratz must have a new PR firm.