Harry Potter and the Catholic child

I was surprise to know that a friend of mine hasn’t read any of the Harry Potter books. When she was very eager to see the fourth film, I thought that, like me, she had read the books and was excited to see what the filmmakers come up with. But she hasn't, not even the first book which is the shortest in the series.

But the length of the books is not really the issue, anyway. Apparently a lay group of which she is a member forbids the reading of Harry Potter on the ground that it teaches witchcraft or sorcery. For those who’ve read the books, this presumption is obviously false. My immediate reaction was, "I thought you were Catholic?" She said she is and that it's her lay group that forbids the reading of the books.

I think all Catholics should know that the Vatican has no official position on Harry Potter and it's not hard to see why. There's nothing there that teaches or encourages the learning of sorcery. Everything is make-believe, made from the same stuff that we had plenty of when we're young. And just so it's clear, I'm referring to the imagination stuff. I understand that the very young children might falsely believe that there is such a thing as magic as presented in the books, but didn't we all believe, once, in Santa Claus? So even if the books will indeed make a child believe in sorcery, in time they'll come into conclusion that there's no such thing as magic just as in time we knew that there's no such thing as Santa. Of course to be sure that the child stays safe between the believing and the not-believing point of his or her life, the parents should be in constant communication with the child. Parental guidance is the key. And this is the point, I think. Parents should not worry about what their children read or what TV shows or movies they watch, so long as they're there to guide them. We should not be banning books or TV shows or movies. Let them read Harry Potter, or better yet read the books together with them and then discuss what it's all about. Don't deprive them of a rich source of imagination just because you're afraid they might get the wrong impression. Talk to them. Talk with them. That's all there is to it.

On the other hand, when I was young, my parents didn't really talk to me on what Catholicism is all about. I guess I'm lucky that I joined the acolytes group of our local parish when I was ten, actively serving until I was fifteen. My fascination with the rituals of the mass was enough to make me learn more about my religion, about the Catholic Church. Of course all these fascination with the rituals and symbols of the mass would have amounted to nothing if I didn't find the right books to fill me in on the secrets. :-) Luckily, I passed the scholarship and was able to get into a Jesuit high school, otherwise, my parents (and by that I mean my working mother) wouldn't have been able to send me there and I wouldn't have access to the library that contained lots of books about Catholicism. But that's another story and for another blog post (or not). My point is that when you're grounded on your faith, you can read anything and not be easily swayed the other way. Of course you may not want to buy the books and contribute a portion of your money to the author who you think might be anti-Catholic. But you can always borrow from your friends (no, not the money, borrow the books). On the other hand if you're not really interested about the books in the first place (not because of malicious presumption or anything, but because you're just not interested) then that's another issue.

Going back to the matter at hand, I wish I said to her the things I wrote above when the issue of to read or not read Harry Potter came up. Not that the world is better off if everyone has read Harry Potter, but as a friend it's my obligation to tell my friends what I know (though it's still up to them to decide) about issues that concern them or our faith. I guess I wasn't in the mood for a lengthy debate, especially that we are about to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It would ruin the evening.

"I thought you were Catholic?" Tsk tsk tsk… I hope I did not sound accusatory or all-knowing when I said it. Although I'm confident that it didn't ruin our friendship. Ruining of friendship takes more than that. It'll take something like saying something stupid like I love her or something, but that's another story and for another blog post (or not).