I scoffed a few months back when Movies Blog contributor John Constantine pitched the "Harry Potter" series as something the Vatican would approve of for a list feature he was writing. I thought to myself, "witches, wizards and witchcraft? No Pope approval there!" Constantine convinced me in the end, and the feature ran with "Potter" intact.
Now my faithful writer gets the last laugh, as the Vatican does indeed approve of "Harry Potter." Vatican publication Osservatore Romano stated that "the mixture of supernatural suspense and romanticism sets the right balance, making the adventures of the protagonists more credible [in 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince']." The write-up goes on to call this latest entry "the best in the series."
This represents a marked change in attitude for the Vatican, which -- under Pope Benedict XVI -- had previously come out against the series. The new piece does summon the specter of those past criticisms, that the series was "harmful to education and even anti-Christian." The fear surrounding previous installments was that they could potentially "incite young people to escape reality, making them believe that supernatural powers exist."
The renewed focus in "Half-Blood Prince" on the series' overarching feud between Good and Evil is central to the Vatican's change of heart. "The line between those who work for the good and those who do evil seems quite clear, and the spectator and reader have no trouble identifying with the former."
You should go back and check out John's original feature. His reasons for including "Harry Potter" on a list of movies that the Vatican would approve of are quite a bit different than you might expect.
Anyone out there newly interested in "Potter" now that it's gotten a Papal thumbs-up?
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