Child abuse, the devil and Harry Potter

From here:

Child sex abuse scandals rocking the Catholic Church are evidence of the Devil’s presence in the Vatican, the Pope’s chief exorcist said yesterday.

Father Gabriel Amorth, 84, who has carried out more than 70,000 exorcisms in a career spanning 24 years said Pope Benedict ‘fully agreed’ with him in ‘casting out evil’.

I quite agree.

Father Amorth, who was ordained in 1954 and who is president of the International Association of Exorcists, said of the JK Rowling books: ‘Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil.
He said Rowling’s books contain innumerable positive references to magic, ‘the satanic art’ and added the books attempt to make a false distinction between black and white magic, when in fact, the distinction ‘does not exist, because magic is always a turn to the devil’.

Possibly true, although I found the Harry Potter novels a thumping good read and an imaginative illustration of humanity’s participation in the drama of good vs. evil. I’ve forgotten where C. S. Lewis mentions it (That Hideous Strength, perhaps), but he has God chiding – not condemning – Merlin for dabbling in matters forbidden; I hope the same for Harry.

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