Harry Potter Books Removed from Nashville School Library on the Advice of Exorcists
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Harry Potter might have been able to defeat Voldemort, but he was no match for the administrators at St. Edward Catholic School in Nashville.
The Roman Catholic parish school — which educates students in pre-K through 8th grade — has removed all seven volumes of J.K. Rowling ‘s popular Harry Potter series from its library, the Nashville Tennessean reports, due to its content.
In an email obtained by the paper, the school’s pastor Rev. Dan Reehil said that he consulted with several exorcists in the United States and in Rome before coming to the decision. All recommended removing the books, he wrote.
“ These books present magic as both good and evil, which is not true, but in fact a clever deception ,” Reehil wrote, according to the Nashville Tennessean . “The curses and spells used in the books are actual curses and spells; which when read by a human being risk conjuring evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the text.”
School representatives did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Rebecca Hammel, the superintendent of schools for the Catholic Diocese of Nashville, told the Nashville Tennessean that Reehil has the ultimate say as to whether the books stay or not.
“Each pastor has canonical authority to make such decisions for his parish school,” Hammel said. “He’s well within his authority to act in that manner.”
Hammel added that other schools in the diocese still house the books, and that parents are children’s primary teachers.
“Should parents deem that this or any other media to be appropriate we would hope that they would just guide their sons and daughters to understand the content through the lens of our faith,” Hammel said. “We really don’t get into censorship in such selections other than making sure that what we put in our school libraries is age-appropriate materials for our classrooms.”
Rowling’s Harry Potter books — which were published between 1997 and 2007, and spawned a series of successful films — have been banned before.
According to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), the Potter books topped the list of most challenged books in 1999 and 2000, Publisher’s Weekly reported .
Parents and others have slammed the books for their “alleged occult/Satanic and anti-family themes, and violence,” Publisher’s Weekly said.
Let's see if I've got this straight, someone who believes in a fantasy is banning a fantasy book based on the advice who believe they have fantasy abilities.
Honestly you can't make this stuff up, lol
Even the most hardcore Potter fans don't really believe they are real.
Lol I don't know, I'm not going to say any of the spells just to avoid conjuring any evil spirits. You know just to play it safe.
Lol I don't know, I'm not going to say any of the spells just to avoid conjuring any evil spirits. You know just to play it safe.
Its really those Black cats you have to watch out for-- they're the real danger!
Yeah - I can tell.
Lol the worst danger from that cat is it falling on the keyboard mid-email.
Not saying you're wrong, but I recall a few news stories about "Academies" based on the HP books, trying to make a go at it. And although not a news story, here's a link to one such academy. Who knows how real a kid thinks it is?
I wonder if Father Damien Karras was consulted.
Talk about living in a parallel universe.
This is sad for the kids. My kids loved the Harry Potter books. They really got them reading.
Two eggcellant reasons why after Baptism, my kids never saw the inside of a Catholic school until College.
Sounds like a sweeping generalization violation to me. The Catholic Church hasnt banned the Harry Potter books.
Well they have to do something when their not trying to have sex with the choirboys...
Both 5.2 and 5.21 are coc violations (sweeping generalization) as they refer to a group (they) , Catholic priests as assumed child molesters.
Both comments imply in general that catholic priests molest children.
The overwhelming majority (96%) of Catholic priests have no involvement in the activity. To use the general "they" in suggesting that priests are child sex abusers is a coc violation.
Unfortunately the moderators have chose to not delete these comments, but delete anyone who makes a general comment about "Trump supporters".
“The curses and spells used in the books are actual curses and spells; which when read by a human being risk conjuring evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the text.”
The books have been out there for 22 years and have sold millions of copies, yet, I have yet to see evil spirits being conjured by any of the public who have read and re-read and re-read any of the books.
The spells are real? Accio never did get that bowl down from the top shelf for me, and if I'd known that alohomora would have opened my car door when I'd locked my keys inside, I could have saved a good bit of money otherwise spent on a locksmith.
I must be a Squib.
Unfortunately, my sister (a young Earther) never allowed her son to read these. Now in his early 20s, he's so thoroughly brainwashed he's probably runs screaming in horror if I showed him one of them.
Thought that I had something to say but forgot what it was.
That's because I put a Spell of Forgetfulness on you.
That's so sad - the Harry Potter books even got my "I hate reading" younger cousin reading voraciously.
Well, for seven books, anyway.
So somebody in my office today was telling anyone who'd listen that baptisms must be done by dunking the person being baptized forward, not backward. It's biblical, apparently.
So I'm reminded that, unfortunately, a parochial school banning Harry Potter is just a tip of the crazy iceberg.
Thanks for my first laugh of the day.
Catholic church stands up for Harry Potter
Tue 4 Feb 2003 08.29 EST First published on Tue 4 Feb 2003 08.29 EST
A Vatican spokesman has defended the Harry Potter books and films, saying they are consistent with Christian morals.
The Rev Peter Fleetwood, a member of the Vatican's council for culture, was speaking at the launch of a document warning of the dangers of "new age" spiritual beliefs to the Catholic faith. The draft document is designed to counter a perceived drift away from the church toward belief in crystals, feng shui and other practices not based in Christian teaching.
Asked whether the Harry Potter books fell into the same category, Mr Fleetwood said, "I don't see any, any problems in the Harry Potter series." He went on to say that the good v evil message of the books was consistent with Christian morality.
Countering suggestions from some evangelical groups that the tales of magic school add glamour to occult beliefs, he said, "I don't think there's anyone in this room who grew up without fairies, magic and angels in their imaginary world. They aren't bad. They aren't serving as a banner for an anti-Christian ideology.
"If I have understood well the intentions of Harry Potter's author, they help children to see the difference between good and evil. And she is very clear on this."
Finally, he said JK Rowling was "Christian by conviction, is Christian in her mode of living, even in her way of writing."
The fifth Harry Potter book, The Order of the Phoenix, is released on June 21, with the third film expected later this year.
I remember when the controversy first started about the HP books and it was the fundamentalist evangelicals that were getting their collective knickers in a twist over these books.
Harry Potter Books Removed from Nashville School Library on the Advice of Exorcists
This is like Buying "Smooth" Peanut Butter, and then finding a "whole Nut" halfway through the jar !
That really SUCKS when that happens !
That's all I got !
This gives insight into how people could burn others alive for being 'witches'. In the past, those who had success treating the ill could wind up burned alive because some mistook success for witchcraft. Others were murdered for conditions such as epilepsy.
It is 2019 and there are those who actually believe that the incantations in a brilliant work of fiction could summon 'dark forces'.
That's the risk of a religious mentality.
let those thumpers pass a book ban. then amend it to include books that glorify incest, pedophilia, rape, magic, and slavery. >poof< start collecting bibles.
well i just happened to be changing channels and noticed a harry potter movie on and stopped. I recall thinking to myself , wow this group of stories were wonderful for my children. And i just see these type of stories and really think those are special type folks, what piss poor existence they must have in there day to day lives!
Hurry and sign up for our exorcism class, kids.
The course topics are:
1) How to avoid pea soup vomit from a spinning head
2) What is the right amount of holy water to bring to an exorcism
3) How to translate Pig Latin
Basic chiropractic, for when your subject's head spins 360 degrees.
That made me think of Ben Stiller when he had a show back in the day. One of the skits was Pig Latin Lover, he was a singer and he sang all his songs in Pig Latin. Freaking hilarious!
My x remarried a YEC guy, extreme religious fanatic. He refused to let my kids, (MY kids), watch Harry Potter movies for the same reason, so I made sure they watched them when at my house. And yes, I did send him a text letting him know.
Lol awesome, I just hope he didn't punish them for that.
Oh, he knows better than that...
"Real spells, curses and real magic"? With the millions and millions of books sold and millions more read aloud, you would think all of us Muggles would have seen some evidence of it by now.
OK...so tell you what Rev Rehill....I have a proposition for you.
Let's go to war on these evil spirits and destroy them once and for all. I'm you're man.
I will read the curses aloud, and I will personally destroy any evil spirits that appear. My services are a bargain at $1000/hr, and you get a money back guarantee should I fail to dispatch one.
Whaddya say?
Put me down for half a billion in cash Jack..
I can remember the uproar over the Tarzan books, all because T & J were living together without being married. Throw Cheeta into the mix and straight laced old ladies were outraged.