For anyone who subscribes to The Wanderer, you may have read an article in their July 19, 2007, edition, that was a book review column by Pete Vere. The book being reviewed was The Mystery of Harry Potter--A Catholic Family Guide. If you were as shocked as I was to read this article positively reviewing a book by a so-called orthodox Catholic homeschooling author and writer that had no issue with reading the Potter books (with parental oversight), then please call The Wanderer and voice your concerns. I just spoke with them, and she said while they haven't received any complaints (except me, of course), she "heard me", said she would tell the editor of my comments, and they might run "the other side." I mentioned that the "other side" includes concerns raised by the Pope in a personal letter to another author. I told her of my ongoing struggle trying to combat witchcraft in my family with this Pottermania, only to have a family member provide their article from "my source" as the green light to read Potter books. I've been trying to keep a running listing of those opposed to promoting witchcraft with the reading of these books, including personal comments made by then-Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, on our Catholic Homeschooling blogspot at: http://stcroixvalleycatholichomeschooling.blogspot.com. Ironically, I found another article written by Pete Vere entitled "Linking Sorcery and Contraception." Linking Sorcery and Contraception by Pete Vere
Linked here is an excellent article by Fr. Christopher Crotty of the Fathers of Mercy: The Truth About Harry Potter
The Wanderer article is available upon request in .pdf format, or log in for a free copy at The Wanderer. The article is titled Why Feminists Hate Harry Potter.
H.S. ADMINISTRATOR ACCUSED OF PERFORMING SANTERIA RITUAL
CANON 915:
THE DISCIPLINE REGARDING
THE DENIAL OF HOLY COMMUNION
TO THOSE OBSTINATELY PERSEVERING
IN MANIFEST GRAVE SIN
"... In the Decree of Gratian, we also find a quotation from a letter of Cyprian Euricacius to a confrère, in which he responds to a request for counsel regarding the question of whether a certain charlatan and sorcerer ought to be given Holy Communion. The question makes reference to the fact that the person in question perseveres in the shamefulness of his art, becoming a teacher and expert for children who, because of his bad example, are not educated but are led astray [23]. It further references the truth that evil taught to some also reaches others, which seems to be a clear reference to scandal. The response is: (I think that it is neither congruent with the divine majesty or evangelical discipline, in order that the modesty and honor of the Church not be sullied by such an indecent and infamous contagion). [24]..."
"...Regarding the ministering of the Sacrament to the faithful, the Rituale Romanum established:
All the faithful are to be admitted to Holy Communion, except those who are prohibited for a just reason. The publicly unworthy, which are the excommunicated, those under interdict, and the manifestly infamous, such as prostitutes, those cohabiting, usurers, sorcerers, fortune-tellers, blasphemers and other sinners of the public kind, are, however, to be prevented, unless their penitence and amendment has been established and they will have repaired the public scandal. [28]
The discipline by which those persevering in manifest and grievous sin are kept from receiving Holy Communion is seen as integral to the worship and care of the Holy Eucharist. The responsibility of the Church in the matter clearly rests with the priest as the minister of the Sacrament, lest the greatest good of the Church be violated, the communicant commit sacrilege, and the faithful, in general, be scandalized.
The language of the discipline reflects the language of the Decretal Law. The same language will be found in the subsequent articulation of the Church's discipline.
The Rituale Romanum concludes the instruction to the priests by taking up three other cases of persons to whom it may be necessary to refuse Holy Communion. The first case involves occult grievous sinners who ask for Holy Communion. If they ask occultly and the priest does not recognize them as having amended their life, he is to refuse Holy Communion to them. If, however, they publicly seek the Sacrament and the priest cannot deny the Sacrament to them without causing scandal, then he is to give Holy Communion to them..."
"...6. Synodal Legislation of the Eastern Churches
The discipline regarding the denial of Holy Communion to public sinners is also clearly enunciated in the synodal legislation of the Eastern Churches. For example, in 1599, the Malabar Church of southern India held a synod in the city of Diamper, which was convoked by the Latin Archbishop of Goa, Alexius de Menezes [35]. Decree III of the Synod of Diamper, referring to the teaching of Saint Paul in the First Letter to the Corinthians, declared:
Wherefore, it is not permitted to give this Sacrament to public sinners, until they will have given up their sins, such as are public sorcerers, prostitutes, the publicly cohabiting, and those who publicly profess hatreds without reconciliation. [36]
The decree in question also gives careful instruction regarding the vigilance of the local vicars, lest they sin gravely by offering the Sacrament to public sinners.
In 1720, the Ruthenian Church held a provincial council at Zamostia, in which the Apostolic Nuncio, the metropolitan archbishop, 7 bishops, 8 major superiors of religious, and 129 members of the secular and regular clergy participated. [37] Regarding the denial of Holy Communion, the Synod made its own the perennial discipline of the Church:
Lest occasion be given to some scandal or loss of good name, the Holy Eucharist is not to be denied to the unworthy sinner because of some secret sin, above all, if the priest giving Communion will have received news of it from the confession of the sinner himself, seeking publicly the Eucharist. Heretics, schismatics, the excommunicated, the interdicted, public criminals, the openly infamous, as also prostitutes, the publicly cohabiting, major usurers, fortune-tellers, and other evil-doing men of the same kind, however, are not to be admitted to the reception of this Sacrament, according to the precept of Christ: (Do not give the Holy to dogs). [38]..."
"...Regarding Holy Communion, the Synod of 1736 legislated that the "publicly unworthy" are not to be admitted to Holy Communion. The legislation gives as examples of those to be denied Holy Communion the following: (heretics, schismatics, apostates, the excommunicated, the interdicted, and the openly notorious, such as prostitutes, the cohabiting, usurers, sorcerers, fortune-tellers, blasphemers and other sinners of this public kind). The legislation gives two conditions under which they may subsequently be admitted to receive Holy Communion: 1) the establishment of their penance and change of life; and 2) the prior repair of public scandal. [40] In other words, the canonical discipline is directed both to the eternal salvation of the soul of the sinner and to the correction of the scandal given by a person who publicly violates the moral law in a grave mat>ter and then presumes to receive Holy Communion..."
"...Confusion, of course, is one of the most insidious fruits of scandalous behavior..."
5 comments:
>>my ongoing struggle trying to combat witchcraft in my family with this Pottermania<<
Just wondering what does this mean? Is your family actually under the influence of witchcraft? Threatened by witchcraft? Are there witches near you? In your family?
If so why--how did it happen in a Catholic family? Just wondering how it could be that you are struggling to "combat witchcraft"?
I really am interested in hearing your story. I am not a "so-called" orthodox Catholic homeschooling mother. I'm just a Catholic homeschooling mother struggling to do my best for my children--just as you are. I hope I am doing my best to follow God's will in everything I do. I pray a lot about all this before the Blessed Sacrament.
And I understand your position. If you would just read my book, you would discover that I felt much the same as you when I first heard about the Potter books. I heard all kinds of things about them, and now so have you.
My question for you is, are you going to continue to repeat what you've heard about the Potter books, or will you take the time to find out more for yourself? That's what my book is challenging Catholic families to do. It doesn't matter whether you end up reading Harry Potter or not. But it does matter if you continue to judge people based on whether or not they've read the books.
If you would like to continue to use Harry Potter as an issue that divides the "good" Catholics from the "bad" Catholics--well, I cannot agree that that is a good thing.
I humbly ask you to please tell me more about why you are fighting witchcraft in your house. I am curious about this statement.
Nancy Brown
It was with great dismay that I read a review of Ms. Carpenter-Brown's book advocating the Harry Potter Series. More confusion is the result and to what end? To what end was the book written? Our children have great literature to which we can expose them without lowering our standards to the level of the current craze. The publication of her book and Peter Vere's article in the Wanderer(who could've believe it?!!)seem to be an attempt of justification as to why they allowed their children and themselves to indulge in the superficial pleasure of the day. In Christian charity, I recommend to both they read Canadian novelist and artist, Mr. Michael D. O'Brien's extensive articles on the true dangers of this type of inversion of good and evil and for further help they could consult his book, "Landscape with Dragons". His perspicacity of the issue would help them and all parents who endeavor to expose themselves and their children to great literature. As a closing note, one wonders why Ms. Brown and Mr. Vere would pubicly advocate a series about which Pope Benedict, as Cardinal Ratzinger, warned Catholics about. A.M.D.G.
Nancy Brown, if that is who she says she is, does not have faith in the Pope or any of the Faithful Priests who talk against reading the HP books. One has to wonder what her purpose is.
I do not have to give poison to children to know it will harm them. I do not have to try it myself to see if it is good or bad. I pay attention to those who know and tell me it is not good. If you do not have a well informed conscience it is easy to believe as Nancy Brown does. As for praying before the Blessed Sacrament to get your answers. It is also important to pray that you are able to hear what God is telling you. Take care that you are not hearing an answer that you want to hear or what the devil wants you to hear.
The comment above by “Nancy Brown” is being posted acknowledging the inability to verify with 100% accuracy whether or not this is truly the author Nancy Brown Carpentier who wrote the book “The Mystery of Harry Potter—A Catholic Family Guide” which promotes the reading of the Potter books, with parental oversight. Without that ability to verify, we will just assume the poster is anonymous, unless we can verify otherwise. The poster’s name is of no consequence. The encouragement to read the Potter books is in direct contradiction of now-Pope Benedict’s personal words to an author stating: (Source: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/jul/05071301.html
“…In a letter dated March 7, 2003 Cardinal Ratzinger thanked Kuby for her "instructive" book Harry Potter - gut oder böse (Harry Potter- good or evil?), in which Kuby says the Potter books corrupt the hearts of the young, preventing them from developing a properly ordered sense of good and evil, thus harming their relationship with God while that relationship is still in its infancy.
"It is good, that you enlighten people about Harry Potter, because those are subtle seductions, which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly," wrote Cardinal Ratzinger. …” (continued below)
After reading the post by “Nancy Brown”, I could not help but hear the serpent in the Garden of Eden saying Eat the apple (read about witchcraft—it won’t hurt you); Don’t listen to God (the Vicar of Christ); You know better than He (the Vicar of Christ).
Jesus warned us of wolves in sheep’s clothing. What is interesting about this post is that there is a failure to acknowledge Pope Benedict’s comments and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Why do we pray to God to NOT lead us into temptation in the Pater Noster if we ignore His guidance and then go headlong into temptation? You can either believe Nancy Brown Carpentier, who wants to make money from selling a book (and possibly leading souls astray as cited in the articles listed above), or you can believe Pope Benedict XVI. I choose the Vicar of Christ. Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
As far as the poster’s comment: “…If you would like to continue to use Harry Potter as an issue that divides the "good" Catholics from the "bad" Catholics--well, I cannot agree that that is a good thing.” Jesus said differently: Matthew 10:34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword.” Once again, you can believe “Brown” or Jesus. I choose Jesus.
The dangers of dabbling in witchcraft are also addressed in The Catechism of the Catholic Church: Divination and magic http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect2chpt1.htm#2115
2115 God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility.
2116 All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future.48 Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.
2117 All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others—even if this were for the sake of restoring their health—are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another's credulity.
(Continuation from above.) http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/jul/05071301.html “…The letter also encouraged Kuby to send her book on Potter to the Vatican prelate who quipped about Potter during a press briefing which led to the false press about the Vatican support of Potter. At a Vatican press conference to present a study document on the New Age in April 2003, one of the presenters - Rev. Peter Fleetwood - made a positive comment on the Harry Potter books in response to a question from a reporter. Headlines such as "Pope Approves Potter" (Toronto Star), "Pope Sticks Up for Potter Books" (BBC), "Harry Potter Is Ok With The Pontiff" (Chicago Sun Times) and "Vatican: Harry Potter's OK with us" (CNN Asia) littered the mainstream media.
In a second letter sent to Kuby on May 27, 2003, Cardinal Ratzinger "gladly" gave his permission to Kuby to make public "my judgement about Harry Potter."
I too am curious about your ongoing battle with witchcraft and hope you will post your story.
I have a friend who doesn't allow her children to read HP because of family members who are Wiccans.
She too feels an ongoing battle and it scares her to even consider reading Harry Potter for herself.
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