CE: HP and the Pope, Part Two

Part two of Nancy's Harry Potter article is up at Catholic Exchange. Go check it out! You may find an interesting comment or two at the end as well.

CE: Harry Potter and the Pope, Part One

The first of Nancy Brown's 2-part series on Harry Potter is up at Catholic Exhange. Please leave her a nice comment -- register if you have to.

"When I first heard about Harry Potter, now many years ago, the one thing that stopped me from reading them was the pope's remark."

Discerning Harry Potter

In the past, I've recommended parents read as much as they can about Harry Potter, pointing them toward a whole slew of resources, in order to help them discern whether or not HP was for their family. Nancy Brown's recent blog posts on gnosticism, combined with some completely off-the-wall anti-HP articles I've recently discovered, have made me realize that parents should just read HP for themselves and then make up their own minds about it.

HP and Expressing Grief

I was so moved by this post that all I can say is: go read it yourself.

Regina Doman Speaks: Harry Potter and the Grieving Mother

I'm Washington Times Famous

Last night, Rob was sitting at the kitchen table reading the weekly edition of the Washington Times while I curled up on the living room couch poring over kitchen makeover books. Here is the conversation that flowed between rooms:

Rob: Maureen!
Me: Yes?
Rob: You made the Washington Times!
Me: Huh?
Rob: You're mentioned in the Washington Times!
Me: Me?
Rob: Yes.
Me: By name?
Rob: Well, not by name. But it's you! You're famous!

What happened was that Pete Vere's review of Nancy Brown's book The Mystery of Harry Potter made the Washington Times. In the review, Pete writes, "Then one day, she discovered that another Catholic mother from her home-schooling circle considered the books to be good children's literature."

I'm the "Catholic mother from her home-schooling circle."

I'm famous. Sort of.

Literature and Crisis of Faith

Yesterday was our Teen Wednesday discussion of the new Harry Potter book and it was a great discussion. There was one tidbit that sticks out in my mind and I just have to share with you all.

The subject of Philip Pullman's books came up. One of the teens, an incredibly bright and faithful young man, who is about to head back to college for his Sophomore year, shared how The Golden Compass and it's sequels caused a crisis of faith for him. He found himself questioning whether God was really all He was cracked up to be, as a direct result of this literary series.

The young man also shared that he once had a similar crisis and that was after reading The Da Vinci Code. That time, he found himself questioning the Church. He said, "Satan knows I LOVE books and that's how he's going to attack me."

I asked if the HP books caused any kind of spiritual crisis. "No," he replied, "quite the opposite." He, and all of the young people present at this discussion, found the HP books to be morally uplifting.

The Golden Compass is coming out as a movie soon. Please don't be duped by the media into going to see it. It is not in the tradtion of LOTR as they claim. Pullman has publicly stated that his goal in writing children's literature is lead them away from Christianity.

Every now and then I'll run into a good Christian homeschooling parent who mentions their children love the Pullman books, being completely unaware of the books' content. They assume they're good literature because of all the hype and awards they've received.

This is what Jeff Miller referred to as swatting at gnats while letting the camel through. We need to see all the effort that has been placed into attacking HP placed into warning parents about the Pullman books.

Talking Harry

If you've finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, then head over to John Granger's website for some great conversation!

BTW -- Has anyone read Granger's book Unlocking Harry Potter? I put in a request to my library to purchase it, but haven't heard back from them yet.

Afternoon Tea With J. K. Rowling

I promised to refrain from discussing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for a week or two, but I'd just like to say something about the author. She must be an incredibly interesting woman. I would love an afternoon to visit with her, just chatting like girlfriends around the kitchen table. Forget polite topics such as the state of the weather, I'd want to talk about religion and politics. It would be, I'm sure, a most enjoyable afternoon.

I'm Baaack

Whew, I finally finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now I can get on the Internet and read the newspaper again. I know it sounds silly, but I didn't want any sniff of a spoiler before I finished reading. So, in case you're still reading it or planning to in the near future, I'll refrain from commenting on it for a week or two.

HP, NCB, and Personal Attacks

It was only a matter of time before the personal attacks began on Nancy Brown. This column does not attack Nancy's book, The Mystery of Harry Potter, on it's merits. It attacks Nancy, calling her self-serving and non-Christian.

I have two things to say in response. One, I'm the one who encouraged Nancy to write this book in the first place. I know for a fact that her motivation was not money. (Let's get real here -- this is Catholic publishing, no one gets rich in the real world of Catholic publishing.) Nancy wrote this book because she had something important to say, something she wanted to share with the world, and by golly that's just what she does -- write.

Secondly, I've known Nancy a number of years. She's been to my home, I've been to hers. Our families have broken bread together and we've attended Holy Mass together. Nancy walks the walk. She doesn't just sit around talking about all things Catholic -- she lives it. I know her to be a woman of great faith, dedicated to Our Lord, His Church, and His Mother. I can only hope and pray that I too can someday be as holy as Nancy.

If you hate the Harry Potter books, I'm cool with that. If you hate Nancy's book, I am cool with that too. I have no problem with discussing these books and their merits or lack thereof. Bring it on. I love a great discussion. But we must, as Christians keep it charitable. There is no room, in my opinion, for personal attacks whether they be on J. K. Rowling or Nancy Carpentier Brown. Yes, we can judge their work and their fruits but are we to publicly judge the state of their souls?

I've Been Outed

Horrors! Nancy Brown exposes me as a Harry lover on national radio. My reputation will go down the drain, my friends will no longer speak to me, people will hold up crosses at me as I walk down the street.

Oh, wait a minute. I've already outed myself. Never mind.

PSNV: The Mystery of Harry Potter

To read past library recommendations, or to join the email list, visit: Pope Saint Nicholas V

Check to see if this title is already in your library's catalog. If it is, put a hold on it and check it out. If not, fill out a patron request form right away. This can usually be done online at your library's website.

Title: The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide
Author: Nancy Carpentier Brown
Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor
Date Published: June 18, 2007
ISBN: 1592763987
Price: Softcover 12.95
Reviews:

As a fan of Harry Potter, and a Catholic Christian, I have often lamented the time wasted on paranoid analyses of J.K. Rowling's great work of Christian (yes, I said Christian) fantasy from believers who ought to know better. Now comes a fine appreciation of Rowling's achievement from a first rate writer, believer, and (to top it off) Chestertonian Catholic. Thanks, Nancy Brown, for doing justice to the greatest Christian fantasy epic of our generation. - Mark P. Shea, Senior Content Editor, CatholicExchange.com

Nancy Carpentier Brown has done us all, especially parents, a great service. The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide is an informative and original assessment of the Harry
Potter books, examining why they are not only great literature, but great Christian literature as well. Harry Potter should be on every Catholic family's bookshelf, right alongside Nancy's book. -Sean P. Dailey, editor-in-chief of Gilbert Magazine.

Nancy Carpentier Brown has done a great service to Catholic parents, and to Catholic readers of fiction in general: Cutting through the hype and controversy surrounding the Harry Potter series, she provides her own confidently Christian interpretation of the story. In truly Chestertonian fashion, she turns upside down the strident criticisms of those whose opposition to real-life witchcraft and sorcery prevents them from seeing anything good in the books. Her clearheaded analysis of the fundamentally moral, religious, and even Christian character of the narrative is very convincing. Her voice deserves to be heard. -Fr. Pierre Ingram, CC, S.T.L.

At last a book by a devout Catholic mom about Harry Potter! Nancy Brown puts to rest the objections raised by Catholics who have not read Joanne Rowling's wonderful books and raises concerns for prudent Christian parents to consider. This is a must for every Catholic parish library and RCIA teacher! –John Granger, author, Finding God in Harry Potter

The Mystery of Harry Potter is a great resource to enlighten Catholic parents and educators that JK Rowling is on the side of the angels. -Robert TrexlerEditor, CSL: The Bulletin of the New York C.S. Lewis Society

The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide by Nancy Brown is fantastic! Whether you hate, love or are unsure about Harry you have got to put this book on your reading list. Mrs. Brown wrote it in a way I would have never dreamed. She ties J. K. Rowling's story of Harry Potter to G. K. Chesterton's Battle of Lepanto. Only a Chestertonian like Nancy could pull it off so beautifully. -Maureen Wittmann

(Note to librarians: Amazon has the wrong release date at their website - it is available now)

The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide

Lots of exciting stuff going on over at Nancy Brown's blog. The release of her Harry Potter book got moved up a couple of months and is now due out in just two weeks! Check out her blog to get caught up on all the hoopla! You can also check out her amazon.com plog for updates.

Don't you just love the cover! I can't wait to hold the real deal in my hands!

What Would Chesterton Say About Harry?

I just finished proofreading Nancy Brown's new book on Harry Potter. I have got to tell you all that it is FANTASTIC! It won't be out until after the last HP book is released, so perhaps I shouldn't be getting you all excited about it yet, but I can't help myself. You've got to put this book on your summer to-buy list, whether you hate, love or are unsure about Harry.

I'm so proud of Nancy. She wrote it in a way that I would've never dreamed. She ties J. K. Rowling's story of Harry Potter to G. K. Chesterton's Battle of Lepanto. Very cool! No one but a Chestertonian like Nancy could pull that one off.

Catholic Book on HP

Nancy Brown is writing a new book and she even has a contract! And I get to help with proofreading. Very exciting! Make sure to head over to her blog and tell her "Congrats!"

Harry Potter Documentary

I borrowed a video from the library last week: Discovering the Real World of Harry Potter. Talk about the secular world getting HP all wrong. It was a total waste of time to watch. It approached HP from the point of view that sends good Christian folks running for the hills when they hear the words, Harry Potter.

What I'd love to see is a video about the Harry Potter series from a Catholic point of view. It would have interviews with Amy Welborn, Regina Domain, Mark Shea, and most definitely Nancy Brown.

It could present all Catholic viewpoints and include the concerns of Steve Wood, Michael O'Brien, and Toni Collins.

I'd love to hear from Catholic teens who read the books and their take on whether the books promote Christianity or Wicca, or neither. It's possible that they're just plain enjoyable reads.

And maybe John Granger could be squeezed in there. He's not Catholic, but he has some great insights into the Christian symbolism found in the books.

It would be a perfect project to begin work on now with the last HP book coming out in 2007.

Any filmmakers out there?

Catholicizing Harry Potter?

If you want to learn how to baptize the Harry Potter books, head over to Nancy Brown's blog. She's been on the subject for several weeks now and makes some amazing observations.

The Pros and Cons of Harry

If you have made the decision to let your children read the Harry Potter books, or if you teach CCD, I highly recommend reading Finding God in Harry Potter by John Granger. This book helped me a great deal in baptizing the Harry books. Mr. Granger's website is http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/. (Karen also recommended this book in a comment to a previous HP post.)

Another interesting title is The Gospel According to Harry Potter by Connie Neal. Her website is http://www.connieneal.com/.

I borrowed both the Granger and Neal books from my library.

Catholic children's author Regina Doman wrote Harry for Catholics?. And from Amy Welborn: Sorting through Harry Potter.

If you have yet to decide whether or not Harry Potter has a place on your reading list and want to cover all the bases, here is the other side of the story:
Steve Wood has a large selection of articles at his website: Harry Potter.
He also offers a CD by Michael O'Brien, Vivian Dudro & Fr. Philip Scott: Parental Concerns About Harry Potter.

Baptizing HP

The best CCD class I ever taught was on Harry Potter . . . unintentionally. I was teaching the Transfiguration. The fourth graders were having a hard time getting it. Then a girl raised her hand and said, "You mean like the Office of Transfiguration in Harry Potter?" I went on to explain the similarities and differences between Jesus' Transfiguration and the Office of Transfiguration in Harry Potter. You should have seen these kids. They were literally on the edge of their seats! Then I said, "Here is the totally cool thing. The Office of Transfiguration in Harry Potter is make believe. Fantasy. Jesus' Transfiguration was REAL! It really happened!" These kids were ooing and ahhing by now, their little faces lit up. Filled with the Holy Spirit (it definitely wasn't me!) I went on . . . "Hermione bilocating -- make believe, fantasy. St. Martin de Porres bilocating REAL! TRUE! How cool is that!" And I went on and on coming up with all kinds of examples. I'm sure that these public school kids never read another Harry Potter book without thinking about the coolness of the Catholic Church!

How We Came to Read HP, Part 2

So, where were we? Oh yes, #1 Son came home from the library with HP having no idea that it was on my banned book list. (Lesson #2: Work on communication skills with my children.) He was already half done and I had a decision to make.

My choices?
1. Rip the book from his hands and go into a screaming rage about evil librarians.
2. Wait until he went to bed and sneak the book out of the house and hope he would forget about it.
3. Tell him the honest truth.

I chose #3. I told him that I had never read the book myself and would be more comfortable reading it before deciding if he could finish the second half.

I didn't put that book down until I finished reading it completely. Not because I was anxious to resolve this issue, but because I was so drawn into the story. As a writer, I was in awe of Rowling's skill.

But what really amazed me was the use of Christian symbolism throughout the story. I found that I could easily baptize this story. (Was it C. S. Lewis that spoke of baptizing the imagination?) I let my son finish the book and then we discussed it together.