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Vatican gives its blessing to Harry Potter
Nick Pisa, in Rome14.07.09
The Vatican has broken with its traditional stance on Harry Potter and given the latest film its seal of approval.
In a review of the blockbuster the official Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, said Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince made clear the difference between “good and evil”.
Under the headline “Magic is no longer a game of surprise”, reviewer Gaetano Vallini praised the film's special effects and the development of the lead characters saying they were “far more credible” than previous episodes.
The film is the sixth in the series. In his review Vallini said that the “mixture of supernatural suspense and romance” made the roles more credible.
He wrote: “The characters have grown from adolescents into adults and at the same time the tone of the story has grown and as a result entertainment has benefited.”
Vallini added that the line “between good and evil was clearly marked, and it makes clear that doing good is right and that in some cases this involves hard work and sacrifices”.
He closed his review by saying that: “At the end of the film what remains is not the scenes of magic but these of the values such as friendship, altruism, loyalty and the giving of one's self.”
The glowing praise is a critical turn-around after L'Osservatore Romano wrote last year that Harry Potter was the “wrong kind of hero”.
In 2003, before becoming Pope Benedict XVI, the then Cardinal Ratzinger criticised the “subtle seductions” in the Potter series. He said the movies could “corrupt the Christian faith”.
Reader views (4)
The Vatican? Pathetic.
- Frank, Home Counties, England.
The Catholic church are so hypocritical and naive, they probably think that Quidditch is a form of currency.
- Nowan King, London
Harry Potter actors have stashed away TWELVE MILLION POUNDS.
WITHOUT THE BLESSING OF THE VATICAN.
- Reuben Camara, Republic of Morecambe, UK
Fair enough, it's a lot of fuss for a kids book really though.
- Bob, Cheam
