{"id":159864,"date":"2019-09-03T19:16:34","date_gmt":"2019-09-03T11:16:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geek.com\/featured\/-1802610\/"},"modified":"2019-09-03T19:16:34","modified_gmt":"2019-09-03T11:16:34","slug":"catholic-school-bans-harry-potter-books-because-spells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/test\/wordpress\/2019\/09\/03\/catholic-school-bans-harry-potter-books-because-spells\/","title":{"rendered":"Catholic School Bans \u2018Harry Potter\u2019 Books Because Spells"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
A Catholic school in Tennessee has banned J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” book series (via Artem Maltsev\/Unsplash)<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

St. Edward Catholic School in Nashville banned J.K. Rowling’s wildly popular “Harry Potter” stories.<\/span><\/p>\n

The seven-book fantasy series chronicling the magical adventures of young witches and wizards were removed from the school library due to their content.<\/span><\/p>\n

“These books present magic as both good and evil, which is not true, but in fact a clever deception,” the Rev. Dan Reehil, a pastor at the Roman Catholic parish school, wrote in an email obtained by<\/a> the <\/span>Nashville Tennessean<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The curses and spells used in the books are actual curses and spells,” he continued. “Which, when read by a human being, risk conjuring evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the text.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Reehil even consulted several exorcists in the US and Rome, who also recommended prohibiting the books.<\/span><\/p>\n

The pastor reportedly sent the email following an inquiry from a parent; he also notified faculty.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the release of Rowling’s first novel, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” (or “Sorcerer’s Stone” in the US) in 1997, the books have found monstrous success<\/a>, attracting audiences of all ages.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not everyone is a fan, though; Harry Potter remains controversial in some circles\u2014particularly religious ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Catholic Church does not have an official position on the books, according to Rebecca Hammel, superintendent of schools for the Catholic Diocese of Nashville.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this case, the school’s pastor has the final say.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Each pastor has canonical authority to make such decisions for his parish school,” Hammel explained. “He’s well within his authority to act in that manner.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, parents\u2014who the Catholic Church concede are children’s primary teachers\u2014are free to introduce their kids to Harry Potter’s wizarding world if they see fit.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We would hope that they would just guide their sons and daughters to understand the content through the lens of our faith,” Hammel said in a statement to the <\/span>Tennessean<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

“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 class<\/a>rooms,” she added.<\/span><\/p>\n

More on Geek.com:<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n