Vatican-Sponsored Witchcraft 
By Jackie Alnor (Posted March 2, 2003)
A Vatican spokesperson has given two thumbs up to Harry Potter, according to a published report in the Toronto Star. The article's headline reads: "Pope approves Potter: Boy wizard poses no problem for the Vatican," while a Wiccan publication "The Witches’ Voice," credits Harry Potter for the recent teen fascination with witchcraft.
"Teen Witches are popping up everywhere. TV shows like Charmed, Buffy, Sabrina and movies like Practical Magic and Harry Potter have awoken Teens to a modern, magical world of spell casting and personal empowerment and they can't get enough!" reports the Witches’ website in a promotion for a new book. Witchin - A Handbook for Teen Witches by Fiona Horne teaches teens "how they can turn on to positive Witchcraft." It teaches spells to help solve problems at school, home and everywhere, say the promoters.
Perhaps the Vatican just isn’t up on Potter’s influence in culture in spite of the fact that their spokesperson is a member of the "Pontifical Council for Culture." "I don’t think there’s anyone in this room who grew up without fairies, magic and angels in their imaginary world," said the Rev. Don Fleetwood in response to reports that "some evangelical groups have condemned the series for glamorizing magic and the occult."
Since when did the fairy tales of yesteryear lead teens to want to practice magic? I never got that out of Snow White, Cinderella, or Sleeping Beauty. Some people testify that the 1960s TV hits, Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie had some influence, but they are mild compared to today’s popular witches.
Vatican spokesman Fleetwood praised Harry Potter’s author J. K. Rowling as a "Christian by conviction, is Christian in her mode of living, even in her way of writing." He insists that her writings have helped "children to see the difference between good and evil."
This is just another case of the Roman Catholic Church’s mixture of the holy and the profane.
