Harry Satan Potter

Over at Spaceship Vatican, the Chief Exorcist (does this imply they have a whole team of them?) has made an Earth shattering discovery: the fictional character and wannabe wizard Harry Potter, darling of millions of children (as well as a good dollop of rather childish adults) is the Prince of Darkness (sorry, King, no less...) No, really...

Reality based the Funny Hat Society known as Catholicism never really was of course. But to go and claim that the fruit of the imagination of one rather successful author is satanic because she makes no distinction between "white magic" and "black magic" is rather rich coming from people whose real-life grasp of reality seems sketchy at best. Dear Funny Hat wearers: Potter's magic isn't REAL, it's a literary device, similar to that resurrection business you're all so fond of. Similar to the miracles you maintain fellow Funny Hat travelers should accept as if Every Word is True. And, psst, these entertaining "magicians" you see on telly don't really deploy supernatural powers either, just slight of hand and assorted trickery but don't tell the little children...

Pope's top exorcist says Harry Potter is 'king of darkness

Pope Benedict XVI's chief exorcist, Rev. Gabriele Amorth, has called fictional wizard-in-training Harry Potter the "king of darkness, the devil."

Amorth made the statement about the star of the best-selling children's series by British author J. K. Rowling during an interview with Vatican Radio during the week.

"Magic is always a turn to the devil," said the Roman Catholic priest, according to Britain's Daily Mail newspaper.

Amorth, who is also the president of the International Association of Exorcists, said the series contains many positive references to "the satanic art" of magic and makes no distinction between black and white magic.

Amorth compared the Potter character to dictators Stalin and Hitler, saying they were possessed by the devil.

"You can tell by their behavior and their actions, from the horrors they committed and the atrocities that were committed on their orders. That's why we need to defend society from demons," said Amorth, who has reportedly performed 30,000 exorcisms.

Benedict voiced his disapproval of the character and series before he became Pope in April 2005.

Then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, he wrote a supportive letter in 2005 to the author of a book Harry Potter - Good or Evil? In it, sociologist Gabriele Kuby had argued that Harry Potter series distorts young people's ideas about the battle of good versus evil.

"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," Ratzinger told Kuby in his letter.