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Posted: July 15, 2011
Did the Vatican do an about-face on Harry Potter? 7/15/11
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Class is officially dismissed at Hogwarts as the latest installment of the mega-successful Harry Potter franchise – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – brings the enduring saga of teen wizards and witches to a stunning end.

Despite the undisputed, worldwide popularity of the Harry Potter series, the movies and books did have their critics. And perhaps the most notable foe of the supernatural thriller was the Vatican. In 2005, letters written by Pope Benedict XVI when he was Cardinal Ratzinger surfaced online that condemned the Potter books as, quote, “subtle seductions” that could “deeply distort Christianity in the soul.” But fast-forward to 2011 – a reviewer for the Vatican’s newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, is praising Deathly Hallows for championing the values of friendship and sacrifice.

Is it an about-face? We went in search of an answer.

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