Welcome to Gaia! ::

I think we look at it as a witch and wizards, and all that. But like many novels of fiction, they are just that fiction, Harry Potter deals more with morality then anything else. I would ask these same people what they think about Chronicles of Narnia, or the Lord of the Rings. I also remember John Paul the Second saying something along the lines of fiction is fiction, I am not always sure why when a fiction book comes out the Pope says we are not to read them. I have read a couple of the Harry Potter books and seen most of the movies, minus like yourself the last. i have enjoyed them, I think it is fiction again, but enjoy a good movie from time to time.

It is not a matter of it being fiction nor showing a battle between good and evil where good triumphs. Neither good messages make movies suitable for everyone. A movie may contain those elements and still be of anti-christian nature (and by that I don't mean satanic). There may even be movies that are full of christian teachings and values, but that attack the Catholic faith, or movies that are full of distorted christian messages. What matters is the content and how it is portrayed.

I have read all Harry Potter novels and watched all movies except the one that hasn't been released yet. I loved them, especially the novels which are full of detail and plenty of christian values and teachings. However, there are many elements which might not be suitable for all audiences, particularly kids younger than teenagers. Violence might be disguised as spells and fantasy, but it is very real, and somewhat graphic, specially in the novels. There is blood, loss of limbs, death, among other things you wouldn't want to expose little kids to. In the case of witchcraft, as adults we are able to discern the fantasy in all of it, but little kids would require guidance from an adult to help them discern fantasy from reality and keep them on the healthy side of fantasy, instead of exposing them to want to try for themselves delving into the occult.

Perhaps your mother did not want you to be exposed to that type of content at an earlier age, and now that you are older there is no much need for such caution anymore. Perhaps she was also under the impression of what others said about Harry Potter before watching/reading it herself first to make a fair judgment. Whatever her reasons were, they should be respected, for she was doing what she believed best for you, and I pray it has had a good outcome in your development as a person and a christian.

It is never bad to be cautious. For movies we have an option. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops offers a website with movie reviews where you can read a brief summary of what the movie is about, its content, its rating, and the additional rating given by the USCCB. This rating classifies movies as suitable for all audiences, for teenagers and adults, adults only, limited adult audience, or morally offensive. They take into consideration contents such as violence, nudity, sexual content, offensive language, morals, attacks to christians and/or the Church, among other things.

http://www.catholicnews.com/movies.htm

A newt?

I understand why the Pope and others would tell us to be wary, as we should be of everything we read that isn't clearly Christian and/or Catholic.
I agree that for some audiences, Harry Potter could be damaging and should be avoided.
Personally, being well-formed in my Catholic faith and a discerning and mature reader, I can enjoy the series of books and movies
without fear of temptation.

However, as a mom, I will wait until my baby son is eight or older
and then read them with him so that we will be able to discuss some of the issues that are questionable.

I did read the first book of the series and enjoyed it,
but never felt the urge to continue.