On August 28, Rev. Dan Reehil, the pastor of St. Edward Catholic School, sent an e-mail to school staff explaining his reasoning for removing the books from the school's library.

"These books present magic as both good and evil, which is not true," his letter reads. "The curses and spells used in the books are actual curses and spells; which when read by a human being risk conjuring evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the texts." Read more

Father Rafał Jarosiewicz called the burning of objects thought to be connected to magic and the occult, and deemed by their owners to be an evil force, "unfortunate".

Images from the burning last Sunday at the Catholic parish of Our Lady Mother of the Church and St Catherine of Sweden, in Gdansk, were originally posted on the Facebook page of SMS z Nieba (SMS from Heaven) , a foundation that uses unconventional means to carry out religious work across Poland. Read more

They have released a weekly podcast called "Harry Potter and the Sacred Text."

Vanessa Zoltan and Caspar ter Kuile are both graduates of the Harvard Divinity School.

The podcast answers the question, "What if we read the books we love as if they were sacred texts?"

They compare Harry Potter to Christians reading the Bible

They also compare it to Jews reading the Torah and Muslims reading the Quran.

"We are embarking on a 199-episode journey (one chapter an episode, released weekly)," they say.

Their aim is to glean what wisdom and meaning they can make from J.K. Rowling's beloved novels.

The Potter faithful are interested.

The podcast has soared to the top of the religion and spirituality charts on iTunes.

It draws in about 55,000 to 60,000 listeners each week.

The series has become the best-selling book of all time since the first book's release in 1997.

A film franchise and merchandise worth more than $21 billion plus a theme park have followed.

Much religious debate surrounds the Harry Potter series.

Father Gabriele Amorth, the late Vatican exorcist said the series drove people to witchcraft.

Source

• Quartz
• Wikipedia
• Image:www.mirror.co.uk

Kostrzewa says the Danish toy company had taken a lurch to the dark side with its series of Monster Fighters and Zombie mini-figures, and that they "were about darkness and the world of death"

The New Zealand study by Christopher Barneck of University of Canterbury has found the number of happy faces on Legos is decreasing, and more angry faces are taking their place.

Barneck studied all the 6000 Lego figures including Harry Potter and pirate-themed toys, and says they are increasingly angry and based on conflict - with potentially harmful effects on children's play and development.

Kostrzewa's attack on Lego is not the first time he has accused toys of harbouring evil. Hello Kitty and My Little Pony have also come under his scrutiny, with the latter being described as a "carrier of death".

Source

• The Telegraph
• Image: ComicAlliance.com
  

In an interview with the Telegraph, Fr Gabreile Amorth, who for four years held the position of the Vatican's chief exorcist, and who has cleansed hundreds of people of evil spirits, said Yoga is Satanic and JK Rowling's Harry Potter books are no less dangerous.

Amorth says the problem with Yoga is it leads to worship of Hinduism and "all eastern religions are based on a false belief in reincarnation", and Harry Potter books, that on the face of it seem innocuous, but actually encourage children to believe in black magic and wizardry.

"In Harry Potter the Devil acts in a crafty and covert manner, under the guise of extraordinary powers, magic spells and curses," Amorth said.

"Satan is always hidden and what he most wants is for us not to believe in his existence. He studies every one of us and our tendencies towards good and evil, and then he offers temptations."

Amorth says science is incapable of explaining evil, and not worth a jot.

"The scientist simply explores what God has already created."

Giorgio Furlan, the founder of the Yoga Academy of Rome labelled the claims as "outrageous", and said yoga had nothing to do with religion, "least of all Satanism."

"Whoever says that shows that they know absolutely nothing about yoga," he said.

Father Amorth has also claimed that the sex abuse scandals which have engulfed the Catholic Church in the US, Ireland, Germany and other countries was proof that the Anti-Christ is waging a war against the Holy See.

Source

• The Telegraph
• The Sun
• Image: Landover Baptist Church