Despite worldwide outrage over the desecration of Paderborn Cathedral, another abuse of a place of worship recently occurred in the archdiocese.
In the Catholic Herz-Jesu parish in Herne, an ecumenical Harry Potter liturgy was staged.
The organizers announced in advance that the church interior would be “transformed into a magical setting” after an “open arrival” and the offering of “food and drink.” The goal was to make the place “look similar to the castle scenes in the films,” including appropriate decorations and “floating candles.” In addition, pews were rearranged and tables were brought in: “We will then sit together in groups, like the four different houses at Hogwarts.” The promised panorama ranged from “special music” with Harry Potter melodies accompanied by “lighting appropriate to the scene” to “special effects” and “walking acts.”
These were the announced conditions for the so-called “ecumenical service” after snacks and drinks. An actress was responsible for reading aloud from the third volume of the novel series.
The book (Harry Potter – gut oder böse?) by renowned Catholic publicist Gabriele Kuby, who had dealt intensively with the subject of Harry Potter and had come to a clear analysis, is particularly suitable for fully understanding this zeitgeist theater.
In it, she stated, “Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry, is a closed world of violence and horror, curses and hexes, racial ideology and blood sacrifice, disgust and obsession. There is an atmosphere of constant threat that is transferred to the (young) reader.” Kuby unambiguously unmasked the occult goings-on: “The human world is degraded, the world of witches and wizards glorified. There is no positive transcendent dimension. The supernatural is exclusively demonic. Divine symbols are perverted.”
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote to Kuby in a personal letter on March 7, 2003: “It is good that you are raising awareness about Harry Potter, because these are subtle seductions that have an imperceptible and therefore profound effect, corroding Christianity in the soul before it has even had a chance to grow.” In the same year, the future German pope reiterated, “Thank you very much for your courageous commitment against occultism and magic!”
Against this background, the statement by the archiepiscopal authority, which defended the Harry Potter liturgy in advance, amounts to an admission of failure: “The standard, focus, and goal of the planned liturgy of the word” were and remain — according to the diocese’s narrative — “the word of God and the Christian message.” The literary references allegedly served “exclusively as didactic points of reference to open up biblical content and make it understandable.”
The hypocrisy went even further: They “do not relativize or water down the interpretation of the Gospel” but rather support “a responsible, contemporary, and at the same time theologically sound proclamation.”
The sacred character of the service and “the dignity of the church interior” remained “fully preserved,” according to the real-life satire from Cathedral Square.
We firmly reject this desolate verbal smokescreen, which is an insult to human reason!
We vehemently protest against the abuse of the house of God and the decadent pseudo-liturgy!
We urgently call on all those responsible for this irreverent spectacle to repent and do penance!
The Lord of His Church has retribution ready, as documented in the Holy Scriptures with the cleansing of the temple (cf. John 2:13-17).