Can Anybody Read Italian?

Catholic News Service posted a short article today about a written debate over the morality of Harry Potter. Christians and Catholics are often portrayed as beating their Bibles and proclaiming that HP is Teh Ebil, but here's what one Catholic had to say:

The stories, he said, teach young people "without moralizing" that material riches, immortality and anything obtained without effort "are illusions and that what truly counts is commitment, friendship and love."

"It is not power, not success, not an easy life that lead to the truest and deepest joy, but friendship, self-giving and adhering to the truth," he said.

Of course, the other side talked about the way JKR glorified manipulation, trickery, and gnostic principles. Still, it was nice to see some of my favorite things (speaking as a Catholic) about HP laid out like that.

For more fairly awesome Christian themes in HP, check out The Secrets of Harry Potter podcast, which was started by a Catholic priest from the Netherlands.