Blessings on Harry Potter

It may not be a miracle, but it is certainly refreshing that Pope Benedict XVI has given his blessing to the latest Harry Potter movie.

His Holiness no doubt has disappointed the fundamentalists who loathe Harry and thought the Vatican was on their side.

"The mixture of supernatural suspense and romanticism sets the right balance, making the adventures of the protagonists more credible," the pope's spokesman reportedly told the Agence France-Presse after seeing "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."

The Vatican's newspaper also gave the movie a thumbs up.

This is a welcome turnabout for the pope, who as Cardinal Ratzinger blasted Harry Potter novels in 2003 for their "subtle seductions" that had the power to "deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly."

His description did not remotely resemble the books the rest of us were reading.

For most fans, the introduction to Harry Potter began with this:

Chapter One: The Boy Who Lived.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."

Thus was born my own family's deep affection for Harry Potter in 1999, which was when my daughter got her hands on J.K. Rowling's first book in the series. I know this because of the date etched on the leaf in silver by her 12-year-old hand. "My father bought this for me," she added.

For weeks, we mere "Muggles" — Rowling's word for humans — relished the magical world of Harry Potter and his fellow wizards-in-training. We shopped for magic props in Diagon Alley, slipped onto the Hogwarts Express, soared through the air on speedy broomsticks and giggled over the mischief we'd make if we, too, had invisibility cloaks.

Over the years, we joined millions of hand-wringers big and small who waited for each subsequent book in the series.

Even on the roiling waters of adolescence, mother and daughter could find occasional calm in this mutual love for Harry.

When the movies started to roll out, my daughter refused to watch them. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Professor Dumbledore and Hagrid already had taken up residence in her heart and in her mind. Only when she was in her midteens was she willing to watch someone else's version of her magical friends.

The Harry Potter stories often borrow from Scripture, but they capture the imaginations of young people in ways that early Bible stories often don't. This rankles some conservatives, who depict Rowling as an evil temptress luring children into the world of the occult. The accusation puzzles Rowling, who is a practicing Christian.

In an October 2007 interview with MTV's Shawn Adler, she said her books were loaded with Christian imagery, including the epitaph engraved on the tombstone for Harry's parents: "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death," which is from Corinthians.

In the same interview, Rowling admitted to her own challenges with faith:

"The truth is that, like Graham Greene, my faith is sometimes that my faith will return. It's something I struggle with a lot. On any given moment, if you asked me (whether) I believe in life after death ... I think I would come down on the side of yes, that I do believe in life after death."

Churchgoing Rowling also said she took no responsibility "for the lunatic fringes of (her) own religion."

Most of us can identify with Rowling's wrestle with faith and her frustrations with those who claim superior versions.

Only the most rigid refuse to admit to occasional questions and doubts, which I've long considered crucial to a strong and vibrant faith. Fears of debate and contrary interpretations indicate a practice steeped in wishful thinking rather than in belief.

And as Harry Potter fans already know, fear brings out the worst in everybody.

Especially us Muggles.

Connie Schultz is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and the author of two books from Random House: "Life Happens" and "... and His Lovely Wife." To find out more about Connie Schultz (cschultz@plaind.com) and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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