Vatican debates Harry Potter

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican newspaper L "Osservatore Romano dedicated a full page in its Jan. 14-15 issue to the debate about the novels by J.K. Rowling. The Italian translation of the last novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released in early January.

Paolo Gulisano, a physician and the author of a biography of J.R.R. Tolkien, said that the Harry Potter books counter the individualism of the modern age by making a hero era boy "guided by moral values such as the choice of good, giving, sacrifice, friendship and love." The stories, he said, teach young people "without moralizing."

But Edoardo Rialti, a professor of English literature at the University of Florence, said the books "communicate a vision of the world and of the human person that is full of profound errors and dangerous suggestions."

He said the books teach that "evil is good" and that violence, lying, trickery and manipulation can be positive if used to obtain something good.

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