Iraputo,

I don't know how the details, my previous posts were on the front page, but I don't know how they got they or stayed there. If you have ideas let me know. More importantly, if you can help us get the votes on facebook, I'd be much appreciative!

Peace,

Fr. Brian

Sadly, I get the impression that some posters here are more interested in attacking me rather than engaging in an intellectual and faithful discussion. I am particularly creeped out by the person who responds by posting biographical information.

Therefore, I am going to politely bow out of this conversation.

I apologize to those whose interest was more sincere, and am willing to continue the conversation in a different forum.

@kfarley - two points I disagree with you on. First that of referring to Dumbledore as a sodomite. You seem to hold the position that a gay person, even if celibate, is a sodomite. In the books you will see no evidence that Dumbledore ever acted on his sexual orientation.

Secondly, I am always wary of people who claim to speak for Jesus (i.e. Jesus would not endorse this movie, Jesus would cry if he heard that, Jesus would ...). The hard facts are that the Vatican has not condemned these books in an official capacity. Either the Vatican is not doing its job (unlikely) or the Vatican is not interested in making an official proclamation against these books/movies.

Because there is no magisterial teaching on the matter, Catholics are in fact permitted to use their judgment in discerning whether or not to read the books / see the movies.

You are in fact correct that at times the Devil masquerades as a man of peace, but at times people think they see the devil even where he is not present.

Peace,

Fr. Brian

Iraputo - Thanks for the level-headed reply. I don't much care for the fights that end up in name calling, etc. But I do enjoy academic discussions about such matters.

I actually just posted an article on www.workingtobeathell.org in defense of Harry Potter. I was going to wait until next week, but figured it is probably more timely this week.

Peace,

Fr. Brian

Kfarley,

I have to disagree with your assessment. Even the Vatican newspaper gave it a favorable review (implying that they saw the movie) See: www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1102767.htm

Also you have some facts wrong as well. She did not say that Harry Potter was gay (in fact the story ends with him being married with 3 kids). She did state that she always believed Dumbledore was gay.

Now remember that the Church does not say that being gay is sinful, but that sexually acting out in a homosexual manner is immoral. Interesting enough, Dumbledore lives as the Catholic Church suggests homosexuals should live (i.e. celibate lives). In fact, JKR's comment received a lot of negative reaction from the gay activist community because Dumbledore was not "gay enough" i.e. being gay was not his defining characteristic, he was celibate, and never felt the need to broadcast his sexuality to everyone he met (for more on this topic you can see my article at www.workingtobeathell.org/viewarticle.asp on this topic).

The type of witchcraft in the book is NOT the same as wicca or other cults. In fact it is not a religion at all. There is no worship of any gods.

Catholic.com also has several good and balanced articles on this topic. I will also post one next week (need to run a different article this week) on Working To Beat Hell as well (www.workingtobeathell.org).

Peace,

Fr. Brian

@ SBpfu - I dp not prefer to call this my version, but rather the Church's version, and if She is to be believed, God's version. If it were my version, no one should be watching this.

Abramo - I think we need to be careful about saying anyone is going to hell. The Church has issued strong warnings to people, but has been very cautious not to say outright that we know a person is going to be or is in Hell. Rather, "in Hope the Church prays for 'all men to be saved.'" (CCC 1821). My approach is rather than saying we know certain people are going to hell, we should pray for the conversion of sinners, including each other.

Peace,

Fr. Brian Carpenter

@TES - I hope to post more videos. This was my first ever attempt. I realize I don't have the equipment I'd like to have, just a web cam. And after watching the video, I know i need to stop looking at the screen and look at the webcam, but when recording I keep trying to make eye contact with my image on the screen, and then when I look at the cam, I keep worrying that I will move off-frame or something like that. So I still need practice. I am glad this was so well received, and that I found this site!

Peace,

Fr. Brian Carpenter

I am a priest of the Diocese of Rochester, NY. I am not certain what the Archdiocese of NY did. So I don't want to speculate on that.

We probably needed to have a statewide campaign encompassing all NY dioceses that provided the people with education and concrete actions that they could take. Unfortunately this was not done. I don't pretend to know the logistics behind this, or how it could have been done.

I saw a lot of posts on social media sites, which is what ultimately led to this video. I also added some articles to WorkingToBeatHell.org, where I am the Editor-In-Chief. But in terms of broader, diocesan wide or archdiocesan wide effort, that did not happen and is an area where we truly need to learn to 1. Work together and 2. act promptly when such issues arise. Again, I don't know if the Bishops discussed this, if they thought each diocese should do it's own thing, or if they tried to do something and it just didn't get filtered down fast enough.

Peace,

Fr. Brian Carpenter

I just learned of this site today (How I hadn't heard of it before I don't know).

Thank you all for the support. It is nice to find a place where I get positive feedback!

@Irapuato - thank you for posting this here. I think it's had more views here than anywhere else. How did you find it in the first place may I ask?

@imganna - Keep fighting the good fight. Remember Christ has already won the victory. It may not always feel that way, but it's true, so don't give up!

Peace,

Fr. Brian Carpenter