Reverend Ron Barker removed all of the Harry Potter books from St. Joseph's Catholic School in Wakefield Massachusetts."This is a parochial school and I have the moral authority to do this," he said in an interview with FOXNews.com. "For some people, reading those books is a vehicle to become involved in the occult. ... My basic premise is for the spiritual protection of the children."
Some of the parents complained and petitioned Barker in a letter to put the Harry Potter books back in the school's library. From the letter:
"We must allow our children the space to discover how to make correct moral choices on their own," the parents wrote. "While we recognize that some fear that Harry Potter books may lead to the practice of Wicca and Satanism, we respectfully disagree that such fears warrant the removal of reading material from the school library."Barker responded with these words:
"I’m not preventing people from buying the books," Barker said. "I’m not marching down to the public library demanding that they burn the books. I'm protecting from what could be a danger to some people. Evil is very seductive."... "If there's a possibility for one getting involved, it's good to protect that one," he said.Source
So why did Reverend Barker wait until the series was complete before he decided that the influence of sorcery and witchcraft was too evil to be allowed in the Catholic school library? Obviously the announcement from J.K. Rowling that Dumbledore was gay had more to do with it then sorcery. But I guess it's safer to blame the witchcraft element than to admit to being a homophobic.
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