He's the much-adored fantasy character who's caught the imagination of an entire generation - perceived as the ultimate youth icon, J K Rowling's Harry Potter continues to weave his magic on the 'Muggle' world. But the teen wizard's charm doesn't seem to have rubbed off on the Pope.Reviving the long standing Good vs Evil debate, the Vatican has now dubbed J K Rowling's Potter as ''the wrong kind of hero'' who has led youngsters to an "unhealthy interest" in satanism.
In a damning article, the Vatican's mouthpiece L'Osservatore Romano has slammed the Potter series claiming they posed a danger to children of the world as they promoted witchcraft and occult.
But the Vatican's stand is not surprising; Pope Benedict XVI, a hardline theologian made his displeasure for the teen wizard vocal last year when he wrote the Potter books were a "subtle seduction'' that undermined children's religious development by blurring the line between good and evil:
"...a subtle seduction, which has deeply unnoticed and direct effects in undermining the soul of Christianity before it can really grow properly" the Pope, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, had written.
The latest comments have also have been spurred on by J K Rowling's recent disclosure that Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore is gay - a complete anathema to the Catholic Church.
But the Vatican's disapproval is unlikely to dent Harry Petter's fan following. For die hard fans not even the Pope can dent the image of their hero.
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