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Harry Potter Fanatics Lash Out at Pope, Michael O'Brien, LifeSiteNews Over Criticism of Novels

Commentary by John-Henry Westen Editor and Steve Jalsevac Managing Director

TORONTO, August 23, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - LifeSiteNews receives angry and often hate-filled responses to its news reports on mainly three subjects.

The most hateful and threatening come from gay activists. Apparently, some cannot tolerate objective news reports containing information that in any way contradicts savoured personal opinion. For such, our news reports are "hate", even though hate or even anger is never intended in any LifeSiteNews report. We challenge them to point out where our reports include "hate" but the challenge is never answered because it can't. We just report alternative news that mainstream media refuse to report or distort.

Second, are the angry emails from abortion and population control activists. That has always been expected given the massive deceit and manipulation used for decades to advance their anti-human agendas which we regularly expose. Their control of the mainstream media is no longer as useful as it used to be.

Third has been the bizarre response to our Harry Potter reports, which most will have difficulty finding in the mainstream media or even in many orthodox religious publications. That is our role, to report what most media will not report.

It seems that every time LifeSiteNews publishes an article with an alternative view that is critical of the Harry Potter series we get a flurry of angry and sometimes downright hateful emails from Harry Potter devotees.  Our latest, an article by Canadian Catholic novelist Michael D. O'Brien, which we published Monday was no exception. (See "Harry Potter and 'the Death of God'" http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/aug/07082003.html )
A few of our more colourful responses included scathing ad hominem attacks and a wish for curses on O'Brien, reference to LifeSiteNews.com as a "filthy publication" and Pope Benedict XVI as "a Nazi". 

Comments related to the Pope are likely due to the letters - first published online by LifeSiteNews.com - which he wrote praising a German Harry Potter critic for her work in pointing out the dangers in the Potter series. (See "Pope Opposes Harry Potter Novels - Signed Letters from Cardinal Ratzinger Now Online") http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/jul/05071301.html

Someone identifying him/herself as Ant Johnson wrote:

"To whom it may concern:

Honestly, I found, not just your recent article by Michael D. O'Brien, "North America's foremost Potter critic"--a laughable distinction to be sure--but all of his poorly misguided efforts at measured, non-dogmatic criticism to be pathetic and more than a little jealous. It's the sort of archaic thought O'Brien so classically illustrates in his articles that sends droves of people heading for aisles mid-sermon at Sunday morning mass.  Or maybe it's because your pope was at one point a Nazi, and in many ways, still is.

With the sincerest of regards, Ant Jonhson"

Apparently a Gnostic took issue with O'Brien's position that Gnosticism is presented in the Potter books:

"I don't see the Gnostic worldview in the Harry Potter books. I know, I am one.

    Because the Old Testament is the book of the evil one, we Gnostics are not allowed by Jesus to engage in imprecatory prayer which is common now amongst the Catholic Churches allies in the Evangelical movement.

    Does the catholic church allow imprecatory prayer? Not officially, but you always have it if you want. Imprecatory prayer is Black Magic.

    The Orthodox church, not the Gnostics are practicing Witchcraft. Michael is a deceiver but its ok, because the ways of Saklas-Satan are seductive, so its easy to forgive him.

    In Jesus name.
   Titus Andronicus"

And finally John Wohn in Austin Texas wrote:

"I hope that every witches' coven in the US casts spells to curse Michael O'Brien and everyone who works for your filthy publication."

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