‘Harry Potter church service’ at German Catholic parish receives over 500 complaints

HERNE, Germany (LifeSiteNews) — German Catholics are protesting against a “Harry Potter church service” scheduled to take place inside a Catholic church.

Catholic faithful have sent hundreds of emails to the Archdiocese of Paderborn in protest of a planned ecumenical “Harry Potter service” at the Herz Jesu Church in Herne.

The service is a cooperation between the Evangelical church community Haranni and the Catholic Archdiocese of Paderborn and is scheduled for February 28. According to the leaflet for the event referencing several Harry Potter themes, the service is aimed at “fans and Hogwarts newbies” who call themselves “young or grown-up adults in the Muggle world.”

It promises “a magical evening between candles, light, and darkness, showing us how hope takes shape.” The plan entails setting the scene “with butterbeer and treats from the ‘honey pot,’” and guests are invited to wear costumes.

The Catholic lay group Christkönigtum (Christ the King) started a campaign to get the archdiocese to cancel the event. According to Christkönigtum spokesperson Kevin Mis, several hundred protest emails have been sent via the association’s website.

“Through our lay apostolate Christkönigtum, we launched a mail campaign,” Mis told LifeSiteNews. “More than 500 complaint emails reached the Archdiocese of Paderborn. Bishop Dr. [Udo] Bentz was informed, and a complaint management department was brought into the matter. An official statement was announced regarding the planned Harry Potter ‘service.’”

“Through Catholic media websites, officials of the diocese stated that it will take place,” he continued. “They speak of ‘individual’ faithful who had complained, as if it were nothing significant.”

“This is a scandal,” Mis said in his statement to LifeSiteNews. “The Catholic Church in Germany is burning, and they are adding fuel to the fire.”

In a statement given to CNA Deutsch, the Archdiocese of Paderborn defended the Harry Potter event: “Our societies are becoming increasingly secular. Knowledge of the Christian faith is declining and can no longer be taken for granted.”

“Familiar images and stories from contemporary culture can help to open up initial approaches to the Christian faith and build bridges to the Holy Scriptures.” That is why those responsible “drew on motifs from the well-known and popular Harry Potter series for an ecumenical service of the Word.”

“It is unmistakable that literary narratives such as Harry Potter are not a source of faith and are in no way on a par with Holy Scripture,” the archdiocese stated. “The standard, focus, and goal of the planned service are and remain the Word of God and the Christian message.”

The literary references served “exclusively as didactic points of reference to open up biblical content and make it understandable.” They “do not relativize or water down the interpretation of the Gospel,” the archdiocese wrote, but rather support “a responsible, contemporary, and at the same time theologically sound proclamation.”

The sacred character of the service and “the dignity of the church interior remain fully preserved,” the archdiocese claimed.

According to the archdiocese, this type of worship service has already been tried out in other dioceses and has been “well received.” At the same time, they note that “some believers have expressed questions and concerns in connection with the announcement of the worship service.” These will be “taken seriously and incorporated into the further planning and design of the worship service.”