Nashville Private Catholic School Bans ‘Harry Potter’ Book Series Over ‘Curses and Spells’

“These books present magic as both good and evil, which is not true, but in fact a clever deception,” school pastor Rev. Dan Reehil writes

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St. Edward Catholic School, a private Roman Catholic school in Nashville, Tennessee, has removed “Harry Potter” books from its library due to its content, in particular, the “curses and spells” that its pastor said are in the books.

In an email obtained by The Tennessean, Rev. Dan Reehil, a pastor at the school, stated that “These books present magic as both good and evil, which is not true, but in fact a clever deception. The curses and spells used in the books are actual curses and spells; which when read by a human being risk conjuring evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the text.”

Additionally, Reehil said that he consulted with exorcists in the United States and Italy before making the determination that the books about a boy wizard and his friends should be removed.

Rebecca Hammel, the superintendent of schools for the Catholic Diocese of Nashville, told The Tennessean that “Each pastor has canonical authority to make such decisions for his parish school,” and that “He’s well within his authority to act in that manner.”

She also told the paper that she thinks that the “Harry Potter” books remain in other libraries in the diocese.

A rep for St. Edward Catholic School and Hammel did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.

The first “Harry Potter” book was published in 1997, but love for the series — and its movie spinoffs — has endured through 2019. A mobile app for Potterheads just launched in June.

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