Harry Potter removed from US Catholic school library

Reverend Dan Reehill, the pastor of St Edward Catholic School in Nashville, Tennessee, says he consulted with Vatican exorcists before banning the books from its library

File photo. The seven-book print set of Harry Potter books autographed by author J.K. Rowling are seen at the National Braille Press in Boston, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007.
AP

File photo. The seven-book print set of Harry Potter books autographed by author J.K. Rowling are seen at the National Braille Press in Boston, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007.

A Catholic school in Tennessee has removed the Harry Potter books from its library after the school's priest decided they could cause a reader to conjure evil spirits.

In an email obtained by The Tennessean, the Rev. Dan Reehil of Nashville's St. Edward Catholic School said he consulted exorcists in the US and Rome who recommended removing the books.

Reehil wrote, "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."

Catholic Diocese of Nashville superintendent Rebecca Hammel said Reehil has the final say at his school.

Hammel said she thinks the books by J.K. Rowling are still on the shelves of other libraries in the diocese.

"Should parents deem that this or any other media to be appropriate we would hope that they would just guide their sons and daughters to understand the content through the lens of our faith," Hammel said.

"We really don't get into censorship in such selections other than making sure that what we put in our school libraries is age-appropriate materials for our classrooms."

The goal is to promote engaging, quality literature and enjoyment of reading in hopes of building students' skills and knowledge, she said. 

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