NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WCMH) — Students at a Nashville Catholic school can no longer check out Harry Potter books from their school’s library.
The fantasy series by J.K Rowling chronicles the life of young wizard, Harry Potter and his friends at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
St. Edward Catholic School opened a new library for the 2019-2020 school year, The Tennessean reported. The books were removed when the school moved from the old library to the new library.
In an email to parents, Rev. Dan Reehill, the pastor of the church associated with the school said, “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.”
Reehill said in the email that he consulted with several exorcists who recommended removing the books. The process of removing them started after an inquiry from a parent, according to the Catholic Diocese of Nashville.
According to the diocese, the church does not have an official position on the series, but the school’s pastor has the final say about its presence, the Tennessean reported.
