Dear Friends and family,

Tomorrow evening, sometime between 8 to 9 p.m. Friday, I will be a guest on a CNN program. A large segment of that hour will be a debate over the Harry Potter issue. It will be done via satellite and broadcast "live" to millions of viewers.

I am writing to you to ask for your prayers and sacrifices for this debate, that I may be able to speak my position with clarity and strength in the Holy Spirit.

Let us all ask the guardian angels of a generation of children and young readers to intercede for this intention as well.

The position of our new Holy Father Benedict XVI is also clear on the matter: This news is now spreading throughout the world, in electronic media and on the front pages of newspapers everywhere. Let us pray that his wise discernment is heeded.

Thanking you from my heart.

Gratefully in Christ victorious,

Michael O'Brien

Pope Opposes Harry Potter Novels — Signed Letters from Cardinal Ratzinger

Now Online

RIMSTING, Germany, July 13, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) -  LifeSiteNews.com has obtained and made available online copies of two letters sent by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was recently elected Pope, to a German critic of the Harry Potter novels.  In March 2003, a month after the English press throughout the world falsely proclaimed that Pope John Paul II approved of Harry Potter, the man who was to become his successor sent a letter to a Gabriele Kuby outlining his agreement with her opposition to J.K. Rowling's offerings.  (See below for links to scanned copies of the letters signed by Cardinal Ratzinger.)

As the sixth issue of Rowling's Harry Potter series - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - is about to be released, the news that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger expressed serious reservations about the novels is now finally being revealed to the English-speaking world still under the impression the Vatican approves the Potter novels.

In a letter dated March 7, 2003 Cardinal Ratzinger thanked Kuby for her "instructive" book Harry Potter - gut oder böse (Harry Potter- good or evil?), in which Kuby says the Potter books corrupt the hearts of the young, preventing them from developing a properly ordered sense of good and evil, thus harming their relationship with God while that relationship is still in its infancy.

"It is good, that you enlighten people about Harry Potter, because those are subtle seductions, which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly," wrote Cardinal Ratzinger.

The letter also encouraged Kuby to send her book on Potter to the Vatican prelate who quipped about Potter during a press briefing which led to the false press about the Vatican support of Potter. At a Vatican press conference to present a study document on the New Age in April 2003, one of the presenters — Fr. Peter Fleetwood — made a positive comment on the Harry Potter books in response to a question from a reporter.    Headlines such as "Pope Approves Potter" (Toronto Star), "Pope Sticks Up for Potter Books" (BBC), "Harry Potter Is Ok With The Pontiff" (Chicago Sun Times) and "Vatican: Harry Potter's OK with us" (CNN Asia) littered the mainstream media.

In a second letter sent to Kuby on May 27, 2003, Cardinal Ratzinger "gladly" gave his permission to Kuby to make public "my judgement about Harry Potter."

The most prominent Potter critic in North America, Catholic novelist and painter Michael O'Brien commented to LifeSiteNews.com on the "judgement" of now-Pope Benedict saying, "This discernment on the part of Benedict XVI reveals the Holy Father's depth and wide ranging gifts of spiritual discernment." O'Brien, author of a book dealing with fantasy literature for children added, "it is consistent with many of the statements he's been making since his election to the Chair of Peter, indeed for the past 20 years — a probing accurate read of the massing spiritual warfare that is moving to a new level of struggle in western civilization. He is a man in whom a prodigious intellect is integrated with great spiritual gifts. He is the father of the universal church and we would do well to listen to him."

English translations of the two letters by Cardinal Ratzinger follow:

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

Vatican City

March 7, 2003

Esteemed and dear Ms. Kuby!

Many thanks for your kind letter of February 20th and the informative book which you sent me in the same mail.  It is good, that you enlighten people about Harry Potter, because those are subtle seductions, which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly.

I would like to suggest that you write to Mr. Peter Fleetwood, (Pontifical Council of Culture, Piazza S. Calisto 16, I00153 Rome) directly and to send him your book.

Sincere Greetings and Blessings,

+ Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

Links to the scanned copies of the two signed letters by Cardinal Ratzinger

(in German) - In PDF format: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005_docs/ratzingerletter.pdf

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005_docs/ratzingerpermission.pdf

See LifeSite's Harry Potter resource section at: http://www.lifesite.net/features/harrypotter/

Prayer for John Paul II's Intercession

Published by Rome Diocese

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 23, 2005 (Zenit.org) - The Diocese of Rome published

the written prayer to implore favors through the intercession of the late

Pope John Paul II.

The prayer is being disseminated by the postulator of the cause of his beatification, Monsignor Slawomir Oder, of the Diocese of Torun, Poland. The monsignor is currently judicial vicar of the Court of Appeals of the Diocese of Rome.

In the last phase of the process of beatification, proof will be required of a miracle attributed to Karol Wojtyla's intercession. The process of beatification will officially begin June 28.

Here is the text of the prayer:

O Blessed Trinity,

We thank you for having graced the Church with Pope John Paul II and for allowing the tenderness of your Fatherly care, the glory of the cross of Christ,and the splendor of the Holy Spirit, to shine through him.

Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary,

he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd, and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal communion with you.

Grant us, by his intercession, and according to Your will, the graces we implore, hoping that he will soon be numbered among your saints. Amen.

www.markmallett.com

NEW CD RELEASE -"LET THE LORD KNOW" – July 15th, 2005

Hello everyone!

I am happy to announce (after months of no sleep and thicker grey hair) the release of my fourth full-length album: Let the Lord Know. Sixteen brand new songs of "praise and adoration" -- songs which celebrate Jesus in this, the Year of the Eucharist. They are songs for Mass, worship services, Adoration, or private devotion. It's a blend of mostly easy-listening, soul-soothing music, with the odd hand-clappin-foot-stompin' tune in between.

The album features one of Canada's hottest fiddlers, Natalie MacMaster, on the blazing praise song Lift Our Hands. As well, the gorgeous voice of Raylene Scarrott (2005 Covenant Award Winner) joins me in a duet on the

epic ballad, Love Live In Me.

I am launching the CD in the United States on the Let the Lord Know, Cross-Continental U.S. Tour. That's a fancy title which basically means my pregnant wife and I and our six kids are going to be sweating our little Canadian tooshes off in the summer heat of the southern States with 18 concerts in between. To see if I'm going to be in your State, go to: http://www.markmallett.com/Concerts.html

If you can't make one of my concerts, you can order the CD from my website http://www.markmallett.com after July 15th, or call toll-free 877-655-6245, and our lovely Patricia will gladly take your order.

Please pray for us as we turn a new corner in our ministry, for a safe journey, and for the Gospel to reach the broken-hearted!

Peace,
Mark Mallett

music@markmallett.com
www.markmallett.com

(Editor’s note: When you check out Mark’s site, be sure to look up his new Rosary CD called “Through Her Eyes”. It is a beautiful rendition of the full Rosary, sure to be a blessing to your home. It contains spoken word as well as lovely original Marian songs.)

On Friday July 15 from 8 to 9 pm on EWTN's "The World Over" program, host Raymond Arroyo is scheduled to speak with guest Fr. Joseph Fessio, editor-in-chief and founder of Ignatius Press and a former graduate student of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. They will discuss a soon-to-be released new book by Pope Benedict XVI. The program will be carried live on EWTN TV and radio (5810 khz). It will be repeated on EWTN TV on Sunday at 5 pm and Monday at 10 am and 11 pm.

The program can be heard live via Real Audio on the internet by going to:

http://www.ewtn.com/audiovideo/index.asp

After being aired, an archived version of the program can be heard by going to the following webpage and clicking on "Past programs":

http://www.ewtn.com/worldover/index.asp

“Therese – the Movie” is playing at the Rainbow Cinema, at the St. Laurent Shopping Centre, from July 15th to July 21st. For showtimes and prices (which are very cheap!) go to www.rainbowcinemas.ca

If you haven’t yet seen this movie, it is a beautiful, simple film that will touch your heart. For more information about the movie, follow the link on the Rainbow Cinemas website.

Subject: My good friend Terry Vanderheyden's blogspot.

http://seizethedei.blogspot.com/  This one short article from the blog is worth the read.

Right in Canada = Left everywhere else

For all our pride in being citizens of the world, connoisseurs of the BBC World News, and general cosmopolitan in our interests (unlike the self-absorbed Americans), Canadians, if you'll pardon the pun, can be awfully provincial. The Conservative Party in Canada, the main political opposition to the now-ruling Liberal Party, gets routinely labelled "far right" and "extremist" and it leader Stephen Harper is feared and loathed as a "right winger" by The Toronto Star/GlobeandMail/CBC media juggernaut.

Guess what? Compared to similar countries around the world, the presupposition is false. And someone smarter than me proved it. A sample

from Professor James Allan:

"In global terms, it's simply not true. Take today's Tories and Stephen Harper out of Canada and plunk them in New Zealand and they would be to

the left of Helen Clark's Labour government.

"The same goes for Australia. Compare the policies of the left-wing Labour Party there (on defence, immigration, the environment, health, education, you name it) to Canadian Tories' policies and Harper consistently stands to the left of Australian Labour, not the right."

"All I can say to that is that people down in Australia and New Zealand, even in the U.K., must be made of sterner stuff, they would never rejoice in such self-emasculation. Thank God for the natural beauty of Cape Breton and Algonquin Park. As for the politics, Canadians clearly deserve what they get."

Yes.