Originally posted at http://theundergroundsite.com/index.php/2009/07/harry-potter-so-good-even-the-pope-approves/

Posted: 16 Jul 2009 09:56 AM PDT

In the past, Pope Benedict XVI has criticized British author J.K. Rowling and her popular Harry Potter series as "subtle seductions," that can lead young Christians away from their faith.

But if an article recently published by the Vatican’s official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, is any indication, it seems as if the Pope and the Vatican may be warming up to franchise.

According to the Associated Press, the Vatican gives the latest installment in the Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” a thumbs-up for its treatment of the forces of good versus darkness.

“The newspaper said the film, which opens Wednesday, was the best adaptation yet of the J.K. Rowling series about the adventures of the bespectacled child wizard Harry Potter and his Hogwarts chums as they battle Harry’s nemesis, the evil sorcerer Voldemort.”

The Vatican also gave the flick rave reviews for its realistic portrayal of adolescent love.

However, the Vatican still doesn’t approve of the fact that God is MIA in Harry Potter books and movies.

The sixth movie in the popular franchise, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” raked in the cash in a special screenings last night earning $22.2 million dollars, which was about $4 million more than last year’s other tale of good versus evil, “The Dark Knight.”

Many industry critics are expecting the film to be the biggest hit of the summer, outpacing even "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

–Tiffany Orr, The Underground managing editor