Albus Dumbledore is Gay? - A Catholic Christian's Response Brian Carpenter Author J.K.

Rowling's stunned the Harry Potter fandom when she declared that Albus Dumbledore is gay to a live audience at Carnegie Hall. For any other author, I would consider this a ploy to generate more media buzz and therefore dollar signs. However, I cannot see money being the motive for the richest woman in England. After all, it is as if her series has been wanting for readership and sales. What then is her motivation? This I cannot answer with any degree of authority. But having defended the Harry Potter series to many Catholics and fundamental Christians alike, I must admit that this announcement does not help my cause. It seems that J.K. Rowling is either looking to pick a fight by introducing this claim without any supporting evidence in the books, or perhaps she is using this claim to push her own political agenda. In either case, it makes the work of those of us Christians who believe the Harry Potter series can be deemed appropriate reading material all the more difficult. At the same time, we would be remiss if we did not take this opportunity to address some basic Catholic beliefs in regard to this shocking news. I fully expect to hear reactionary responses from fundamentalist Christian groups and uneducated Catholics in the upcoming days. I am certain this will be another reason to demonize the Harry Potter series as a work of the devil, not only will they claim it promotes witchcraft, but homosexuality as well. All readers of this book will certainly be condemned to hell. But before we begin our book-burning ceremonies, let's take a look at what the Church teaches on some of these issues. I would like to address the most dramatic condemnations first, namely the condemnation to hell of J.K. Rowling, all her devout readers, and all homosexuals. It is important to note that while the Catholic Church does in fact hold a doctrine of Hell, it does not hold any definitive position on who is in hell. That is to say, the Church does not condemn people to hell. In fact, the Church even allows for us to hold a great hope that hell is empty. We can (and should) hope for the universal salvation of all souls. So what does the Church teach about homosexuality? First, it is important to make a distinction between homosexuality and homosexual acts. By homosexuality, we are referring to the sexual orientation of a person. This, according to the Catholic Church is a disorder, meaning that it is contrary to the natural law. However, no moral judgment is made on a person simply because they have a homosexual orientation. In fact, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says that homosexuals "must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity" (CCC 2358). Furthermore, the catechism states that homosexuals "can and should...approach Christian perfection" This hardly sounds like a condemnation to the fires of hell. What is deemed unacceptable in all circumstances is homosexual acts. The reasoning for this given by the Catechism is that such acts go against the natural order. Furthermore,

they close the sexual act to the gift of life. Thus, it is homosexual acts, and not homosexuals that the Church opposes. As a Catholic reader (and fan) of the Harry Potter series, I am troubled by J.K. Rowling's claim that Albus Dumbledore (in her mind) is gay. However, even if a fan wishes to accept the interpretation of this Character (I leave this option open as J.K. Rowling has stated that these characters are not really hers anymore, but the fans), this does not make the Harry Potter Series anathema. In fact, given that there is no evidence of Dumbledore ever engaging in homosexual acts, nor does his character ever see it fit to promote a gay lifestyle, it would seem that Dumbledore models the manner in which a person with a homosexual orientation can approach Christian perfection. His life as evidenced in the books is that of a chaste celibate male. While a champion of many counter-cultural causes, it is interesting to note that promotion of an active homosexual lifestyle is not one of these causes. As such, he can actually serve as a example (albeit fictional) of how a person can have a homosexual orientation and still live a virtuous Christian life within the bounds of Catholicism.