Riot Headline Book Riot’s 2025 Read Harder Challenge
News

Catholic Priests In Poland Burn HARRY POTTER

A Catholic fringe group in Poland has burned a number of books and cultural items, including titles from the Harry Potter fantasy series.

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Anna Gooding-Call

Staff Writer

Anna Gooding-Call is a librarian and writer originally from rural central New York. She got her BA in the city that inspired "The Twilight Zone" and confirms that the hitchhikers really are weird there. Today, she lives in Massachusetts with her wife and two cats.

View All posts by Anna Gooding-Call

The Hill reports today that a group of Catholic priests in Poland have burned a number of books in a religious censorship effort, including Harry Potter titles. The group, which goes by SMS From Heaven, conducted the book burning in the city of Gdansk, posting images on Facebook. The accompanying post quoted the books of Acts and Deuteronomy, referencing Bible passages that condemn magic.

SMS From Heaven is based in Koszalin, a city near Gdansk. While the nation of Poland is heavily Catholic, response to the burning on social media has not been uniform. Many Facebook comments have been sharply critical of the priests’ actions.

It is currently not clear exactly how many books were burned by SMS From Heaven, or what their titles are. Non-literary cultural and artistic items, such as an elephant statue and an African tribal mask, also appeared to have been added to the fire pit.