Halloween | Harmless fun, or path to eternal damnation?

Attard and Balzan residents have been warned. Through an anonymous letter distributed to residents of Attard and the surrounding areas - and which purports to be an official Church document – parents have been apprised of the dangers of allowing their children to partake in Halloween celebrations, dress up in costumes and go out ‘trick or treating’.

“Halloween is a pagan feast that goes against the Catholic faith, in God and eternal life. Halloween celebrations involve grave dangers,” the missive ominously warns.

It further states that ‘tricking or treating’ - among other Halloween traditions – celebrate “the culture of death which pushes children and youths towards the world of magic and attacks the faith”… opening doors which could lead towards participation in satanic rituals.

The author of the letter, writing on behalf of the Church as a whole, blames Halloween for pushing people towards “sadism, sexual violence, Satanism, torture, mutilation and violent murder.”

The fear that is instilled in young children as a result of Halloween celebrations could leave “emotional damage”, and it is up to parents to protect their children and “choose the road to Christ above everything.”

It is debatable whether this sombre message originated from any official arm of the Catholic Church… but this is certainly not the first accusation to the effect that popular culture and ‘pagan’ celebrations put easily influenced children in harm’s way:… in Malta as well as the rest of the world.

As far back as 1995 a Diocesan Commission for Occult and Satanism was set up to investigate the issue, and similarly warned parents and Youth Clubs across the article against Halloween celebrations.  The secretary for the Commission, Rev Marcello Ghirlando, in 2005 said that “partaking in Halloween celebrations, even if on a superficial level is still wrong because it becomes a sign of openness towards neo-pagan culture and dabbling in the culture of the occult.”

Harry Potter – the Devil’s right hand man?

In 2002 the Archbishop’s Curia issued a reminder on the Catholic Church’s teaching regarding witchcraft and sorcery, after the release of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books, films and accompanying merchandise.

Quoting teachings of the Catholic Church the Curia said that "all forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to ‘unveil’ the future are to be rejected", and warned parents that they are obliged to bring up their children to be aware of the severe consequences of dabbling with the occult, even at pre-entry level.

JK Rowling dismissed such criticisms saying in an interview with The Daily Mirror that she had never met a child who thanked her for writing the books because it made them aware of their aspirations to become a wizard or a witch.

At the time when yoga was taking the western world by storm in the mid-1980s, the Church warned people against the practice as it creates an altered state of mind, both passive and alert that may lead a person to stray toward the teachings of Satan. Yoga encourages man to see himself as God, a belief that leaves him open to satanic possession.

Despite earlier warnings, however, many yoga studios have been set up, none of which have reported satanic followings.