Everyone loves Harry Potter... even the Pope

There have been millions of websites that are mourning the loss of Pope John Paul II's passing, so I will stay away from any direct commentary on it. However, I recently learned that The Leaky Cauldron, an excellent HP-related news site, marked his passing by quoting a statement the Vatican made in 2003 regarding the Harry Potter books, which have been villified by many radical religious organzations as teaching "anti-Christian ideology:"

"I don't see any, any problems in the Harry Potter series...I don't think there's anyone in this room who grew up without fairies, magic and angels in their imaginary world...They aren't bad. They aren't serving as a banner for an anti-Christian ideology...If I have understood well the intentions of Harry Potter's author, they help children to see the difference between good and evil...And she is very clear on this...[JKR is] Christian by conviction, is Christian in her mode of living, even in her way of writing."

I may not have agreed with his views on everything (I'm not Catholic, anyway), but I feel surprising relief that the most prominent voice in the Catholic religion was able to see the books for what they are and did not shy from responding to the traditional criticism of radical Christian groups. For that in particular, I salute him, and I wish him well, wherever he's off to now.

Still, considering his near-divinity on earth, I wonder - Do you think he knew how the story ends?