A priest in Poland has apologised after staging a public burning of Harry Potter books. 

An African wooden mask and books about magic were among the other items that went up in flames during the burning ceremony at Gdansk's Mother of Church parish on Sunday.

The objects, which also included animal figurines, were brought in for the bonfire by parishioners.  The event was reportedly to educate the faithful about the dangers of the occult. 

Photos of Rev Rafal Jarosiewicz and two altar boys watching as the items burned in a firepit were shared on social media by the Catholic foundation led by the priest, SMS z Nieba (SMS from Heaven).

The images prompted strong criticism even from other Catholics, with spokesman for the Diocese of Koszalin, the Rev Wojciech Parafianowicz, saying he "did not like this form of priestly activity, which is wrong".  Other critics drew comparisons with Nazi Germany where book burning was a tool of oppression. 

Rev Jarosiewicz has now apologised and called the book burning "unfortunate".  Photos of the event have also been removed from the organisation's Facebook page. 

In an update to Facebook, he said the book burning was not intended to condemn specific authors, religions or social groups.

"If anyone took my action this way, I would like to apologise," he wrote. 

He said that he had taken the decision to remove the photos of the incident "so that it does not generate more emotions".

"I'm very sorry once again," he added.