Da Vinci Code damaging faith - official

  It's official: the Da Vinci Code has damaged faith in the doctrines of Christianity as taught by the Roman Catholic Church. See the full ORB poll carried out by Austen Ivereigh's Da Vinci Code Response Group here. Full story below. To the left is a Da Vinci-style poster of the chapter of Manchester Cathedral, which is planning a Da Vinci Mass at the end of the month. The organiser, Canon Robin Gamble, second from right, who will be 'starring' as Opus Dei 'monk' Silas, reassures me that he does not wear a cilice, ever, not even in Lent.  Gamble is promsing a 'deep, unusual form of prayer mass experience' on 30 May. The film opens at Cannes on Wednesday - see our Times Online story here. See and comment on my own review from Tuesday night's moviepress preview here.

Earlier this year, we had the extraordinary Easter 'Passion' march in Manchester. I can only speculate that having the BBC religious affairs department up there has given the clergy up there a dramatic new media awareness. Here is the real poster on which the Manchester chapter modelled itself. Later tonight and tomorrow, I'll be posting comments on the film from Catholics and others at the press screening.

My own theory is that the film is tapping into a deep, residual anti-Catholic prejudice in Anglo-Saxon society. A conspiracy involving both the Catholic Church and sex is impossible to ignore. Some of the prejudice might be deserved of course, not just against the Catholic church but against Christianity generally. Many woman brought up immersed in the Christian religion will have tales to tell of emerging into adolescence while struggling to achieve the impossible and contradictory task of emulating the ideal enshrined in the Christian role model for girls, a woman who is at once and eternally Virgin and Mother. It can be little surprise to the Church that so many women seem to prefer the image of a Magdalene, once her mythical associations with prostitution are dispelled, as bride of Christ and mother of His children. And the Church must see, surely, that the image of a fallen woman who finds salvation and becomes a mother is so much more preferable to that of a woman who remains a virgin even after giving birth. That is the problem the Catholic Church is up against, and it is not yet clear how well an organisation run by celibate men is going to be able deal with this. I am not being partisan or anti-Catholic in spelling this out, just stating one of the fundamental issues as I see it. I started out by dismissing this book as mere fiction, but now realise that this was a mistake. Fiction or not, the ramifications of this phenomenon could be with us for a long time.

Meanwhile, I can reveal that the legal action for plagiarism against Dan Brown might not be over yet. The two authors who lost their plagiarism action against Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown are seeking leave to appeal. Mr Justice Peter Smith threw out the allegation by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh that Brown lifted 'the complete architecture' of their 1982 book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Asked for leave to appeal, the judge refused, leaving the authors with a legal bill of more than £1.8 million. But now their solicitor Paul Sutton has lodged papers seeking leave to appeal with the Court of Appeal.

Mr Baigent has parted company with Random House, the publishers he shared with Brown. His latest book, The Jesus Papers, was published last week by HarperCollins. He told me: 'We felt we had to take the action because we felt our intellectual property had been unfairly exploited. If it came up tomorrow, I would do the same thing again.' He said he had the assets available to pay his legal bills but denied strongly that he had been motivated by money and confessed he had never imagined the case would get to court. 'I worked out that we would have to sell nine million copies of Holy Blood, Holy Grail to pay the bill,' he said.

  But the controversy around this book it seems will never cease, and it appears the Catholic Church is right to be concerned. The Da Vinci Code has damaged public faith in traditional Christian doctrine with three in five people now believing that Jesus could have fathered children with Mary Magdalene, according to the new survey mentioned at the top of this post. The poll by leading public relations experts in the Roman Catholic Church shows that the book, which has sold more than 40 million copies and made author Dan Brown a multi-millionaire, has seriously dented trust in the claims of the Church.

The survey was published on the eve of the premiere of the movie at Cannes and indicates that church leaders who are tempted to dismiss the book and film as nothing more than fiction, and therefore not to be taken seriously, might need to reassess their approach. Nearly four out of ten people believed the Church was engaged in a 2000-year conspiracy to cover up the truth. The Da Vinci Code Response Group, which commissioned the survey, is calling for a 'health warning' at the start of the film. Opus Dei has also repeatedly requested a disclaimer that the film is fiction not fact, but Sony has given no indication that it will heed this request.

Opinion Research Business surveyed 1000 adults in Britain and found that more than one in five had read the book. They were twice as likely to believe that Jesus Christ fathered children after reading The Da Vinci Code and four times as likely to think of the Catholic organisation Opus Dei as a murderous sect. The response group, coordinated by Austen Ivereigh, the Archbishop of Westminster’s Director for Public Affairs and which includes a Benedictine abbot, a Jesuit priest, theologians, members of Opus Dei and other lay people, said the survey underscores the "astonishing popularity" of the novel. But it also shows "the vulnerability of millions to Brown’s mixture of fact and fiction," the group said.

Of those who had read the book, nearly one in three believed the Priory of Sion is a real medieval organisation instead of one invented in the mid-20th century. Nearly one-fifth of those who had read the book believed that the Catholic organisation Opus Dei had ordered or carried out a murder, compared with fewer one in 20 non-readers. 'Our poll shows that for many, many people the Da Vinci Code is not just entertainment,' said Dr Ivereigh. 'For many it is just fiction. But an alarming number of people take its spurious claims very seriously indeed.'

The group wants Sony to make clear that the film is fiction when it is released worldwide on Friday. The film’s director, Ron Howard, last week rejected that call, arguing that the film no more needed a fiction disclaimer than a spy thriller.

Jack Valero, spokesman for Opus Dei UK, is understandably put out: 'Since we were founded in 1928 Opus Dei has promoted the highest moral standards at work, spreading a message of Christian love and understanding. Yet the Da Vinci Code has persuaded hundreds of thousands of people that we have blood on our hands.' Opus Dei has been careful to avoid calls for protests or boycotts, while taking advantage of the organisation’s new notoriety to make it better known. Recruits have actually increased, thanks to DVC.

'We have been saying that the Da Vinci Code is harmless fun as long as you don’t take it seriously,' Ivereigh said. 'But it will be hard for Catholics to enjoy the film knowing that hundreds of thousands do take it seriously.'

Among those Catholics protesting against the film is the nun who picketed Lincoln cathedral during filming of key scenes and who is protested against filming of The Da Vinci Code in the UK is to continue her campaign with a prayer vigil at the movie premiere on the French Riviera. Sister Mary Michael, who first confronted superstar Tom Hanks last year as he shot climactic scenes from the controversial blockbuster, is flying out to Cannes armed with 100 French copies of the Catholic prayer book The Rosary. She said: 'I wasn’t going to do another protest over the film, because I didn’t think it was necessary. But the world needs to know where we stand. We have to side with the truth. Anyone who has studied theology knows the so-called evidence and theory in the book and the film are not true.'

ruth gledhill

Comments

[Amit]

"Da_vinci_mass_poster_a4_low_res_4It's official: the Da Vinci Code has damaged faith in the doctrines of Christianity as taught by the Roman Catholic Church."

I mean no disrespect to anyone when I say this but what has a book and movie got to do with the faith of the people? The Catholic Church as an organisation need to re-examine their beliefs and principals and the way they present and conduct their teachings. Blame is usually used as a tool by people who feel like they're losing control, is that the case with the Catholic Church? My question would be: Were they trying to assert some type of control in the first place? Surely that in itself is a sign of severe insecurity.

[William Boyd]

I had a love-hate relationship with "The Da Vinci Code". My first impression of the book was how badly written it was. Then I really got into it, before ultimately being disillusioned by some extremely simplistic 'puzzles' and the seemingly rushed ending.

Will it damage the church? People will continue to believe what they want and as result I don't imagine the number of traditional christians (those that believe in the crucifixion) to be greatly affected. Church-goers have been on the decline for many years and I don't believe that this book/film will encourage more people to stop going.

[Richard Stevens]

I loved the book and am looking forward to the film.

To me the message is that the Bible was written thousands of years ago by men wanting to flout their own agendas. This like other religions seems to be to reduce women to second class (or even worse, non class) citizens ( I am very much a hetro sexual man by the way) and to spout all this pathetic gibberish.

I wish that nn this day and age people grow up and stop believing in this rubbish. Its a book(the bible) written by men thats all its more of a myth and a story than the Da Vinci Code.

I would ban religion its going to be the un doing of this planet and the source of all hatred and wars this world has ever seen

I wish the world would just grow up and stop relying on this mumbo jumbo just to get through the day.

[Major John White, MCIPR]

You may remember me meeting you at the London Rotary Club several years ago. I find all this stuff about the De Vinci Code
interesting, but one has to remember it is fiction and has to read as such.

[Hettie]

I think that everyone would get angry and do whatever they can to protect their belief. It might make them look silly, and they might play into the hands who believe in the things in DVC, but can they help but react?

Wish people were taught proper history (including the history of the church in Europe at least and some heretic movements - it does not have to be at Master's level) in school so they could put all this in context as opposed to having heard something exciting and falling for it like it was the revelation of the century/millenium...

[Edmund Burke]

The relevant books have been in libraries for centuries. What this film demonstrates is that intelligent young people are growing tired of glossy paperback novels and want to dig into something more intellectual. Fair enough. But before they go on the rampage about a "conspiracy theory" to suppress "the truth", let them do their research with due scholarship.

[Dr. Irene Lancaster]

I normally get into enough trouble when posting my comments about Judaism and/or Israel on your blog, even though I know a bit about them.

However, I felt I had to venture into new territory, by expressing my absolute astonishment and delight at seeing my very good friends and neighbours from the Manchester Cathedral Chapter (please explain the derivation of that word: is it to do with when we actually read books for pleasure?)in their Da Vinci pose.

Brilliant.

And Canon Theologian, Dr. Andrew Shanks, co-presented the first in a three-part series on Interfaith Dialogue in the 21st Cenury last night at MMU, and he still didn't let on.

What he did say, though, based on his excellent new book, FAITH IN HONESTY, was that belief is related linguistically to 'love' and not to 'opinion'; that religions should not be considered as rival blocs; and that the British invented Hinduism as part of their divide and rule policy during the Raj. Oh, and that the new craze for spirituality was in danger of becoming mere escapism, as religious communities were about belonging and a specific history. And I couldn't agree with him more.

And I also know Anne, the Bishop of Manchester's Chaplain (I am sure she will be a Bishop one day: there, I've said it) and Robin, the Canon Evangelical, who together with the very nice Anglican University Chaplain, Terry, invited me to do a session on how rabbis write their sermons. And their own sermons on that occasion were amazing.

And so I hope that your posting and their pose will attract more people to Manchester's beautiful Cathedral, because as cities go, I am sure that nowhere beats Manchester for good Anglican-Jewish relations, give or take a Suffragan Bishop or two.

And long may it continue.

More about last night's Interfaith Dialogue session and other matters here can be accessed here:

http://irenelancaster.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/05/giving_up_the_g.html

[Alistair McBay]

Ruth, come off it!

A survey commissioned by the religious finds DVC is damaging to religion? That's not news. This is "man bites dog" territory! Dog bites man - not news. Man bites dog - Wow! News! Where's your journalism training gone?

What would have been worthy of your critical reasoning would have been a survey commissioned by the religious that found DVC book and film NOT damaging to religion. There may be a secular survey that does just that along it a minute, but I very much doubt it. This survey you tout is a bit like MacDonalds telling us their survey says burgers are good for you.

All this "news" will do is fuel more interest in the film, and make the religious look even sillier. Hence no need for a secular survey in response - the Church is quite capable of making itself look utterly dumb without any help from the likes of me!

[Fr. Greg Blevins]

IMHO, the long and loud protests of our Roman brothers and sisters play into the hands of those who believe this nonsense, making it seem as though the former have something to hide, thus adding a sheen of unwarranted validity to ideas which, on their face, are rubbish.

M'shlama,
Fr. Greg Blevins, Antiochian Catholic Church in America, an independent Syriac Orthodox jurisdiction