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Religion
See other Religion Articles

Title: Top Cardinal Blasts 'Da Vinci Code' as 'Cheap Lies'
Source: Netscape News
URL Source: http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news ... 2&dt=20050315130200&w=RTR&covi
Published: Mar 15, 2005
Author: Reuters
Post Date: 2005-03-15 17:59:13 by Mr Nuke Buzzcut
Keywords: Cardinal, Blasts, Cheap
Views: 11531
Comments: 568

Top Cardinal Blasts 'Da Vinci Code' as 'Cheap Lies'

ROME (Reuters) - A top Catholic cardinal has blasted "The Da Vinci Code" as a "gross and absurd" distortion of history and said Catholic bookstores should take the bestseller off their shelves because it is full of "cheap lies."

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, in an interview with the Milan newspaper Il Giornale, became the highest ranking Italian Churchman to speak out against the book, an international blockbuster that has sold millions of copies.

"(It) aims to discredit the Church and its history through gross and absurd manipulations," Bertone, the archbishop of the northern Italian city of Genoa and a close friend of Pope John Paul told the paper in its Monday edition.

"This seems like a throwback to the old anti-clerical pamphlets of the 1800s," he said.

The central claim of the book, written by American Dan Brown, is that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children. The Bible says Jesus never married, was crucified and rose from the dead.

Bertone's comments were significant because until the Pope named him archbishop of Genoa in 2003 he was for years the number two man at the Vatican's most powerful department - the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

"You can find that book everywhere and the risk is that many people who read it believe that those fairy tales are real," he said. "I think I have the responsibility to clear things up to unmask the cheap lies contained in books like that."

HOLY GRAIL

A central storyline of the book is that the Holy Grail is not the cup which Christ is said to have used at the Last Supper but really the bloodline descended from Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Bertone calls this idea "a perversion."

Bertone is so incensed about the novel that he will be the key speaker at a roundtable in Genoa Wednesday night attempting to dismantle the book, which also accuses the Church of covering up the female role in Christianity.

"I will try to clear things up and help form consciences," the cardinal said.

"I think that when faced with affirmations that are so shameful and unfounded, readers who have even a minimum of basic (Christian) formation should react," he said.

He said it was "sad" that even Catholic bookstores were selling The Da Vinci Code "for purely economic reasons."

One bookstore selling "The Da Vinci Code" is the one in the Gemelli Hospital, a Catholic institution where the Pope spent a total of 28 days in two stints in February and March.

In the interview, Bertone firmly rejected the book's claim that the feminine role in Christianity had been suppressed.

"This is one of the most vulgar of inventions. The feminine element is present in all the Gospels," Bertone said.

Bertone also strongly defended Opus Dei, the conservative Church organization that the book depicts as a ruthless, Machiavellian group that resorts even to murder in its attempt to keep the Church's secrets hidden.

The novel is going to reach an even wider audience next year with the release of a film based on the book staring Tom Hanks.

© Copyright Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of Reuters Ltd.

03/15/2005 13:02 RTR

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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 112.

#89. To: Mr Nuke Buzzcut (#0)

I've noticed this book [The Da Vinci Code] for quite some time. Seemed intriguing, if only for the title.

Can anyone give me a brief 1 paragraph synopsis of this book. Whats its point? I really dont want to read this book, as its very large, and quite frankly I have enough really thick books on my shelf that need reading.... I dont need another one..... but I'm still curious what its all about.

Rothbard  posted on  2005-03-16   10:20:11 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#92. To: Rothbard (#89)

It's another "search for the Holy Grail" thriller, that involves secret societies like the Knights Templar, the Priory of Sion, murder, hidden clues in the works of Da Vinci, the Catholic Church's coverup of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ...

The Holy Grail being the womb of Mary Magdalene, and the notion that Jesus sired a bloodline on earth that started somewhere in France, I believe (Merovingian Kings).

Samuel Gray  posted on  2005-03-16   10:23:24 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#110. To: Samuel Gray (#92)

The main propellant for the idea came from the book, "Holy Blood, Holy Grail." The authors got conned into tracing a fake organization with an associated factual background. The theme is that Jesus might not have died on the Cross; and that at least Mary Magdalene made it to France, with at least one child of Jesus. There is a 'Magdalene' culture in Europe which gives a lot of credence to the idea.

The fake organization was the "Priory de Scion." The fraudsters put some forged documents into oficial archives. The result was a goose-chase trying to trace the bloodline of Jesus.

The Catholic Church is in a natural tizzy, right now, as the Gospels point to Jesus as a Rabbi AND "King of the Jews." That leaves the position that you can't be a Christian, without first being a Jew. The Jews are in a panic, as that invades their turf. They don't want a hundred "unauthorized denominations" watering down their 'pity-party' and treatment as being "special."

Jesus taught the Hebrew God, he didn't leave a 'will' saying that after he was gone, a whole new church was to be formed. Essentially, Paul hijacked a Jewish sect.


SKYDRIFTER  posted on  2005-03-16   11:15:23 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#112. To: SKYDRIFTER (#110)

Paul pretty much hijacked the entire New Testament. He never met Christ, yet new testament Christianity is heavily dependent upon his interpretation of things.

I don't like Paul. Never did. That puts me at odds with a whole bunch of folks.

Samuel Gray  posted on  2005-03-16   11:20:34 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


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