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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: 11033
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 # 323.

#1. To: All (#0)

"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.

How ironic that someone whose living is dependent upon pushing a fiction like the bible should react so defensively against another similar work.

Mr Nuke Buzzcut  posted on  2005-03-15   18:01:05 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#2. To: Mr Nuke Buzzcut (#1)

How ironic that someone whose living is dependent upon pushing a fiction like the bible should react so defensively against another similar work.

ROFLMAO!!

EXACTLY RIGHT......

Aric2000  posted on  2005-03-15   18:03:30 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#3. To: Aric2000, Samuel Gray (#2)

"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.

He's talking about the bible, right?

Mr Nuke Buzzcut  posted on  2005-03-15   18:07:40 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#12. To: Mr Nuke Buzzcut (#3)

I think so. I mean, Da Vinci actually existed, but the guys who venerate the water walkin shepherd born of a virgin are offended because they say someone is making up stuff???

Rich.

Samuel Gray  posted on  2005-03-15   21:02:49 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#15. To: Samuel Gray (#12)

I think so. I mean, Da Vinci actually existed, but the guys who venerate the water walkin shepherd born of a virgin are offended because they say someone is making up stuff???

have you read, the Da Vinci Code, The Bible, and down this thread in that order?

Continental Op  posted on  2005-03-15   21:08:37 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#16. To: Continental Op (#15)

have you read, the Da Vinci Code, The Bible, and down this thread in that order?

yes, yes, yes, and so what?

When I read DVC and Angels and Demons, I laughed out loud because I knew the "Church of the Rock" would soil their vestments over it.

At least SOME of what Brown wrote was verifiable in the historical record. Find me a large buried boat, or some credible corroborative documentation concerning the life of Jesus written contemporaneously with his existence on earth, and we'll talk.

Samuel Gray  posted on  2005-03-15   21:12:50 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#22. To: Samuel Gray (#16)

At least SOME of what Brown wrote was verifiable in the historical record. Find me a large buried boat, or some credible corroborative documentation concerning the life of Jesus written contemporaneously with his existence on earth, and we'll talk.

"At least SOME of what Brown wrote was verifiable in the historical record."

Yes, there was a Da Vinci...

"Find me a large buried boat, or some credible corroborative documentation concerning the life of Jesus written contemporaneously with his existence on earth, and we'll talk."

the archeological evidence in support ofthe Bible is staggering. Read up on it sometime.

Continental Op  posted on  2005-03-15   21:28:15 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#24. To: Continental Op (#22)

Yeah, towns existed with the same names as some of those in the Bible.

Finding a reference to Loch Ness in an ancient document and producing Nessie are entirely different matters entirely.

Samuel Gray  posted on  2005-03-15   21:30:37 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#30. To: Samuel Gray (#24)

Finding a reference to Loch Ness in an ancient document and producing Nessie are entirely different matters entirely.

I suppose you're not old enough to remember when the ancestors of your ilk were claiming the Bible was surely false because it mentioned Hitites and there was absolutely no such thing as a Hittite. Then some more excavation was done and presto, the Hittite civilization was discovered! No one remembers that anymore though.

Continental Op  posted on  2005-03-15   21:35:54 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#33. To: Continental Op (#30)

At the end of the day, you can find all the Roman roads, dead civilizations, and mysterious parchments you want, yet the entire system is based on something that is NOT there in a tomb in Gethsemane??

Thomas was on the right track. Lest I see the nail prints and thrust my hand into his side...

Etc, etc...

Samuel Gray  posted on  2005-03-15   21:38:26 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#36. To: Samuel Gray (#33)

yet the entire system is based on something that is NOT there in a tomb in Gethsemane??

why should there be?

Continental Op  posted on  2005-03-15   21:39:42 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#37. To: Continental Op (#36)

Most 2000 year old tombs are empty, is that it? Just that one is empty due to some other process than natural decay or grave robbery?

Samuel Gray  posted on  2005-03-15   21:43:08 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#39. To: Samuel Gray (#37)

Most 2000 year old tombs are empty, is that it? Just that one is empty due to some other process than natural decay or grave robbery?

where is the tomb?

Continental Op  posted on  2005-03-15   21:46:12 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#41. To: Continental Op (#39)

It's your fairy tale, you tell me.

Back on the subject of the thread, why does the prospect of Jesus having a wife bother the Catholics so much? The Gnostic gospel of Phillip said he kissed her on the mouth many times, and loved her more than the disciples...

Samuel Gray  posted on  2005-03-15   21:48:52 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#51. To: Samuel Gray (#41)

...why does the prospect of Jesus having a wife bother the Catholics so much? The Gnostic gospel of Phillip said he kissed her on the mouth many times, and loved her more than the disciples...

Because it would confirm the fact that Jesus wasn't divine. And we can't have that type of info floating around.

2Trievers  posted on  2005-03-15   22:12:45 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#70. To: 2Trievers (#51)

Because it would confirm the fact that Jesus wasn't divine. And we can't have that type of info floating around.

I am not so sure that Jesus having a wife is proof of His not being divine. Rabbi means "teacher", and most Rabbi's of His time did indeed have wives, so in context of the times in which He walked the earth, in taking a wife, would He not be doing what was socially acceptable?

Also, saying that "he kissed Mary on the mouth" is proof of this or that, I think is a bit of a stretch and one can "read" anything into that that they choose. But a kiss in those times did not necessarily have the same sexual connotations as it does today.

I kiss my 14 year old daughter on the mouth when she goes to bed, does that mean I am playing tonsil hockey with her? no.

1. Romans 16:16 "Greet one another with an holy kiss".

2. I Corinthians 16:20 "Greet ye one another with an holy kiss".

3. II Corinthians 12:12 "Greet one another with an holy kiss".

4. I Thessalonians 5:26 "Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss".

5. I Peter 5:14 "Greet one another with a kiss of charity".

6. Jacob kissed his father (Genesis 27:27)

7. Esau kissed Jacob (Genesis 33:4)

8. Laban kissed Joseph (Genesis 29:13)

9. Joseph kissed his brethren (Genesis 45:15)

10.Aaron kissed Moses (Exodus 4:27)

11.Moses kissed Jethro (Exodus 18:7)

12 David kissed Jonathan (I Samuel 20:41)

13.The father kissed the prodigal son (Luke 15:20)

14.The elders at Ephesus kissed Paul (Acts 20:37)

Other New Testament accounts of using a kiss: Acts 20:37 reads, "And they wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him". Luke 7:45, Christ addressed Simon upon entering this Pharisee's home saying, "Thou gavest me no kiss". In the parable of the prodigal son, when the son returns home in Luke 15:20 it reads, "And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck and kissed him".

I think that *MAYBE* a kiss had different connotations then, just as kissing my daughter differs from kissing my spouse.

CAPPSMADNESS  posted on  2005-03-16   9:06:28 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#299. To: CAPPSMADNESS (#70)

But a kiss in those times did not necessarily have the same sexual connotations as it does today.

This is true. Personally, I can't believe the uproar over a book that is fiction. All the cardinal has done is ensure that many more copies will be sold. I have noticed the book, been curious about it. I'm almost tempted to go get it now just to see what all the fuss is about. Obviously something in that book has got the Vatican in a tizzy. I just happen to think it's more than Jesus being married.

justlurking  posted on  2005-03-16   20:15:23 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#316. To: justlurking (#299)

I just happen to think it's more than Jesus being married.

There are pictures in the Middle of the Book, Glossies of Pope Pius in Drag, drinking freshly made wine with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, singing for the Wedding Feast at Cana ... "What a friend we have in Jesus"

How's That ?

noone222  posted on  2005-03-16   20:35:05 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#318. To: noone222 (#316)

How's That ?

Sheesh! It's FICTION. If the guy marketed it as anything else, I could maybe understand the uproar. IMHO the Church is just trying to get the focus off their pesky little priest problem.

justlurking  posted on  2005-03-16   20:36:59 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#323. To: justlurking (#318)

It has some basis in historical fact. I have the companion book "Breaking the Code", that discusses some of the historical research and thought behind Brown's book.

Yes, he took artistic license, but there is fire underneath all that smoke, and legends going back into antiquity.

The Catholics don't care much for it on several levels, not the least of which is the relationship between Jesus and the Magdalene, but also because they don't come off in a good light when it comes to manipulating what books went in the Bible and what was omitted.

Divine guidance at times seemed more line eeny meeny miny moe. Or whatever version of that game they used in 760 AD.

Samuel Gray  posted on  2005-03-16   20:47:45 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


Replies to Comment # 323.

#324. To: Samuel Gray (#323)

but also because they don't come off in a good light when it comes to manipulating what books went in the Bible and what was omitted.

One thing the Church has been very good at is manipulating. Took me a long time to see it, but once I did, I was out of there. I still believe in God, Jesus, and in an afterlife. I just go about it through channels other than organized religion now.

Nice to see you btw, gotta go, hubby is due in any minute and he has been gone for almost two weeks. I suspect he won't want me pecking away on the computer and want some supper. BBL

justlurking  posted on  2005-03-16 20:52:05 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


End Trace Mode for Comment # 323.

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