[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help] 

Status: Not Logged In; Sign In

From Torah to trauma: A Satanic child abuse scandal blows up in Israel

MAGA Influencer Calls to Deploy Palantir on LA Streets

Egypt detains nearly 200 foreigners who flew in to join Gaza march

FLASHBACK - How Mayor Daley dealt with looters!

Scammers Use AI Bots to Impersonate Students, Stealing Millions in Financial Aid

Bilderberg 2025 begins. Global elites gather in Stockholm. AI, migration, and national security dominate

I Wish We All Could Leave California (Beach Boys Parody)

Exclusive: US slams UN conference on Israel-Palestinian issue, warns of consequences

Brilliant & Critical Insight!

Legal Immigrants Shift to GOP on Immigration, Shows 40-Point Swing from Democrats

American fuel tankers were spotted REFUELING ISRAELI JETS over Syria.

Does Western Civilization Have Enough Belief to Continue to Exist?

Trump CLEARLY KNEW of Israel's Plan To STRIKE IRAN

Trump Warns 'Even More Brutal' Attacks Coming Without Nuclear Deal

10 Supplements That Fight Inflammation

CNN Security Analyst Defends Agents Who Removed Senator Padilla From Kristi Noem Presser

Florida sheriff warns rioters: 'We will kill you graveyard dead'

DEMOCRATS' NIGHTMARE: Viral Video Shows Why They LOST The Election!

Israeli strikes on Iran. Five Waves. Might last 2 weeks?

Images Emerge Of Tehran Destruction After Major Israeli 'Preemptive Attack'

This Is What Happens Next After Israel Bombs Iran’s Nuclear Facilities…

Smartmatic accused of deleting evidence in 27 Billion Fox News Defamation Case Court Docs

White House Fears Iranian Response To An Attack Could Overwhelm Israel's Air Defenses

The Money and Power Behind the Riots: This is No Grass-Roots Movement

D.C. Judge Sides With Trump In Lawsuit Over Control Of Corrupt Foreign Aid Agency

Israel Iran Double Standard

Soros Funneled $8.3M into Leftist Group Trying to Turn Lone Star State Blue

California Democrats Under Fire for Buying Bricks During Protests

ICE Launches Campaign to Crack Down on Marriage Fraud Could Ilhan Omar Finally Face Justice?

Joe Rogan's podcast predicted violent LA riots two years ago leaving viewers stunned


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: 13145
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

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest

Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 73.

#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  


#64. To: 2Trievers, All (#51)

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

Ok, guys, you have been having your fun. Those of us who do accept the Holy Bible as fact have the opposite opinion. We think we are right. You say that we are silly, etc for believing these things. You say that we can't prove that He was divine. But, the truth is you can't prove that He wasn't. So, you have your opinion. So, we have two sides of this dividing line. One side can't prove anything to the other side. You do not believe in His divinity, so be it. We do, so be it.

Don  posted on  2005-03-16   8:15:29 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#69. To: Don, Mekons4 (#64)

The threads always turn into this faith v. fact things, and I've helped that along with my cynicism toward religion.

The topic of the thread was and is an interesting one. Dan Brown's book put the Catholic church over the ragged edge of insanity.

I've read all his books, and am "dissecting" a companion book to it called "Secrets of the Code" where some of the myth is separated from historical fact.

It's fascinating.

I believe critical examination of anything is crucial to understanding it. As Mekons alluded to earlier, when I began that critical examination of my faith, as early as seven years old, it evaporated into smoke and departed. I've never found it since, although, I confess having not looked very hard for it.

If it comforts some to believe that way, I can't see the harm in it, within its proper bounds. When it's loosed on government and inflicted on the rest of us, though, there is a problem.

Samuel Gray  posted on  2005-03-16   9:05:00 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#73. To: Samuel Gray (#69)

When it's loosed on government and inflicted on the rest of us, though, there is a problem.

When disbelief and training people to do whatever they want to do as long as it makes them feel good is inflicted on the rest of us, there is a problem. The seeds of secularism have grown into a completely hedonistic society. It has turned a once great country into just another has-been.

Don  posted on  2005-03-16   9:17:05 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


Replies to Comment # 73.

#75. To: Don (#73)

When disbelief and training people to do whatever they want to do as long as it makes them feel good is inflicted on the rest of us, there is a problem. The seeds of secularism have grown into a completely hedonistic society. It has turned a once great country into just another has-been.

A double edged sword, no? I agree with what you posted. We are literally forced to accept everyone else's lifestyles, while our lives and beliefs are constantly up for ridicule. Live and let live, I say. We will all find out, when our day comes, if we are right or wrong.

CAPPSMADNESS  posted on  2005-03-16 09:21:02 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


End Trace Mode for Comment # 73.

TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest


[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help]