Forwarding following msg recd from the Cardinal Francis Arinze, a Nigerian who
was considered a candidate for pope last year.
In the novel "The Da Vinci Code" the author makes a mention that Jesus
Christ married Mary Magdelene and their decendedants are still alive. Please
read the following.
Cardinal urges legal action against Da Vinci Code
Sun May 7, 2006 10:13 AM ET
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - In the latest Vatican broadside against "The Da
Vinci Code", a leading cardinal says Christians should respond to the book
and film with legal action because both offend Christ and the Church he
founded.
Cardinal Francis Arinze, a Nigerian who was considered a candidate for pope
last year, made his strong comments in a documentary called "The Da Vinci
Code-A Masterful Deception."
Arinze's appeal came some 10 days after another Vatican cardinal called for
a boycott of the film. Both cardinals asserted that other religions would
never stand for offences against their beliefs and that Christians should
get tough.
"Christians must not just sit back and say it is enough for us to forgive
and to forget," Arinze said in the documentary made by Rome film maker Mario
Biasetti for Rome Reports, a Catholic film agency specializing in religious
affairs.
"Sometimes it is our duty to do something practical. So it is not I who will
tell all Christians what to do but some know legal means which can be taken
in order to get the other person to respect the rights of others," Arinze
said.
"This is one of the fundamental human rights: that we should be respected,
our religious beliefs respected, and our founder Jesus Christ respected," he
said, without elaborating on what legal means he had in mind.
A transcript of the documentary, due to be screened in Rome later this month
just before the release of the film version of the best-selling book at the
Cannes Film Festival, was made available to Reuters.
The book, written by Dan Brown, has sold more than 40 million copies.
The novel is an international murder mystery centered on attempts to uncover
a secret about the life of Christ that a clandestine society has tried to
protect for centuries.
The central tenet of the book is that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had
children.
BLASPHEMY
"Those who blaspheme Christ and get away with it are exploiting the
Christian readiness to forgive and to love even those who insult us. There
are some other religions which if you insult their founder they will not be
just talking. They will make it painfully clear to you," Arinze said.
This appeared to be a reference to protests by Muslims around the world over
cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.
Last month, another broadside against "The Da Vinci Code" was launched by
Archbishop Angelo Amato, the number two official in the Vatican doctrinal
office which was headed by Pope Benedict until his election last year.
Amato urged a boycott of the film and Arinze, like his fellow cardinal, also
blasted the credibility of the book.
"'The Da Vinci Code' presents (Christianity) wrongly ... any film produced
on the basis of that book is already in error from the word go, no matter
how interesting it might appear," Arinze said.
Catholic group Opus Dei has told Sony Pictures that putting a disclaimer on
the movie stressing it is a work of fiction would be a welcome show of
respect toward the Church.
In the novel and film, Opus Dei is characterized as the latest in a series
of secretive groups that worked over the centuries to obscure truths about
Jesus Christ.
Opus Dei is a controversial conservative Church group whose members are
mostly non-clerics and are urged to seek holiness in their everyday
professional jobs and lives. It has rejected criticisms that it is secretive
and elitist.
The movie, which is being released by Sony Pictures division Columbia
Pictures, stars Tom Hanks. Sony Pictures is the media wing of Japanese
electronics giant Sony Corp.
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