Opus Dei Response to Director Ron Howard
"Catholics Are Victims of an Offense"

ROME, MAY 15, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The press office of the Opus Dei Prelature sent this statement to ZENIT on Friday in response to comments by the director of the soon-to-be-released film "The Da Vinci Code."

* * *

On Thursday the Italian press published interviews with Ron Howard, director of "The Da Vinci Code" film. In statements attributed to him, Howard said that "to deny the right to see the film is a fascist act," and also "to tell someone not to go see the film is an act of militancy and militancy generates hatred and violence." The Opus Dei is mentioned several times in these interviews. The phrases seem to refer to recent statements by Church authorities.

I would ask Ron Howard to keep calm and express himself with respect.

It is not wise to lose sight of the reality of the situation: This film is offensive to Christians. Howard represents the aggressor, and Catholics are victims of an offense. The one offended cannot have his last right taken away, which is to express his point of view. It is not the statements of ecclesiastics or the respectful request of Opus Dei -- to include a notice at the beginning of the film that it is a work of fiction -- which generates violence. It is rather the odious, false and unjust portrayals that fuel hatred.

In his statements, Howard also repeats that it is simply a film, an invented story, and that it must not be taken too seriously. But it is not possible to deny the importance of the movies and literature. Fiction influences our way of seeing the world, especially among young people. It is not right not to take it seriously. Artistic creativity certainly needs a climate of freedom, but freedom cannot be separated from responsibility.

Imagine a film that says that Sony was behind the attacks on the Twin Towers, which it promoted because it wanted to destabilize the United States. Or a novel that reveals that Sony paid the gunman who shot the Pope in St. Peter's Square in 1981, because it was opposed to the Holy Father's moral leadership. They are only invented stories. I imagine that Sony, a respectable and serious company, would not be happy to see itself portrayed in this way on the screens, and that it would not be satisfied with an answer such as "Don't worry, it's only fiction, it mustn't be taken too seriously, freedom of ex-pression is sacred."

In any case, those who have taken part in the film's project have no reason to be concerned. Christians will not react with hatred and violence, but with respect and charity, without insults or threats. They can continue to calculate tranquilly the money they will make on the film, because the freedom of financial profit seems to be in fact the only sacred freedom, the only one exempt from all responsibility. They will probably make a lot of money, but they are paying a high price by deteriorating their prestige and reputation.

I hope the controversy of these months will not be sterile but serve to reflect on the relative character of financial profit when high values are involved; on the importance of fiction; on responsibility, which always supports and protects freedom.

[The statement added:]

The plan of Opus Dei's Communication Office in regard to this case may be found on the Web page www.opusdei.org, which explains in detail its position over these months.

[From] Manuel Sánchez Hurtado, in charge of relations with the international press, at the Opus Dei's press office in Rome

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I think it is really ingenious. The amount of free advertizing they have aquired, first for the book and now for the movie, is far beyond anything money could buy. I notice Opus Dei have generally taken the sensible course and capitalized on the publicity coming their way, instead of fighting it and thus fuelling the conspiracy theorists.

There was a blackfriar here who kind of wrapped up the whole matter, in an interview. He said: "On the first page of the book, it says 'A Novel'. People seem to overlook that; after that statement, don't expect facts. Not even in the 'facts' section."

Hans

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From this RELIABLE and AUTHENTIC site:
http://da-vinci-decoded.blogspot.com/
More interesting detials available there!



The Da Vinci Code, the Catholic Church and Opus Dei
Opus Dei is an organization that is featured in The Da Vinci Code. This is what Opus Dei, themselves, have to say about the book and the various fallacies contained in it.

Many people are intrigued by the claims about Christian history and theology presented in The Da Vinci Code. We would like to remind them that The Da Vinci Code is a work of fiction, and it is not a reliable source of information on these matters.

The Da Vinci Code has raised public interest in the origins of the Bible and of central Christian doctrines such as the divinity of Jesus Christ. These topics are important and valuable to study, and we hope that interested readers will be motivated to study some of the abundant scholarship on them that is available in the non-fiction section of the library.

Those who do further research and exercise critical judgment will discover that assertions made in The Da Vinci Code about Jesus Christ, Mary Magdalene, and Church history lack support among reputable scholars. By way of example, The Da Vinci Code popularizes the idea that the fourth century Roman emperor Constantine invented the doctrine of the divinity of Christ for political reasons. The historical evidence, however, clearly shows that the New Testament and the very earliest Christian writings manifest Christian belief in the divinity of Christ.

Other examples of discredited claims presented in The Da Vinci Code can be found in this FAQ from Catholic Answers or at the US Bishops' website. For those who are willing to take the time to get to the bottom of the issues raised in The Da Vinci Code, we recommend reading The Da Vinci Deception, De-Coding Da Vinci, or The Da Vinci Hoax.

We also want to point out that The Da Vinci Code's depiction of Opus Dei is inaccurate, both in the overall impression and in many details, and it would be irresponsible to form any opinion of Opus Dei based on The Da Vinci Code. Those interested in learning more about the real Opus Dei may wish to read What is Opus Dei?, by Dominique LeTourneau, or Uncommon Faith, by John Coverdale. For those interested in further information about the various false impressions The Da Vinci Code gives of Opus Dei, please continue reading.

1. Opus Dei and monks

Throughout The Da Vinci Code, Opus Dei members are presented as monks (or, rather, caricatures of monks). Like all Catholics, Opus Dei members have great appreciation for monks, but in fact there are no monks in Opus Dei. Opus Dei is a Catholic institution for lay people and diocesan priests, not a monastic order.

Opus Dei's approach to living the faith does not involve withdrawing from the world like those called to the monastic life. Rather, Opus Dei helps people grow closer to God in and through their ordinary secular activities.

"Numerary" members of Opus Dei - a minority - choose a vocation of celibacy in order to be available to organize the activities of Opus Dei. They do not, however, take vows, wear robes, sleep on straw mats, spend all their time in prayer and corporal mortification, or in any other way live like The Da Vinci Code's depiction of its monk character. In contrast to those called to the monastic life, numeraries have regular secular professional work.

In fact, The Da Vinci Code gets Opus Dei's nature 180 degrees backwards. Monastic orders are for people who have a vocation to seek holiness by withdrawing from the secular world; Opus Dei is for people who have a vocation to live their Christian faith in the middle of secular society.

2. Opus Dei and crime

In The Da Vinci Code, Opus Dei members are falsely depicted murdering, lying, drugging people, and otherwise acting unethically, thinking that it is justified for the sake of God, the Church, or Opus Dei.

Opus Dei is a Catholic institution and adheres to Catholic doctrine, which clearly condemns immoral behavior, including murder, lying, stealing, and generally injuring people. The Catholic Church teaches that one should never do evil, even for a good purpose.

Opus Dei's mission is to help people integrate their faith and the activities of their daily life, and so its spiritual education and counseling help members to be more ethical rather than less so. Opus Dei members, like everyone else, sometimes do things wrong, but this is an aberration from what Opus Dei is promoting rather than a manifestation of it.

Besides attributing criminal activity to Opus Dei, The Da Vinci Code also falsely depicts Opus Dei as being focused on gaining wealth and power.

3. Opus Dei and corporal mortification

The Da Vinci Code makes it appear that Opus Dei members practice bloody mortifications. In fact, though history indicates that some Catholic saints have done so, Opus Dei members do not do this.

The Catholic Church advises people to practice mortification. The mystery of Jesus Christ's Passion shows that voluntary sacrifice has a transcendent value and can bring spiritual benefits to others. Voluntary sacrifice also brings personal spiritual benefits, enabling one to resist the inclination to sin. For these reasons, the Church prescribes fasting on certain days and recommends that the faithful practice other sorts of mortification as well. Mortification is by no means the centerpiece of the Christian life, but nobody can grow closer to God without it: "There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2015).

In the area of mortification, Opus Dei emphasizes small sacrifices rather than extraordinary ones, in keeping with its spirit of integrating faith with secular life. For example, Opus Dei members try to make small sacrifices such as persevering at their work when tired, occasionally passing up some small pleasure, or giving help to those in need.

Some Opus Dei members also make limited use of the cilice and discipline, types of mortification that have always had a place in the Catholic tradition because of their symbolic reference to Christ's Passion. Many well-known figures in Catholic history have used the cilice or discipline, such as St. Francis, St. Thomas More, St. Padre Pio and Blessed Mother Teresa. The Church teaches that people should take reasonable care of their physical health, and anyone with experience in this matter knows that these practices do not injure one's health in any way. The Da Vinci Code's description of the cilice and discipline is greatly exaggerated and distorted: it is simply not possible to injure oneself with them as the book and film depict.

4. Opus Dei and cult allegations

In various places, The Da Vinci Code describes Opus Dei as a "sect" or a "cult." The fact is that Opus Dei is a fully integrated part of the Catholic Church and has no doctrines or practices except those of the Church. There is no definition or theory – whether academic or popular – that provides a basis for applying the pejorative terms "sect" or "cult" to Opus Dei.

Opus Dei is a Catholic institution that seeks to help people integrate their faith and the activities of their daily life. As a personal prelature (an organizational structure of the Catholic Church), it complements the work of local Catholic parishes by providing people with additional spiritual education and guidance.

Opus Dei was founded in Spain in 1928 by a Catholic priest, St. Josemaria Escriva, and began to grow with the support of the local bishops there. It received final approval from the Vatican in 1950 and began growing in many countries around the world. Today Opus Dei has roughly 83,000 lay members (over 3,000 in the United States) and 2,000 priests. Several million people around the world participate in its programs and activities, which are conducted in more than 60 countries.

The Da Vinci Code also makes melodramatic assertions that Opus Dei engages in "brainwashing," "coercion," and "aggressive recruiting," unfairly trying to tar Opus Dei with the same brush used against groups more deserving of such epithets.

Opus Dei proposes to people to give their lives to God, following a special path of service within the Catholic Church. One's life can only be given freely, through a decision coming from the heart, not from external pressure: pressure is both wrong and ineffective. Opus Dei always respects the freedom of conscience of its members, prospective members, and everyone else it deals with.

As a manifestation of its beliefs about the importance of freedom, Opus Dei has specific safeguards to ensure that decisions to join are free and fully informed. For example, nobody can make a permanent membership commitment in Opus Dei without first having completed more than 6 years of systematic and comprehensive instruction as to what membership entails. Additionally, no one can make a temporary commitment before age 18, nor a commitment to permanent membership before age 23.

5. Opus Dei and women

The Da Vinci Code says about Opus Dei's U.S. headquarters: "Men enter the building through the main doors on Lexington Avenue. Women enter through a side street." This is inaccurate. People, whether male or female, use the doors leading to whichever section of the building they are visiting. The building is divided into separate sections, for the straightforward reason that one section includes a residence for celibate women and another for celibate men. But these sections are not sex-restricted, and it is the women's not the men's section that fronts on Lexington Avenue, the opposite of what is said in the book. (Note: The book sometimes also inaccurately calls the building Opus Dei's "world headquarters").

The Da Vinci Code also suggests that women Opus Dei members are "forced to clean the men's residence halls for no pay" and are otherwise accorded lower status than men.

This is not true. Opus Dei, like the Church in general, teaches that women and men are of equal dignity and value, and all of its practices are in accord with that belief. Women members of Opus Dei can be found in all sorts of professions, those which society views as prestigious and those which society today tends to undervalue, such as homemaking or domestic work. Opus Dei teaches that any kind of honest work done with love of God is of equal value.

Some women numerary members of Opus Dei have freely chosen to make a profession of taking care of Opus Dei's centers, both women's and men's. They also run conference centers where activities of cultural and spiritual formation are held. These women are professionally trained and are paid for their services, which include interior decorating, catering and other highly skilled work. The millions of people who attend retreats or other spiritual formation activities at Opus Dei centers can attest to their professionalism. The Da Vinci Code's insinuation that their work lacks dignity and value is demeaning to these women.

6. Opus Dei and the Vatican Bank

The Da Vinci Code says that Opus Dei was made a personal prelature as a reward for "bailing out" the Vatican bank.

Neither Opus Dei nor any of its members helped "bail out" the Vatican bank. The Church's authorities made Opus Dei a personal prelature in 1982 because they recognized that this new canonical category was a good fit for Opus Dei's mission and structure.

In any event, the personal prelature status is nothing special: it is simply one of several canonical categories the Church has for designating an institution that carries out special pastoral activities. In contrast to the implication given by the book, personal prelature status in no way implies some special favor of the Pope or that Opus Dei members are not under the authority of their local bishops.

7. The canonization of Opus Dei's founder

The Da Vinci Code suggests that the Church bent its canonization rules to put Opus Dei's founder on the "fast track" to being named a saint.

The canonization of St. Josemaria Escriva in 2002 came 27 years after his death (not 20, as the book says). It was one of the first to be processed after the Church streamlined the procedures for canonization, and so it moved more quickly than was typical before. Mother Teresa is on pace to be canonized even more quickly, having been beatified just 6 years after her death (Escriva was beatified in 17 years). Even under the old procedures, the canonization of St. Therese of Lisieux made it through the process in 27 years, roughly the same as Escriva's.

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"Da Vinci" Film Not Great Art, Says Signis


CANNES, France, MAY 17, 2006 (Zenit.org).- After seeing the première of "The Da Vinci Code," Signis, the world organization of Catholic communicators, concluded that "the Church has little to be concerned about" with the film.

"Many Christians from different backgrounds and sensibilities were anxious about the release of the film of 'The Da Vinci Code,' directed by Ron Howard," the group stated in a communiqué today.

"However, far from being a cinema masterpiece, the film is simply a popular entertainment," it contended. "While the early scenes set us on an exciting treasure hunt, the wordiness of the drawn-out twists of the later part of the film will disappoint many cinema-goers."

"The novel attempted to persuade its readers [with] some dubious hypotheses and some mumbo-jumbo theories," Signis observed. "The film wants rather to please everyone and not upset them too much.

"The writers have added quite a number of dialogue exchanges which downplay the more controversial statements of the novel about the Church, the divinity of Jesus, the role of Mary Magdalene and even Opus Dei."
ZE06051708

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the bible was a con job written for power over people . now the offspring of its writers invisibly control the western hemisphere of this planet and are a bunch of washed up con artist / liars / predators leading everyone that follows them into extinction .

Haha
That is really funny! Thanks for the joke.

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A "Da Vinci" Nudge to Believers
Meeting at Angelicum Reflects on Fiction-Reality Tie

ROME, MAY 18, 2006 (Zenit.org).- A symposium held at a pontifical university called the movie "The Da Vinci Code" a "sign of the times" which challenges all believers to demonstrate their faith.

The symposium at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelicum, was held Wednesday, the day in which the film was presented in at the Cannes Film Festival, in France.

The "sign of the times" conclusion was voiced by Dominican Father Bruno Esposito, vice rector of the university, at the meeting on "The Da Vinci Code: Reflection on the Fiction-Reality Relationship."

In the debate held at the school, Father Esposito, who is also a professor of canon law, said that "man is not against God but against a mistaken idea of God," and that is why it is necessary to address a phenomenon such as "The Da Vinci Code."

Such an engagement, he said, is "not in a spirit of defense or confrontation but as an examination of conscience by believers, who must be committed to a new evangelization."

Benedetto Ippolito, a professor of the history of medieval philosophy at the "Roma Tre" university, explained the success of Dan Brown's novel in a cultural context dominated by "conspiracies and mysteries."

It is "a scene in which God is absent, in which God is not necessarily denied but lived in another dimension," said the scholar.

High price

Ippolito, who is also a professor at the University of the Holy Cross, explained that today there is a tendency to "consider Christian truth as a theory or even an invention."

This vision implies paying a high price, he said. "The loss of the sense of truth implies the loss of the sense of freedom."

On addressing the meeting, Joan-Andreu Rocha Scarpetta, a professor at the Regina Apostolorum university, said that "Dan Brown's work is a cultural thermometer that leads to reflection on contemporary religiosity."

In particular, Rocha acknowledged that the novel might cause confusion in people who do not have "the tools of discernment necessary to understand what is behind it."

Rocha, who directs Regina Apostolorum's master's program on "Church, Ecumenism and Religions," noted that the books of the New Age current are so successful because they emphasize "believing" without "belonging" and "they present reality as false and truth as esoteric and critical of institutions."

Bernardo Estrada, a biblicist from the University of the Holy Cross, defined the Gnosticism of a certain apocryphal gospel of the second century -- which Brown makes ample use of in his novel -- as "the greatest threat Christianity had" because this philosophical-religious current professed the rejection of Christ's death on the cross and resurrection.

Signs

Estrada assailed the novel's gross distortion of the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

"It was a relationship in spiritual harmony," he said. "More than that, Jesus made an exceptional gift to Magdalene, the only one charged with announcing the risen Jesus, even before Peter."

Father Esposito, the vice rector, concluded by appealing to believers to "give signs … against the relativism and voids that humanity demonstrates."

"The challenge," he said, "is directed to us (Christians), ourselves, not to those who sell these books and films."
ZE06051805

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It is a while since I visited this section - what on earth is going on here ?

Sorry leela but I do not share the joke with regard to mercury's comments on the Bible.
Good job us Christians are tolerant of others' views - unlike some religions and those cartoons!
To be honest I have not read through all the posts in detail - the mere size of them puts me off .
I am however going to see the Da Vinci code tonight so I will make up my own mind. I will not forget though that it is a work of fiction!

HI HOpitt,

I thought that input was very funny becasue it highlighted his spiritual block.
This is clearly someone who has never truly experienced Jesus Christ as then the reality and authenticity of the Bible becomes obvious. It's sad that people can be fed garbage and it becomes reality for them.

I thought the view point was very expressive of the non-spiritual/anti-spiritual/quick-fix mindset today - though sad (for the person). He must be an extremely lonely and deprived soul, deep within him. the folloiwng 'third' post was a response to his.

Do read through my first and third post. They are simple (official) statemements in response to DVC and not very long.
Leela

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Hi Leela

Point taken - I can see where you are coming from.

I saw the film the other night and to be honest I enjoyed it for what it is- a clever piece of fiction. I hadn't read the book so I went as a 'newie'!

On a lighter note Tom Hanks is not nearly as handsome with long hair !