CANNES - 17 May 2006 - 236 words

Da Vinci Code: 'a film which the Church has little to be concerned about'.

The World Catholic Association for Communication issued the following statement today, after the premier of the Da Vinci Code in Cannes.

Much ado about very little Many Christians from different backgrounds and sensibilities were anxious about the release of the film of The Da Vinci Code, directed by Ron Howard.  However, far from being a cinema masterpiece, the film is simply a popular entertainment.  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 cinemagoers.

A film is something that no one need be afraid of. It is a personal or a commercial venture. The novel attempted to persuade its readers that some dubious hypotheses and some mumbo-jumbo theories, 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. 

The media controversy which followed the publication of the novel has led to an enormous impact from the promotion campaigns for the film.  We hope that the Church can benefit from this phenomenon in explaining the theological foundations of faith and the hopes of all Christians.

For more details see: www.signis.net

© Independent Catholic News 2006

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