The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code discussed at symposium

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 19, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code discussed at symposium

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: Over 900 Catholic Christians representing various Catholic churches and institutions, including members from several Catholic associations, attended a symposium on "The Da Vinci Code" here on Saturday by the Indian Catholic Press Association. Archbishop Bernard Moras presided over the panel of theologians. Jose Jacob, who compered the symposium, said, "Dan Brown (author of the controversial novel) in an earlier interview called his work pure fiction, but when money began pouring in, he started calling his novel as factual." Fr. Adolf Washington, convenor of the symposium, who gave details of the alleged false claims and the "blunders" of Dan Brown, carried the audience through an emotional journey of faith, the 325 AD and Nicean Council's profession of faith. "Dan Brown has cashed in on the innocence of people, by hitting on many subjects where people know little," he claimed.

He said Dan Brown was ignorant of art ancient documents, church architecture, pagan religions, The Grail, Knights Templar and early church history. He said, "Dan Brown has to do a lot of reading of the scriptures and history before he makes his next claim about Jesus of the Church."

Fr. Washington said even Dan Brown's claim that Jesus' bloodline continued in France's royalty was debunked in 1993 in a French court of law. On Dan Brown's claim, that the church had silenced people who venerated Mary Magdalene because she had married Jesus, Fr. Washington said: "This is the most absurd and stupid allegation can one make. The scriptures (ironically, that Dan Brown says was concocted by the church) explain clearly that Mary Magdalene had a pride of place."

On Mary Magdalene's marriage with Jesus, Fr. Washington pointed out that "Dan Brown is poorly informed that there was a sect called the Essenes that remained single and it was considered an honour to God. This means, bachelorhood was acceptable during the time of Jesus, quite contrary to what the author says."

Archbishop Bernard Moras, the head of the Catholic Church in Bangalore, said, "We must do everything possible to resist such books and movies that pervert the minds of people or paint the church and the name of Christ in bad light."

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