Bridging the Gap: The Da Vinci Code

By Bishop David Zubik

	Bishop David Zubik

There has been a great deal of interest in and curiosity about the movie, The Da Vinci Code, based on the popular novel by Dan Brown. Since the movie is being released this weekend, I thought I would offer a few reflections since both the book and the movie take serious liberties about our belief as Christians and Catholics on the life of Jesus.

The Da Vinci Code is a fictitious story written by a novelist, neither an historian nor a theologian. Like many novels, fact and fiction are woven throughout the story in a very clever way. The story is a mixture of mystery and murder, codes and secrets, hide and seek. My concern is that people who don't know Jesus may take to heart the outrageous depiction of Him in The Da Vinci Code, and others who do know Him might be drawn into confusion about Him. Some, I fear, will be led to believe that the movie presents gospel truth while in reality the truth about Jesus is found in the Gospels.

But even more importantly, as a man of faith, I am troubled, as are many Christians, that the most Sacred Person who took on our flesh, the Son of God, would become the object of fiction. Moreover, I take exception to the sinister portrayal of the Catholic Church. As a world community we need to respect the sacred in all world religions. As Christians and as Catholics we have the right to expect as much in return.

Related articles: from May 19, 2006 issue: • Catholic leaders urge 'Code' caution     Various resources available to answer     questions it may raise • Editorial -- Code cracking     First of all, remember that the movie and     book are fiction and not based on facts from May 12, 2006 issue: • Three cardinals: 'Code' shows contempt     One official suggests taking legal action     against book and film • Foundations of Faith -- What the Church really says about Jesus, Magdalene     Was Jesus really celibate? Just how close     were Jesus and Mary Magdalene?

Despite being upset by this movie I think something good could come of it.

The Da Vinci Code points out the tremendous need in the Church for adult faith formation and apologetics. In the coming months, I have asked the Department of Education to begin developing a formal plan for adult faith formation for the Diocese of Green Bay. The principal resource for this undertaking will be the National Directory for Catechesis prepared by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2005. This diocesan plan will call for and make available throughout the diocese a comprehensive program of adult catechesis. It will also be a planning template for parishes to develop their own adult faith formation programs. Stay tuned for future developments in this area.

Now, as for the movie, here is a synopsis of the story:

The premise of the story is based on the idea that the Church has suppressed secrets regarding Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the Holy Grail. The book and movie purport that what Christianity says about Jesus is false; that the real story can be discovered by reading the Gnostic writings which were written between the 200 A.D. and 400 A.D. The Da Vinci Code asserts that Jesus was not divine and that Christians did not believe Jesus was divine until the Roman Emperor, Constantine, declared it so in 325 A.D. The story also indicates that Constantine suppressed the truth that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and that they had a child. This child supposedly was the start of a long line of prodigy that exists up to the present.

The story claims that Mary Magdalene is the real Holy Grail, not the chalice Jesus used at the Last Supper, and that the blood of Christ is really the child that he had with Mary Magdalene. The fiction purports that Constantine instructed that a different story be told but the secrets were protected by a secret society called the Priory of Sion, of which Leonardo Da Vinci was a member. Da Vinci in turn is characterized as hiding the secrets about Jesus and Mary Magdalene in his art, especially the famous painting of the Last Supper, hence the title of the book and movie. Another false assertion is that Opus Dei (which in fact is a recognized community in the Catholic Church, and is unconscionably maligned in the book and movie) is a radical Catholic sect or organization that will do anything it can, including the use of murder, to conceal the "real truth" about Jesus.

Unfortunately, many people who have read the book have come to believe that these things are true. Categorically they are not!

To set the record straight, from the very beginning of the Church, even before the books contained in the New Testament (also called the Canon of the New Testament) were formally declared by the Church, the Gospels and Letters in the New Testament were seen as the authentic connection with the oral tradition of the early Church about Jesus and His teachings. However, various groups of people in the early centuries of Christianity began to disagree with the teachings of the Church. The Gnostics were one such group. They believed that they had been entrusted with secret knowledge about Christ. They believed that all matter was created by an evil being, thus all created matter such as the body was evil. Conversely, the spiritual realm was created by a good being and was thus considered good. According to the Gnostics, the purpose of life was to gradually free the spiritual part of our being from the evil part, the body, so one could attain eternal life. This was done through secret rituals and passwords. These same people authored the Gospel of Judas and other "gospels" or interpretations of Christ's message which are also making headlines these days.

It has been the constant belief of Christianity that Jesus is both human and divine, that he never married, never fathered a child, nor promoted secret beliefs or rituals. His message was for all people and all ages. In fact, He asked His believers not to hide the faith under bushel baskets. It is clear from the scriptures recognized by all Christians - Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants alike - that Jesus' message of truth is to be proclaimed without secret rituals or passwords.

Regarding Opus Dei, this is a Catholic organization of approximately 85,000 members worldwide, nearly all of whom are lay people. Its Latin title means "Work of God" and its mission is to help Catholics in the workplace live out their faith by following Christ through spiritual formation and spiritual discipline.

More details regarding the fallacies of The Da Vinci Code can be found in the booklet The Da Vinci Code Mysteries: What the Movie Doesn't Tell You by Amy Welborn and published this year by Our Sunday Visitor. This easy-to-read booklet answers over 100 questions associated with the book and I am sure you would find it most informative. Order information is available at www.osv.com/davinci/booklet.asp A similar book by Welborn entitled Decoding Mary Magdalene is also available. Finally, you can go to the diocesan website at www.gbdioc.org for a link to U.S. Bishops' Jesus Decoded website.

While I suspect that the controversy about The Da Vinci Code will continue for a little while longer perhaps one plus of the movie is to whet our appetites to learn more about who Jesus really is - not some star of fiction - but rather the Savior of the World.