Last month, Reverend Raniero Cantalamessa, in a homily in St. Peter’s Basilica, referred to “the imminent release of a certain film”. The Opus Dei, that (in)famous and secretive Catholic group, requested that a fiction label be attached to that certain film. The film they are referring to, of course, is The Da Vinci Code, based on Dan Brown’s novel and about to be released worldwide on May 19th. That so much controversy has surrounded the book and film is perhaps not surprising, given the series of controversial releases over the last few years ranging from The Passion of the Christ to Fahrenheit 9/11 to Munich. It is nevertheless valuable to consider not only the controversy, but all to investigate the reasons behind it.

In a nutshell, Dan Brown’s thesis is that Yeshua of Nazareth married the prostitute Mary (likely Miriam) Magdalene. They then moved to France, had children, and have descendents who to this day live in France. The first thing to be said about this assertion is that it is highly unoriginal. Two millennia worth of speculation about the life of the central figure in the West has yielded an astonishing number of theories, many of which would make Brown’s theories look timid in comparison. And yet, one must readily admit that never has such a theory been able to find as wide an audience as this one seems to have. With book sales topping forty million, and a soon-to-be blockbuster release that will drive up sales further, the question becomes what it is that has made this perhaps the most instantly popular novel, barring the Harry Potter books, in history.

Succinctly stated, Brown’s magic formula consists of his combination of a highly controversial but therefore intriguing theory with the perpetually riveting mystery/detective genre. Something has happened, there’s a big secret that is kept hidden, and there are powerful, shadowy figures and organizations that are trying to make sure that things stay the way they are. Add to this the important detail about the secret involving Jesus, and you have a thriller about something which is integral to every human being on Earth, since anything involving Jesus will automatically have great implications for us all, whether we like it or not. On one level, therefore, the story seems rather harmless. Within a fictional framework, we have a conventional mystery tale that just happens to be about Jesus.

Is there, however, something more to the book’s success? The Catholic Church, in making its opposition to the book’s, and film’s, content clear, seems to suggest that the highly unflattering portrait of the Church in the book might have something to do with its success as well. The Church’s image has certainly taken a beating in recent years. In the case of the child abuse scandal, very justly, I would argue. At the same time, however, the incredible outpouring of support following John Paul II’s death, probably the biggest funeral in human history, was a clear indication that whatever negative images of the Church there might be can at an instant be counteracted with images that, in contrast, are positive. This however, should not detract from the main objective at hand regarding The Da Vinci Code. Anti-Catholic bias has been a mainstay in the West since before the Church took its place in Rome. It went into overdrive following the sectarian wars that tore Europe apart, and has essentially stuck around since. The Elizabethan dramas, for example, are filled with anti-Catholic imagery and language (nuns and priests were fair game as sources of ridicule, as were popes and cardinals). The immigration offices of the United States at one time frowned upon arrivals from Ireland and Italy.

Given that this has been the case, the question becomes where The Da Vinci code fits into all this. Any anti-Catholicism that is present in the novel, assuming for a second that this is indeed the case, centres around the idea of the Church hiding the truth from the public. What this theory assumes about the Church is as follows: a) that the Scriptures upon which it is entirely based are false, b) that it is not the harbinger of truth it has always claimed to be, c) that, since the story of Christ is wrong, it is not concerned with divine matters but rather with maintaining its earthly, political power, and d) that as a result it is essentially a hypocritical institution that at heart is of the same nature as those institutions it considers to be anathematic. Even someone who is not particularly a devout Catholic can see how offensive this is to the Church. Moreover, it is fundamentally insulting to all Christian churches. From a theological perspective, perhaps the most offensive aspect of the conspiracy theories is the suggestion of exclusivity, that only a select few are made privy to the truth. Christianity, like Islam, operates on an entirely different level: the truth is available to anyone, irrespective of their background, if they choose to accept it. Regarding the authenticity of the Scriptures, that is of a more pressing concern to the Protestants than it is even to the Catholics, because Protestant churches consider the text to be the essential and ultimate authority on all theological matters, whereas the Catholic Church has at it's centre its traditions and doctrine which are based on the Scriptures.

The controversy, therefore, exists because Brown’s thesis undermines the very foundations upon which Christianity is based. This is part of its attraction, no doubt, and not only from an anti-Christian perspective. If it were true, it would indeed be the biggest cover up in human history. And it’s very exciting to entertain that thought. But the “if” is crucial here. On a personal level, what I find so insulting about The Da Vinci Code is its reliance on conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories are the products of weak and ignorant minds unable to comprehend the real causes of events, and who consequently attempt to create a framework within which the events around them can make sense. This is why conspiracy theories have sprung around 9/11; it seems so incomprehensible that a small group of people could have attacked the most powerful country in the world that the most powerful country in the world, or at least its government, must have been behind the attacks. For the sake of this theory, its supporters discard most if not all of the truth. In the case of The Da Vinci Code, the assertion that the Church is hiding a theological secret does not seem to take into account the importance of the doctrines of the Church, or the value of the ideas themselves. The Bible itself, in the New Testament, contains passages that make it clear than the literal interpretation of events is only one of several interpretations (four major ones, to be precise). Moreover, Brown’s assertions, as a 60 Minutes report recently showed, have already been proven to be wrong. His theories, simply put, have absolutely no basis in truth, none whatsoever.

This is, however, useless information to those few who choose to believe in the validity of Brown’s claims. Indeed, I think that faith plays a crucial part in the whole controversy surrounding the book and film. To those who believe in the Bible, the book’s claims are outrageous. To those who dismiss the Biblical narratives, it might indeed seem as if the Church has, for nearly two thousand years, been telling the world a series of lies. The biggest conspiracy theory, from this perspective, is the whole notion that such a thing as God exists, and that God had a son made human, who died and was resurrected. Doesn’t it seem more credible that the guy just got married and had kids? Certainly, if you choose not to believe in the Bible. Absolutely not, if you choose to believe in the validity of the Scriptures. Either way, as far as arguments go, it is fundamentally a matter of faith.

Having said all this, I think it is important to keep all this in perspective. I don’t for a second believe that most readers or moviegoers are anti-Catholics bent on seeing the downfall of the Church, or that they are conspiracy theory-believing nutcases. The story, simply put, is very intriguing, and is told in a simple and exciting manner. It makes for good entertainment, and involves the reader and viewer in a fun and adventurous way. If this fun comes at the expense of the Church, well then, so does much of Elizabethan drama. But much fun, if not most of it, comes at the expense of something or someone else. The Da Vinci Code is only exceptional because of its tremendous success and the importance of the figures it discusses. Ultimately, I think the controversy will die down, the book and film will eventually wane in popularity, and the world will move on to more pertinent matters.