The Spirit of the Inquisition is Alive & Well

Cardinal urges legal action against Da Vinci Code
Sun May 7, 2006 10:13 AM ET

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - In the latest Vatican broadside against "The Da Vinci Code", a leading cardinal says Christians should respond to the book and film with legal action because both offend Christ and the Church he founded.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, a Nigerian who was considered a candidate for pope last year, made his strong comments in a documentary called "The Da Vinci Code-A Masterful Deception."

Arinze's appeal came some 10 days after another Vatican cardinal called for a boycott of the film. Both cardinals asserted that other religions would never stand for offences against their beliefs and that Christians should get tough.

"Christians must not just sit back and say it is enough for us to forgive and to forget," Arinze said in the documentary made by Rome film maker Mario Biasetti for Rome Reports, a Catholic film agency specializing in religious affairs.

"Sometimes it is our duty to do something practical. So it is not I who will tell all Christians what to do but some know legal means which can be taken in order to get the other person to respect the rights of others," Arinze said.

"This is one of the fundamental human rights: that we should be respected, our religious beliefs respected, and our founder Jesus Christ respected," he said, without elaborating on what legal means he had in mind.

A transcript of the documentary, due to be screened in Rome later this month just before the release of the film version of the best-selling book at the Cannes Film Festival, was made available to Reuters.

The book, written by Dan Brown, has sold more than 40 million copies.

The novel is an international murder mystery centered on attempts to uncover a secret about the life of Christ that a clandestine society has tried to protect for centuries.

The central tenet of the book is that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children.

"Those who blaspheme Christ and get away with it are exploiting the Christian readiness to forgive and to love even those who insult us. There are some other religions which if you insult their founder they will not be just talking. They will make it painfully clear to you," Arinze said.

This appeared to be a reference to protests by Muslims around the world over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.

Last month, another broadside against "The Da Vinci Code" was launched by Archbishop Angelo Amato, the number two official in the Vatican doctrinal office which was headed by Pope Benedict until his election last year.

Amato urged a boycott of the film and Arinze, like his fellow cardinal, also blasted the credibility of the book.

"'The Da Vinci Code' presents (Christianity) wrongly ... any film produced on the basis of that book is already in error from the word go, no matter how interesting it might appear," Arinze said.

Catholic group Opus Dei has told Sony Pictures that putting a disclaimer on the movie stressing it is a work of fiction would be a welcome show of respect toward the Church.

In the novel and film, Opus Dei is characterized as the latest in a series of secretive groups that worked over the centuries to obscure truths about Jesus Christ.

Opus Dei is a controversial conservative Church group whose members are mostly non-clerics and are urged to seek holiness in their everyday professional jobs and lives. It has rejected criticisms that it is secretive and elitist.

The movie, which is being released by Sony Pictures division Columbia Pictures, stars Tom Hanks. Sony Pictures is the media wing of Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp.

Our Trip to See the Las Lunas Decalogue Stone

About a month ago my family and I took a trip out West to Las Lunas, New Mexico and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Las Lunas portion of the trip was to search out the famous Las Lunas Decalogue stone. The first thing you learn when trying to find the stone is that nobody wants you to find it.

It is out in the middle of nowhere. There are no markers anywhere, outside of the odd arrow scratched in a rock to tell you where to go. And every official sign you see has some version of No Trespassing, Keep Out.

The area of the site is about 15 miles west of the town of Las Lunas. Here is a satellite image of the immediate area:

The black lines traversing the picture are route 6, which leads to the area from Las Lunas and a railroad that runs along the road. The green line on the right side of center is the Rio Puerco River. When we were there it was a dry wash. The dark green blotch in the center of the picture is the two mesas at the site. The larger mesa is where the stone is located. I spent too much quality time climbing up and around the wrong mesa looking for the thing. There I developed some serious blisters and by the time we made it to the actual stone, I was done for and not in a condition to explore further. But here is my proof that I made it:

I discovered after I came home that this is a tiny part of a development that extends to the top of the mesa and has other paleo-Hebrew writings as well as evidence of habitation.

When I was there I marked all the waymarks with my GPS unit. I intend to make a return trip to Las Lunas to explore the other markings and evidences. I also intend to GPS mark the other important sites of the encampment. If you might be interested in making the return trek with me, let me know.

Of course, the ultimate questions about the site are 1) Is it legitimate or is it a fraud? And 2) What does it mean?

First, I dont think its a fraud. First, until you actually get there it is hard to imagine the profound isolation of the site. Someone would have to be highly motivated to even get there. There are two types of folk who might be interested in fraudulently making this. Kids on a lark might be interested in doing it. But for that to happen, they would have to expend a substantial amount of work to get there and even more to prepare the surface of the stone and etch the letters. Not only that, but they would have to know Hebrew, and not just Hebrew, but paleo-Hebrew. So I rule them out. The other category of person who might be interested is an academic type who might perpetuate a fraud in order to discover it and take credit for a great find. The fact of the matter is that no one has ever attempted to discover the site. As a matter of fact, there has been little academic interest in the site at all.

What does it mean? Well, thats really a question for people smarter than me. Two House oriented folks head down a path of saying it must be the 10 Lost Tribes. I wouldnt want to be dogmatic about it, but I doubt that. My understanding of the lost tribes in their dispersion is that they had abandoned YHVH worship and were doing the Baal thing. Personally, I lean toward this being Judahites. We know that Solomon sent ships out in his day. Is this a group that got stranded here in the New World and couldnt get back home? Well probably never know for sure.

When I get back there to finish my study of the site I will share the other Hebraic markings and let you know how they support the view that I am putting forth. In the meantime, here are our pics of our trip to Las Lunas:

www.flickr.com This is a Flickr badge showing photos in a set called Las Lunas. Make your own badge here.