How bad does it piss off the Catholic Church off they can't just ban the damn thing, like in the good old days?
Genoa Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who previously was a high-ranking official of the Vatican's office on doctrinal orthodoxy, told Vatican Radio on Tuesday that the runaway success of [The Da Vinci Code] is proof of "anti-Catholic" prejudice.
Allegations in the novel that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and has descendants have outraged many Christians and have been dismissed by historians and theologians.
Hold on a sec...yep, just had to check that the definition for "novel" on Dictionary.com still starts out with the words, "A fictional prose narrative." Bertone makes it sound like people won't be able to tell the difference between the made-up events of The Da Vinci Code and the indisputable and unalterable facts of the Gospels. And that's just nutty.
"The distribution strategy has been absolutely exceptional marketing, even at Catholic bookstores — and I've already complained about the Catholic bookshops which, for profit motives, have stacks of this book," said Bertone, who has been mentioned as a possible successor to Pope John Paul II.
Shocked, shocked I am to learn that businesses associated with the Catholic Church might be interested in making money. That's as crazy as saying an organization dedicated to eradicating abortion would also counsel against using birth control.
Asked about commentary that the book's success is "only further proof of the fact that anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice," the cardinal exclaimed. "It's the truth."
"There's a great anti-Catholic prejudice," Bertone said. "I ask myself if a similar book was written, full of lies about Buddha, Mohammed, or, even, for example, if a novel came out which manipulated all the history of the Holocaust or of the Shoah, what would have happened?"
Admittedly, the only ones who seem to get all "jihad-y" about their respective holy men being dissed in a work of fiction are radical Muslims, so you're in good company there, Cardinal.
As for novels about the Holocaust, I'm sure they're out there, but I imagine the Jews have their hands full dealing with so-called "experts" claiming it never happened in the first place.
Based on the vitriol aimed at this novel, I'd say misogyny is the last permissible prejudice in the Catholic Church. What are these spoiled, arrogant clerics afraid of? That Catholic women might begin thinking they have a destiny in life other than subservience and continual pregnancy? Maybe they're afraid Catholic women will see that Jesus loved them and enjoyed commiserating with them so much so that he married one of them and elevated others to the level of apostle. OMG, we can't have that! Women demanding respect from religionists and HORRORS! equal representation in the nonsecular corridors of power! Now who'll do the dirty work and shlepp around cleaning up after the priests?
Good one...
But I must say, the funniest blog post on this I've read so far was at glassdog. heh.
Anyway, this is exactly what I was saying about that whole hoopla about the scientists being up in arms about that Michael Crichton novel. I'm like HULLO - it's on the FICTION rack!!!
But the scientist blogger people wouldn't hear of it. They pretty much insisted that if anyone who ever enjoyed a Michael Crichton story are pretty much just ignorant science clueless morons who were going to automatically buy into Crichton's latest personal scientific ideas & agendas. (Puh-leeeze, just because I enjoyed Videodrome with James Woods 20 years ago, and still think it was an excellent movie, does not have an impact on my views on global warming!!)
Of course with "The Da Vinci Code" - it's even sillier.
There's no way to prove one way or another if Jesus & Mary Magdalene were gettin' it on or not.
And even so, I hardly think that the novel "The Da Vinci Code" is actually popular among devout Catholics anyway... or if it is, that their 'faith will be shaken' by a fictional mystery adventure story.
And as for the non-Catholic non-religious people who like the book... what difference does it make if they believe it or not? Oh yeah, the Cardinal must fear it will be harder to convert them! haha.
I'm reminded of that biblical line about worrying about the speck in another's eye while ignoring the beam in one's own.
But it would follow that the group responsible for one great fiction would be threated by other great fiction.