I'm A Catholic, Should I Boycott The Da Vinci Code Movie?

Amid the impassioned and heated debate about The Da Vinci Code movie, the most elementary and basic of questions that concern most Filipino Catholics regarding this controversial issue seem to have fallen by the wayside.

Surely, plenty of printer’s ink and some TV airtime have been spent to parrot a motley mix of opinions in the news media lately over the merit or lack thereof of the said movie. And in a raging controversy with grave moral implications such as this one, the same old justifications rear their ugly heads time and time again.

“Why so much fuss? It’s only fiction,” remarks one fellow. “Keep an open mind while you watch the film,” admonishes another. “Why boycott the movie when you haven’t even read the book?” queries an apparently conscientious soul. “Don’t protest. You’ll only give it more publicity,” urges another.

But really, how doctrinally sound are these comments in light of the nature and plot of the movie?

It is no secret that one of the central themes of The Da Vinci Code revolves around author Dan Brown’s dubious and absurd claims that Our Lord Jesus Christ married St. Mary Magdalene and that the alleged union produced an offspring from which a divine lineage sprouted. Hence according to this distorted depiction that run contrary to historical truth, St. Mary Magdalene became figuratively the Holy Grail that carried the divine seed.

And insidiously interspersed within this sinister and anfractuous scheme, the wily author craftily weaves in pagan and Gnostic heresies, sexual distortions and perversions and the whole shebang of other spurious claims.

To add insult to injury, the revisionist Dan Brown concocts an equally ludicrous accusation that the Catholic Church has perpetrated “the greatest cover-up in human history” and that “almost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false.” (The Da Vinci Code, p.249)

He insinuates that “The Bible is the product of man…Not of God…Constantine commissioned and financed a new Bible which omitted those gospel which spoke of Christ’s human traits and embellished those gospels that made him god-like…[T]he modern Bible was compiled and edited by men who had a political agenda – to promote the divinity of the man Jesus Christ…” (The Da Vinci Code, p.231-234)

Now, to a serious and discerning Catholic I ask, wouldn’t these prevarications constitute blasphemy? And by the way, how would one define blasphemy in the first place?

According to the Merriam-Webster College dictionary, blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God; or irreverence towards something considered sacred or inviolable.

Without batting an eyelash The Da Vinci Code fits the bill to a tee. It attacks and reviles the sacred person of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the very core beliefs of our holy religion. It denigrates He Whom we, Catholics, hold as holy and inviolable.[1]

It’s only fiction you say? Well, read my lips. It’s B-L-A-S-P-H-E-M-O-U-S fiction littered with egregious historical errors and doctrinal flaws. So if you value your Catholic Faith, steer clear off it and don’t even dare touch it with a ten-foot pole!

Keep an open mind? Be careful lest your brains fall out! But honestly, can Catholics sit out this movie in theaters and come out with a clear conscience knowing they’ve aided and abetted the consummation of a blasphemy?

Oh, you mean I didn’t read the book yet? I don’t have to take cyanide to know it’s poison. Besides, as the old adage goes many a curious cat ended up kicking the bucket, right? One can certainly form an intelligent and viable opinion on the The Da Vinci Code book or movie without ever reading or seeing it by sifting through a plethora of reliable information and resources gleaned from the Internet, news media and several excellent books published to refute its many lies.

Don’t protest because it only gives it more publicity? Yes… the kind of negative publicity that scares the living daylights out of the movie’s promoters! Why else do you think Sony Entertainment hired the services of Sitrick and Company, one of Hollywood’s foremost public relations and damage-control experts - if not to try to stave off the brewing storm spurred by the movie?[2]

And there’s more. The promoters of The Da Vinci Code movie are keeping their fingers crossed hoping that the relatively harmless exercise of watching a film doesn’t turn into a thorny moral issue that would give moviegoers a problem of conscience once they set foot on the theater’s lobby. They want to exorcise the “B” word out of the controversy and hope dissenters keep those protest placards safely stowed away in their respective homes.

But seriously above everything else, a Catholic’s attitude in face of this contentious movie should be that of outright REJECTION! None of this politically correct “I’m personally opposed but…” hogwash! Once you’re faced with blasphemy you just can’t wink at it, cross your arms and squirm your way out of it.

As Our Lord Himself warned, “He that is not with me, is against me: and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth.” – Matthew 12:30

Yes, a Catholic must reject as offensive the assertion that the Catholic Church “is guilty of the greatest cover-up in history.”

Yes, a Catholic must reject as blasphemous the core premise of the plot that Christ was not God and was married to St. Mary Magdalene and had offspring.

Yes, a Catholic must reject the resurrected Gnostic heresies embedded in the text which were so ably refuted by the Early Church Fathers.

And yes, a Catholic ought to PROTEST and BOYCOTT The Da Vinci Code movie!

To do so would be to uphold the First and Second Commandments and to make a precious and loving ACT OF REPARATION to satisfy the grievous affront made against the honor and dignity of Our Lord and God Jesus Christ.

"Every one therefore that shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. But he that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven." - MATTHEW 10:32-33

[1] Cardinal About Da Vinci Code: “Simply blasphemous!” http://www.tfp.org/davincicode/medina_simply_blasphemous.htm
[2] Why Does Sony Fear Free Publicity? http://www.tfp.org/davincicode/why_does_sony_fear_publicity.htm