05-20-2006, 04:33 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Some area Catholics fear novel and film based on it: The son of a Chester County man reads The Da Vinci Code and reportedly plans to leave the church. A Reading priest refuses to read the book or see the movie.
Reading Eagle (Reading, PA); 5/18/2006
Byline: Rebecca Vandermeulen
May 18--A few weeks ago, Matthew Pinto and his family were taking a walk when they ran into their neighbor. Pinto of Westtown Township, Chester County, was carrying a few copies of "The Da Vinci Deception," a book meant to discredit statements made in Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Code." Pinto's neighbor said his son had read Brown's book and planned to leave the Roman Catholic Church because of it.
That's part of the reason Pinto fears Brown's book and the movie based on it, which is set to hit theaters Friday. Pinto is president of Ascension Press, a Catholic book publisher based in Westtown. He also coordinated Da Vinci Outreach as a response to the movie. Educational materials on the group's Web site have been downloaded about 30,000 times in the past eight weeks, Pinto said. The Rev. James M. Torpey of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Reading said he hasn't read Brown's book, doesn't plan to and won't see the movie. Responding to people's questions about Christian history doesn't require knowing "The Da Vinci Code," he said. "When people say 'Have you read the book, or are you going to see the movie?' my response is, 'Have you read the Bible?' " Torpey said. Edward Sri, co-author of "The Da Vinci Deception" and a theology professor at Benedictine College in Atchinson, Kan., said he worries about people being taken in by Brown's book. "So many statements in 'The Da Vinci Code' are as easily disproved as 2 + 2 is 5," said Sri, a Catholic whose own book was published by Ascension. "The average reader is set up to think, 'I'm going to learn a lot about history while I read a great story.' " Torpey disagrees with Brown's assertions that statements about documents and organizations in "The Da Vinci Code" are true.
Those statements include that of a 2,000-year-old conspiracy to hide the fact that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married, and Brown's story of a monk from the Catholic group Opus Dei who kills in order to keep the secret. Opus Dei is a real organization of conservative Catholics that is governed by a bishop but doesn't include any monks.
"We're certainly not afraid of decent dialogue," Pinto said. "Where does one start dialogue with the premise that an albino monk is killing people on behest of the Church?" Pinto does not belong to Opus Dei but said he has friends in the group. He said Brown's novel exaggerates some Opus Dei members' practices of wearing spiked chains on their thighs and hitting themselves with small whips. These activities aren't much different from exercising, fasting or getting plastic surgery, Pinto said. So what should Catholics do when "The Da Vinci Code" hits movie theaters? Pinto's group says they -- and everyone else -- should see the DreamWorks family film "Over the Hedge" instead. "Do Christians want to go give money to something that's directly attacking Jesus Christ, the Scriptures, the Christian faith?" Sri asked. Torpey advised his parishioners to see "Over the Hedge" before he knew about Ascension's effort. "Put your money in the other place," he said.
Copyright © 2006, Reading Eagle, Pa.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Reading Eagle (Reading, PA); 5/18/2006
Byline: Rebecca Vandermeulen
May 18--A few weeks ago, Matthew Pinto and his family were taking a walk when they ran into their neighbor. Pinto of Westtown Township, Chester County, was carrying a few copies of "The Da Vinci Deception," a book meant to discredit statements made in Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Code." Pinto's neighbor said his son had read Brown's book and planned to leave the Roman Catholic Church because of it.
That's part of the reason Pinto fears Brown's book and the movie based on it, which is set to hit theaters Friday. Pinto is president of Ascension Press, a Catholic book publisher based in Westtown. He also coordinated Da Vinci Outreach as a response to the movie. Educational materials on the group's Web site have been downloaded about 30,000 times in the past eight weeks, Pinto said. The Rev. James M. Torpey of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Reading said he hasn't read Brown's book, doesn't plan to and won't see the movie. Responding to people's questions about Christian history doesn't require knowing "The Da Vinci Code," he said. "When people say 'Have you read the book, or are you going to see the movie?' my response is, 'Have you read the Bible?' " Torpey said. Edward Sri, co-author of "The Da Vinci Deception" and a theology professor at Benedictine College in Atchinson, Kan., said he worries about people being taken in by Brown's book. "So many statements in 'The Da Vinci Code' are as easily disproved as 2 + 2 is 5," said Sri, a Catholic whose own book was published by Ascension. "The average reader is set up to think, 'I'm going to learn a lot about history while I read a great story.' " Torpey disagrees with Brown's assertions that statements about documents and organizations in "The Da Vinci Code" are true.
Those statements include that of a 2,000-year-old conspiracy to hide the fact that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married, and Brown's story of a monk from the Catholic group Opus Dei who kills in order to keep the secret. Opus Dei is a real organization of conservative Catholics that is governed by a bishop but doesn't include any monks.
"We're certainly not afraid of decent dialogue," Pinto said. "Where does one start dialogue with the premise that an albino monk is killing people on behest of the Church?" Pinto does not belong to Opus Dei but said he has friends in the group. He said Brown's novel exaggerates some Opus Dei members' practices of wearing spiked chains on their thighs and hitting themselves with small whips. These activities aren't much different from exercising, fasting or getting plastic surgery, Pinto said. So what should Catholics do when "The Da Vinci Code" hits movie theaters? Pinto's group says they -- and everyone else -- should see the DreamWorks family film "Over the Hedge" instead. "Do Christians want to go give money to something that's directly attacking Jesus Christ, the Scriptures, the Christian faith?" Sri asked. Torpey advised his parishioners to see "Over the Hedge" before he knew about Ascension's effort. "Put your money in the other place," he said.
Copyright © 2006, Reading Eagle, Pa.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->